How many tablespoons are in a cup?

16 US tablespoons make 1 US cup. 8 tablespoons make half a cup. 4 tablespoons make a quarter cup.

How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?

3 US teaspoons make 1 US tablespoon. So 1.5 teaspoons make half a tablespoon. Australian tablespoons are bigger, 4 teaspoons.

How many tablespoons make 1/3 cup?

1/3 cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. It does not divide cleanly because 16 divided by 3 is not whole.

Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce?

No. A fluid ounce measures space. An ounce measures weight. One US fluid ounce of water weighs about one ounce, by chance. For other foods, the two numbers are different.

What is 30 ml in tablespoons?

30 milliliters is about 2 US tablespoons. The exact number is 2.03 tablespoons.

Tablespoons to cups converter

These are the most-used volume swaps in any kitchen. The tool above handles tablespoons, teaspoons, cups, fluid ounces, milliliters, and liters all at once. Pick what you have and what you want.

tablespoons

cup

Pick units or type in either box.

Common volume conversions

The numbers home cooks need to know:

1 US cup = 16 tablespoons
1 US cup = 48 teaspoons
1 US cup = 8 fluid ounces
1 US cup = 237 milliliters
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 tablespoon = 1/2 fluid ounce
1 tablespoon = 15 milliliters
1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons = 12 teaspoons
1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons
2/3 cup = 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
3/4 cup = 12 tablespoons

How the tool works

Every volume unit is based on milliliters under the hood. A US cup is 236.59 ml. A tablespoon is 14.79 ml. A teaspoon is 4.93 ml.

The tool changes your input to milliliters, then changes that back to the unit you want. So you can swap between any pair: tablespoons to cups, teaspoons to milliliters, fluid ounces to teaspoons, anything.

When the small gaps matter

Australian tablespoons are 20 ml, not 15. That is 4 teaspoons, not 3. If your recipe comes from Australia, watch the tablespoon size.

British teaspoons are 5 ml, same as the US. British tablespoons used to be 17.7 ml but in modern recipes they are 15 ml.

For most cooking, the gap is too small to notice. For baking, weigh your ingredients if you can.

US vs other countries

A US cup is 236.59 ml. An Australian metric cup is 250 ml. A Canadian cup is 250 ml. An old UK imperial cup was 284 ml. The tablespoon and teaspoon are mostly the same worldwide, except for Australia's bigger tablespoon.

Common volume conversion mistakes

Mixing fluid ounces with weight ounces. Fluid ounces measure space. Weight ounces measure weight. They are not the same.
Using a UK or Australian tablespoon for a US recipe. Australian tablespoons are 33 percent bigger.
Eyeballing teaspoons of leavening (baking powder, baking soda). Even a small mistake here can flatten or puff a bake. Measure carefully.
Treating dry ingredients (like flour) as if cups were the same as fluid ounces. Cups of dry ingredients have a weight that depends on the food. See the cups to grams tool for that.

FAQ

How many tablespoons are in a cup?: 16 US tablespoons make 1 US cup. 8 tablespoons make half a cup. 4 tablespoons make a quarter cup.
How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?: 3 US teaspoons make 1 US tablespoon. So 1.5 teaspoons make half a tablespoon. Australian tablespoons are bigger, 4 teaspoons.
How many tablespoons make 1/3 cup?: 1/3 cup is 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon. It does not divide cleanly because 16 divided by 3 is not whole.
Is a fluid ounce the same as an ounce?: No. A fluid ounce measures space. An ounce measures weight. One US fluid ounce of water weighs about one ounce, by chance. For other foods, the two numbers are different.
What is 30 ml in tablespoons?: 30 milliliters is about 2 US tablespoons. The exact number is 2.03 tablespoons.

Where these numbers come from

US volume units are defined by NIST. The US cup is exactly 236.5882365 milliliters. The teaspoon is exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters. The tablespoon is three teaspoons.

Last updated: May 11, 2026