Volume Conversion Reference

⚠ The two systems that share names

1 US pint

473.176473 mL = 16 US fl oz

1 Imperial pint

568.26125 mL = 20 Imp fl oz

Imperial pint is bigger by

about 20%

1 US fluid ounce

29.5735295625 mL

1 Imperial fluid ounce

28.4130625 mL

US fluid ounce is bigger by

about 4% - the OPPOSITE way to the pint

1 US gallon

3.785411784 L = 231 cubic inches

1 Imperial gallon

4.54609 L exactly

US cooking units - exact, not rounded

1 US cup

236.5882365 mL = 8 fl oz

1 US cup

16 tablespoons = 48 teaspoons

1 US fluid ounce

2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons

1 US tablespoon

14.78676478125 mL = 3 teaspoons

1 US teaspoon

4.92892159375 mL

1 US quart

2 pints = 4 cups = 946.352946 mL

1 US gallon

4 quarts = 8 pints = 16 cups

⚠ Australian tablespoon

20 mL - breaks the 3-teaspoon rule

Metric, and the rough conversions

1 litre

1000 mL = 1000 cm³ exactly

1 millilitre

1 cubic centimetre exactly

Litres to US gallons

÷ 3.8 (a little over a quarter)

US gallons to litres

x 3.8

Cups to millilitres

x 237, or x 240 in rounded recipes

⚠ For anything that matters

use the exact figures above

Where volume mistakes actually bite

• A UK recipe's pint used as a US pint, or the reverse - 20% out
• Fluid ounces treated as ounces on a scale
• A dry pint of berries read as a liquid pint
• An Australian tablespoon (20 mL) used as a US one (14.8 mL)
• Fuel economy compared across US and Imperial gallons
• A recipe rounding a cup to 240 mL mixed with one using 236.6
• Metric and US cups mixed - a metric cup is 250 mL

The bigger pint is made of smaller ounces

An Imperial pint (568.26 mL) is about 20% bigger than a US pint (473.18 mL), yet the Imperial fluid ounce (28.41 mL) is about 4% SMALLER than the US one (29.57 mL). The reason is the count: 20 Imperial fluid ounces to a pint against 16 US. Knowing the direction reverses is what stops you 'correcting' a conversion the wrong way.

Weigh it if you can

Volume depends on how tightly an ingredient is packed - a cup of flour can vary by 20% between a scooped and a spooned cup. Weight does not vary. Where a recipe offers both, the weight is the more reproducible instruction, and it sidesteps every US/Imperial question on this sheet.