Cups to liters converter

What is a cups to liters converter?

A cups to liters converter is an online tool that turns a volume measured in cups into liters, and back again. Cups are a familiar kitchen measure, especially in the United States, while liters are the standard metric unit used on most packaging and in recipes outside North America. This converter bridges the two so you can follow any recipe with confidence.

Because a “cup” is not the same size everywhere, the tool lets you choose between the US customary cup (about 236.6 mL) and the metric cup (250 mL). The right-hand input switches between liters and milliliters.

How does it work?

The US customary cup is defined as 236.5882 milliliters, which is 0.2365882 liters. The metric cup is a round 250 milliliters, or 0.25 liters. To convert cups to liters the calculator multiplies the number of cups by the size of one cup in liters; to go back it divides.

Formula

To convert US cups to liters:

$\text{L} = \text{cups} \times 0.2365882$

To convert liters to US cups:

$\text{cups} = \frac{\text{L}}{0.2365882} = \text{L} \times 4.226753$

Worked examples

Example 1: 4 US cups to liters

A recipe calls for 4 cups of stock. In liters:

$4 \times 0.2365882 = 0.946353 \text{ L}$

Example 2: 1 liter to US cups

You have a 1-liter carton of milk. In US cups:

$1 \times 4.226753 = 4.22675 \text{ cups}$

Conversion table

Notes

• A US cup (236.6 mL) is slightly smaller than a metric cup (250 mL); choosing the wrong one introduces about a 6% error, which matters in baking.
• The US legal cup used on nutrition labels is exactly 240 mL, a third definition you may encounter; this converter uses the customary 236.6 mL cup.
• For the reverse direction with more detail, see our liters to cups converter.

Frequently asked questions

How many liters are in 1 cup?

One US customary cup is about 0.2366 liters (236.6 mL). One metric cup is 0.25 liters (250 mL).

How many cups are in 1 liter?

One liter holds about 4.23 US cups, or exactly 4 metric cups.

Which cup size should I use?

Use the US cup for American recipes and the metric cup (250 mL) for most recipes from Europe, Australia, and other metric countries. When unsure, the difference is small enough that either works for casual cooking.

Is the conversion the same for dry and liquid ingredients?

This converter measures volume, so it is the same for liquids and for dry ingredients measured by volume. It does not convert to weight, which depends on the ingredient’s density.