A US dry measuring cup and a US liquid measuring cup hold the same volume: 1 cup = 8 US fluid ounces = 16 tablespoons ≈ 236.6 mL. The difference is how they’re designed to be filled and read, and using the wrong one is a common reason baking goes wrong.
Dry measuring cups
Dry cups usually come in a nested set (1, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 cup) and are meant to be filled to the brim and leveled off with a straight edge. Use them for flour, sugar, oats, rice, cocoa and other dry ingredients, and for thick things like peanut butter or sour cream.
Liquid measuring cups
Liquid cups are clear, with a spout and markings below the rim, so you can fill to a line without spilling. Set the cup on the counter and read it at eye level, at the bottom of the curved surface of the liquid. Use them for water, milk, oil, broth and other pourable liquids.
Why it matters
Try to measure flour in a liquid cup and you can’t level it, so you end up guessing. Measure milk in a dry cup and you either fill it to the brim and spill or stop short. Either way, the recipe drifts.
For flour, how you fill the cup matters even more than which cup you use. Scooping straight from the bag packs flour in: a “cup” can weigh 140–150 g instead of about 120 g. For accurate results, spoon flour into the cup and level it, or better, weigh it.
Weighing is the most accurate option
A cup is a volume, so what a cup weighs depends on the ingredient. Typical weights of 1 US cup:
| Ingredient | 1 cup weighs about |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) | 120 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g |
| Brown sugar, packed | 213 g |
| Butter (2 sticks) | 227 g |
| Water | 237 g |
These and the full set of cup, spoon, ounce and oven conversions are on the printable cooking conversion chart.
Fluid ounces are not ounces
A fluid ounce measures volume and an ounce measures weight. A cup holds 8 fluid ounces (see how many ounces in a cup), but a cup of flour weighs only about 4.2 ounces. They line up only for water and liquids of similar density.
Spoons and small amounts
Measuring spoons work like dry cups: fill and level. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons, and 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons. The tablespoons to cups chart covers every step in between.
Recipes from other countries
Australia, New Zealand and Canada often use a 250 mL metric cup, about 5% more than a US cup. Australia also uses a 20 mL tablespoon. For a recipe from those countries, convert with the cups to mL converter or weigh where you can.