How Many Liters in a Cup?
0.2366 L
1 US cup equals 0.2366 liter; it takes 4.227 cups to make 1 liter.
UK: 1 metric cup (250 ml) = 0.25 L
Exact: 1 cup = 0.2365882365 L
Cups to Liters conversion chart
| Cups | Liters |
|---|---|
| one eighth cup | 0.02957 |
| one quarter cup | 0.05915 |
| one third cup | 0.07886 |
| three eighths cup | 0.08872 |
| one half cup | 0.1183 |
| five eighths cup | 0.1479 |
| two thirds cup | 0.1577 |
| three quarters cup | 0.1774 |
| seven eighths cup | 0.207 |
| 1 cup | 0.2366 |
| 1 and one quarter cups | 0.2957 |
| 1 and one third cups | 0.3155 |
| 1 and one half cups | 0.3549 |
| 1 and two thirds cups | 0.3943 |
| 1 and three quarters cups | 0.414 |
| 2 cups | 0.4732 |
| 2 and one half cups | 0.5915 |
| 3 cups | 0.7098 |
| 4 cups | 0.9464 |
| 5 cups | 1.183 |
| 6 cups | 1.42 |
| 8 cups | 1.893 |
| 10 cups | 2.366 |
| 12 cups | 2.839 |
| 16 cups | 3.785 |
How to convert cups to liters
liters = cups ÷ 4.22675
Example: 2 1/2 cups ÷ 4.22675 = 0.5915 L.
Divide the number of US cups by 4.227, or multiply it by 0.2366. Both routes give the same answer, so pick whichever is easier on your phone calculator.
Liters (litres) are handy once a recipe gets large. Three cups of broth come to 0.7098 L, and a stockpot filled with 20 cups of water holds 4.732 L.
For a rough figure in your head, treat each cup as a quarter of a liter and shave off a little. The true value is always a bit lower, because 4 cups add up to 0.9464 L rather than a full liter.
US vs UK cups
A cup in a British, Australian, Canadian or New Zealand recipe is the metric cup of 250 ml. It is exactly a quarter of a liter, so conversions there are simple: 4 cups of stock is 1 L.
The US measuring cup holds 236.6 ml. US nutrition labels use a third size: under FDA labeling rules a cup means 240 ml. A juice label that lists a 1 cup serving therefore means 0.24 L, not 0.2366 L.
| Unit | Size | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| US cup | 236.6 ml | US |
| US legal cup | 240 ml | US nutrition labels |
| metric cup | 250 ml | UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand |
Planning a big batch in liters
Liters help when you buy liquids by the carton or choose a pot. Add up every cup of liquid in the recipe first, then convert the total once.
Say a punch recipe calls for 6 cups of juice, 4 cups of ginger ale and 2 cups of sparkling water. That is 12 cups, or 2.839 L, so a bowl marked 3 L will hold it with a little room to spare.
The same math works for cartons. A soup that needs 10 cups of stock calls for 2.366 L, so two 1 L cartons will not be enough and you need a third.
Cups and liters: questions
Is 4 cups equal to 1 liter?
Not quite: four US cups hold 946.4 ml, a little less than the 1,000 ml in a liter. It takes 4.227 cups to fill a liter jug to the line. With metric cups of 250 ml, four cups do make exactly one liter.
How many liters is 2 cups?
Two US cups are 0.4732 L, just under half a liter. Put the other way, a bottle labeled 500 ml holds 2.113 cups, so it will fill a two-cup measure with a spoonful or two left over.
How many liters is 8 cups?
Eight cups make 1.893 L. That is also half a US gallon, the same as 2 quarts. A 2 L bottle holds slightly more, 8.454 cups, so it covers an eight-cup recipe with a little to spare.
Is a metric cup a quarter of a liter?
Yes, a metric cup is exactly 250 ml, which is 0.25 L. That makes metric recipes easy to scale up, since every four cups add one liter. A US cup is a little smaller, so the same trick runs slightly short.
How much is 1/2 cup in liters?
Half a US cup is 0.1183 L. Amounts that small are easier to read in milliliters, where the same half cup is 118.3 ml. The cups to milliliters converter is the better tool for anything under a cup.
Related conversions
Sources: Unit definitions: NIST Handbook 44 · Last reviewed · Report an error
https://howmanyounces.com/cups-to-liters/