Convert grams to cups — or cups to grams — using the real density of the ingredient you are measuring. A cup of flour weighs 120 g while a cup of honey weighs 340 g, so a one-size-fits-all conversion will ruin your bake. Pick the ingredient, enter the amount, and get cups, grams, and tablespoons.
300 g of all-purpose flour is
Cups
2.5
Grams
300
Tablespoons
40
Quick reference: flour, sugar and butter
Amount
AP flour
Sugar
Butter
1/4 cup
30 g
50 g
57 g
1/3 cup
40 g
67 g
76 g
1/2 cup
60 g
100 g
114 g
1 cup
120 g
200 g
227 g
📌 US cups (1 cup = 236.6 ml = 16 tbsp). Densities assume standard technique: flour spooned and leveled, brown sugar packed. Actual weight varies a few percent with humidity and handling — a kitchen scale is always more precise.
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The formula (and why the ingredient matters)
cups = grams ÷ (grams per cup) · grams = cups × (grams per cup)
Worked example: a European recipe calls for 300 g of all-purpose flour. Flour is about 120 g per cup, so 300 ÷ 120 = 2.5 cups(2 cups + 8 tablespoons). The same 300 g of granulated sugar (200 g/cup) would be just 1.5 cups — same weight, a whole cup less volume. Every conversion on this page uses a per-ingredient density, the same numbers used by standard US baking references.
Why grams beat cups for baking
Volume measurements depend on how the ingredient sits in the cup. Flour is the classic offender: spooning it gently into the cup and leveling gives about 120 g, while scooping the cup straight into the bag compacts the flour to 140–150 g — a ±20% swing that changes a cookie from chewy to cakey. Sugar and liquids are more forgiving, but a $15 kitchen scale removes the guesswork entirely, which is why serious baking recipes list grams first. For volume-to-volume swaps (cups ↔ ml ↔ tablespoons) and oven temperatures, see the cooking measurement converter.
Frequently asked questions
About 120 grams of all-purpose flour per cup — when the flour is spooned into the cup and leveled off. Scooping the cup directly into the flour bag compacts it and can pack in 140–150 g, up to 25% more. That difference alone can turn a tender cake into a dense one, which is why bakers prefer weighing.
Granulated white sugar is about 200 g per cup, and it is one of the most reliable conversions because the crystals pour and settle consistently. Brown sugar is a different story: recipes assume it is packed firmly into the cup, which gives about 220 g. Powdered sugar is much lighter at roughly 120 g per cup.
Because US butter is sold in pre-marked sticks: one stick is 1/2 cup = 8 tablespoons = 113 g, and a full cup of butter is two sticks = 227 g. The wrapper has tablespoon markings, so you rarely need a scale or a measuring cup — just cut at the printed line.
No — a cup is a volume, and ingredients have very different densities. A cup of honey weighs about 340 g while a cup of rolled oats weighs about 90 g: nearly a fourfold difference for the same volume. That is exactly why this converter asks which ingredient you are measuring instead of using a single conversion factor.
US customary cups: 1 cup = 236.6 ml = 16 tablespoons. A metric cup (used in Australia, for example) is 250 ml — about 6% larger — and a UK imperial cup is different again. If a recipe comes from outside the US, check which cup it means; for small amounts the difference is negligible, but across a whole cake it can show.