# US tablespoons to US cups converter

> Convert US tablespoons to US cups (tbsp to cups) with the exact factor, a conversion chart and worked steps.

Interactive version: https://www.calcopenly.com/conversion/tablespoons-to-cups
Subject: Unit converters

Tablespoon amounts often describe dressings, oils or a scaled recipe. A US tablespoon and an Australian tablespoon are different measures. Choose the convention in the source recipe and use level measuring spoons; a heaped spoon has no fixed volume.

One US tablespoon is exactly 0.0625 US cups, so 4 tbsp is 0.25 cup. To convert tbsp to cups, multiply by 0.0625; to convert back, multiply by 16.

The US tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, exactly 14.78676478125 mL. Because both units are defined exactly, the factor above is exact and the results here carry no conversion error.

## Inputs

- **US tablespoons (tbsp)**

## Results

- US cups (cup) — main result
- Conversion
- 1 cup in US tablespoons (tbsp)

## Formula

$$
\text{US cups} = \text{US tablespoons} \times 0.0625
$$

## Worked examples

### 4 tbsp to cup

- US tablespoons (tbsp): 4 tbsp
- **US cups: 0.25 cup**
- Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions (scripts/gen-pairs.py, Python fractions)

### 12 tbsp to cup

- US tablespoons (tbsp): 12 tbsp
- **US cups: 0.75 cup**
- Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions (scripts/gen-pairs.py, Python fractions)

### 1 tbsp to cup

- US tablespoons (tbsp): 1 tbsp
- **US cups: 0.0625 cup**
- Checked against: Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions (scripts/gen-pairs.py, Python fractions)

## Questions

### When would I convert tbsp to cups?

Tablespoon amounts often describe dressings, oils or a scaled recipe. A US tablespoon and an Australian tablespoon are different measures. Choose the convention in the source recipe and use level measuring spoons; a heaped spoon has no fixed volume.

### How many US cups are in a US tablespoon?

One US tablespoon is exactly 0.0625 US cups. The US tablespoon is half a fluid ounce, exactly 14.78676478125 mL.

### How do you convert tbsp to cups?

Multiply the number of US tablespoons by 0.0625. For example, 4 tbsp × 0.0625 = 0.25 cup. To go the other way, divide by 0.0625.

### How can I estimate tbsp to cups without a calculator?

Multiply by 0.062. That is 0.8% low of the exact factor 0.0625, so 4 tbsp comes out as 0.248 cup instead of 0.25.

### Is a cup 240 mL or 236.6 mL?

Both are in use. The US customary cup in recipes is 236.588 mL. US nutrition labels use a rounded "legal cup" of 240 mL (21 CFR 101.9), and the metric cup used in Australia, New Zealand and Canada is 250 mL.

### How accurate is the US tablespoons to US cups converter?

Accuracy depends on your inputs and the method's assumptions. Decimal arithmetic uses 50 significant digits, but estimates, numerical methods and source data can be less precise; the displayed rounding does not remove those limits. It is checked against 3 worked examples whose answers come from independent sources; for example, “4 tbsp to cup” is checked against Exact-fraction computation from the legal unit definitions (scripts/gen-pairs.py, Python fractions).

### Where does the method come from?

NIST SP 811 (2008), Guide for the Use of the International System of Units, Appendix B; NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General tables of units of measurement; BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure), 9th edition.

## Sources

- [NIST SP 811 (2008), Guide for the Use of the International System of Units, Appendix B](https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811)
- [NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General tables of units of measurement](https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures/publications/nist-handbooks/handbook-44)
- [BIPM, The International System of Units (SI Brochure), 9th edition](https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure)