How Many Tablespoons in a Cup – A List of Measurement Conversions

There are 16 tablespoons in one US standard cup (16 tbsp = 1 cup).

There are 8 tablespoons in one half cup (8 tbsp = ½ cup).

There are 4 tablespoons in one quarter cup (4 tbsp = ¼ cup).

There are 2 tablespoons in one eighth of a cup (2 tbsp = ⅛ cup) — the same as 1 US fluid ounce.

There are 2 tablespoons, or 6 teaspoons, in 1 US fluid ounce.

There are 48 teaspoons in one US standard cup (48 tsp = 1 cup).

There are 24 teaspoons in half a cup.

There are 12 teaspoons in a quarter cup.

The following are a list of common abbreviations you might encounter in different recipes: Teaspoon: tsp, t, ts, or tspn. Tablespoon: Tbsp, tbsp, T, Tb, Tbs, or Tbls. Sometimes you’ll notice ‘tablespoon’ capitalized in recipes, and other times it appears in lowercase. Teaspoon generally appears as lowercase. Pay special attention when reading through the recipe to decipher between the two measurements. You may also see a tablespoon referred to informally as a ‘spoon’ or ‘spoonful’ in older or casual recipes — unless a recipe specifies teaspoon, a plain ‘spoonful’ almost always means a tablespoon.

Sometimes you’re working the other direction — you know the tablespoons and need the cup measurement — or measuring butter specifically.

Here are the most common versions of those questions:

Is 8 tablespoons half a cup? Yes — exactly ½ cup.
Is 4 tablespoons a quarter cup? Yes — exactly ¼ cup.
How many cups is 6 tablespoons? ⅜ cup (0.375 cup).
How much is 8 tablespoons in cups? ½ cup.
How much is 12 tablespoons? ¾ cup.
How many half-tablespoons are in a cup? 32 (a half-tablespoon is 1½ teaspoons).
What is ¼ of a tablespoon in teaspoons? ¾ teaspoon.
Does this work the same for a cup of butter? Yes — tablespoon-to-cup ratios are a volume measurement, so they’re the same no matter what you’re measuring.
A standard US stick of butter is 8 tablespoons (½ cup), which is why the tablespoon markings printed on the wrapper line up: 4 tablespoons of butter = ¼ cup (half a stick), 8 tablespoons = ½ cup (1 stick), 12 tablespoons = ¾ cup (1½ sticks), 16 tablespoons = 1 cup (2 sticks).

There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon (3 tsp = 1 tbsp). For the full breakdown — abbreviations, global spoon sizes, and more conversions — see our dedicated guide: how many teaspoons in a tablespoon.

For a few more culinary conversions, use this list as a friendly guide:

¾ teaspoon = ¼ tablespoon.
1½ teaspoons = ½ tablespoon.
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = ½ fluid ounce.
6 teaspoons = 2 tablespoons = ⅛ cup = 1 fluid ounce.
12 teaspoons = 4 tablespoons = ¼ cup = 2 fluid ounces.
16 teaspoons = 5⅓ tablespoons = ⅓ cup = 2⅓ fluid ounces.
24 teaspoons = 8 tablespoons = ½ cup = 4 fluid ounces.
36 teaspoons = 12 tablespoons = ¾ cup = 6 fluid ounces.
48 teaspoons = 16 tablespoons = 1 cup = 8 fluid ounces.
96 teaspoons = 32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 16 fluid ounces = 1 pint.
192 teaspoons = 64 tablespoons = 4 cups = 32 fluid ounces = 1 quart.
768 teaspoons = 256 tablespoons = 16 cups = 128 fluid ounces = 1 gallon.

Imperial, or the US customary/standard system, is based on the old British imperial system of ounces, pounds, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. The metric system is a decimal system based on the meter, liter, and gram. While the United States (along with Myanmar and Liberia) use the imperial system, the rest of the world uses the metric system — this is why ingredients in recipes from other countries may be listed in liters or grams.

Unit measurements aren’t the same everywhere, either: a US imperial teaspoon is 4.93 ml vs. 5 ml metric, and a US imperial tablespoon is 14.79 ml vs. 15 ml metric. Since imperial and metric are so close, you can swap one-for-one without impacting a recipe — the one exception is the Australian tablespoon, which is 20 ml (4 teaspoons).

In recipes from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, you may come across a volume measurement called a dessert spoon. A dessert spoon is 10 ml, or just between a teaspoon and tablespoon. Now that you know how many tablespoons in a cup, check out how many teaspoons in a tablespoon to learn even more measurement conversions.