Butter converter
Convert butter between grams, ounces, US cups, sticks and tablespoons in one place. Enter any amount and unit and every equivalent is listed instantly, so US recipes that call for sticks translate cleanly to metric weights.
How it works
Each unit has a fixed conversion to grams. The tool multiplies your amount by its unit factor to get a gram total, then divides that total by every other unit’s factor to fill the list:
| Unit | Grams each |
|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 14.2 g |
| 1 ounce | 28.35 g |
| 1 stick (US) | 113.4 g |
| 1 cup | 227 g |
Example
Enter 2 sticks:
- grams = 2 × 113.4 = 226.8 g
- cups = 226.8 ÷ 227 ≈ 1 cup
- tablespoons = 226.8 ÷ 14.2 ≈ 16 tbsp
- ounces = 226.8 ÷ 28.35 ≈ 8 oz
The whole calculation runs in your browser with no uploads.
Common butter amounts at a glance
| Common quantity | Grams | Ounces | Cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 14.2 g | 0.5 oz | 1/16 cup | 1 tbsp |
| Half a stick | 56.7 g | 2 oz | 1/4 cup | 4 tbsp |
| 1 stick | 113.4 g | 4 oz | 1/2 cup | 8 tbsp |
| 2 sticks | 226.8 g | 8 oz | 1 cup | 16 tbsp |
| 250 g (metric block) | 250 g | 8.8 oz | 1.1 cups | 17.6 tbsp |
Why butter measurement is confusing
American recipes almost always specify butter in sticks or cups, while British and European recipes use grams or occasionally ounces. The root cause is that butter in the US is sold in pre-wrapped 4 oz sticks with tablespoon markings printed on the wrapper, making volume and count measurements natural for American cooks. In the UK and much of Europe, butter typically comes in 250 g blocks, so recipes weight it.
The metric block (250 g) does not align cleanly with US sticks (113.4 g each), which is why cross-border baking recipes frequently call for half a block or a third of a block — quantities that translate awkwardly without a converter.
Tips when measuring butter
Use weight for precision. Volume measurements like cups and tablespoons can vary depending on whether the butter is cold and firm (packs densely), softened (slightly less dense), or melted (pours differently). Grams on a kitchen scale are always exact.
Cold vs. softened butter. Most cookie and cake recipes that call for softened butter assume it has been brought to room temperature. If you are cutting from a cold stick, the wrapper markings are reliable, but melted butter contracts slightly, so the cup line on the wrapper no longer applies.
Substituting margarine or shortening. A direct 1:1 gram substitution generally works for most baked goods, though the fat content and water content differ slightly between products, which can affect texture.