Sticks, cups or grams of butter?
In the US, butter comes in quarter-pound sticks, and recipes call for it in sticks, cups or tablespoons. Elsewhere it is sold in blocks of 250 g or 200 g and weighed in grams. Unlike flour, butter is dense and does not trap air, so volume and weight match closely: a cup of butter always weighs about 227 g, half a pound. That makes these conversions exact enough for any recipe.
How to use this converter
Type an amount in any field and every other measure updates as you type. Enter the sticks or cups from an American recipe to see how many grams to cut from a European block, or enter the grams from a British or French recipe to count the tablespoons marked on a US wrapper. Each common pair below has its own page with the formula, an example and a chart.
Key equivalents
- 1 stick = ½ cup = 8 tablespoons = 4 oz ≈ 113 g
- 1 cup = 2 sticks = 16 tablespoons ≈ 227 g
- 1 tablespoon ≈ 14.2 g, and 1 teaspoon ≈ 4.7 g
- 1 lb = 4 sticks = 2 cups
- 250 g ≈ 2.2 sticks ≈ 1.1 cups
Using the wrapper marks
Most US butter sticks are printed with lines for each tablespoon and for ¼, ⅓ and ½ cup. Cut through the paper at the right mark to measure without a scale. In Europe some 250 g blocks carry similar marks every 25 or 50 g. For softened butter in a measuring cup, press it down firmly to remove air pockets before leveling.
Salted, unsalted and other fats
Salted and unsalted butter weigh the same, but salted butter contains about 1.5 to 2% salt, so baking recipes usually prefer unsalted. European-style butter has slightly more fat, at least 82% against 80% for standard US butter, which does not change the conversion. Margarine and shortening can be measured with the same volumes, while oils are lighter: a cup of vegetable oil weighs about 218 g.
Butter units compared
| Unit | Symbol | In grams |
|---|---|---|
| Gram | g | 1 |
| Kilogram | kg | 1,000 |
| Ounce | oz | 28.3 |
| Pound | lb | 454 |
| Cup of butter | cup | 227 |
| Tablespoon of butter | tbsp | 14.2 |
| Teaspoon of butter | tsp | 4.72 |
| Stick of butter | stick | 113 |
The units in detail
What is a gram?
Grams are how butter is measured in European, British and Australian recipes. Butter is sold there in 250 g blocks in most countries, with 200 g and 500 g sizes also common.
What is a kilogram?
A kilogram of butter is a bakery or bulk size, about 8.8 US sticks or 4.4 cups.
What is an ounce?
The avoirdupois ounce, 28.35 grams, is printed on every US butter package. A stick weighs 4 oz, and a pound box holds four sticks.
What is a pound?
The pound, 453.6 grams, is the size of a standard US butter box: four sticks of ¼ lb each, or 2 cups of butter.
What is a cup of butter?
A US cup of butter is two sticks, half a pound or about 227 g. American recipes give butter in cups or sticks, which makes the conversion exact rather than approximate as it is for flour.
What is a tablespoon of butter?
A US tablespoon of butter weighs about 14.2 g, one eighth of a stick. It is the unit marked on butter wrappers and the usual amount for greasing a pan or finishing a sauce.
What is a teaspoon of butter?
A US teaspoon of butter weighs about 4.7 g, one third of a tablespoon. A pat of butter served in restaurants is usually 1 to 1½ teaspoons.
What is a stick of butter?
A US stick of butter weighs ¼ pound, 4 oz or about 113 g, and measures ½ cup or 8 tablespoons. The wrapper is usually marked in tablespoons, so you can cut exact amounts without a scale.