How Many Grams Are in a Cup of Sugar?
One US cup of granulated sugar weighs about 198 grams, usually rounded to 200 grams.
Why This One Is Not Exact
Every other conversion on this site is a definition: an inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters, and that never changes. This page is different. A cup measures volume and grams measure weight, and what bridges them is density — which depends on the ingredient and, far more, on how the cup was filled. The figure of 198 grams per cup is the standard reference, not a law of nature.
Granulated sugar does not compact the way flour does, so a cup of it is reliably close to 198 grams however you fill it.
Where This Comes Up
Sugar is the easy one. Unlike flour it does not compress, so a cup of it weighs close to the same whoever fills it — which makes this the one volume measurement in baking you can trust.
A cake recipe calling for 1 1/2 cups of sugar wants about 297 grams, which most European recipes would write as 300 grams.
What People Get Wrong
The 198 grams applies to granulated white sugar only. Brown sugar is packed and weighs 213 grams per cup, and powdered sugar is far lighter at 113 — swapping them by volume rather than weight changes a recipe substantially.
Granulated Sugar Cups to Grams Chart
| Recipe calls for | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 12 | 0.44 |
| 1/8 cup | 25 | 0.87 |
| 1/4 cup | 50 | 1.75 |
| 1/3 cup | 66 | 2.33 |
| 1/2 cup | 99 | 3.49 |
| 2/3 cup | 132 | 4.66 |
| 3/4 cup | 149 | 5.24 |
| 1 cup | 198 | 6.98 |
| 1 1/2 cups | 297 | 10.48 |
| 2 cups | 396 | 13.97 |
| 3 cups | 594 | 20.95 |
| 4 cups | 792 | 27.94 |
Weights follow the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart, the reference most American recipes are written against. For the exact, defined conversions used elsewhere on this site, see how we calculate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a cup of sugar 200 grams?
Close enough. The standard figure is 198 grams, and recipes round it to 200.
Why does sugar weigh so much more than flour per cup?
Sugar crystals are dense and pack together with little air between them, while flour is a fine powder that traps air.
How many grams is half a cup of sugar?
About 99 grams, normally written as 100 grams.
Does caster sugar weigh the same?
Near enough. Caster sugar is more finely ground, so it packs slightly tighter, but the difference is a few grams per cup.