Grams of granulated sugar to tablespoons runs on one number, 0.08 tablespoons per gram. It is a measured property of this ingredient rather than a defined conversion, which is why a generic volume-to-weight tool cannot give you it.
The density behind that figure is 0.84535 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g, so this ingredient is 84.54% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A level tablespoon of granulated sugar is 12.5 g, which puts a teaspoon at 4.167 g and a tablespoon and a half — the quantity recipes are fondest of — at 18.75 g. Levelling twice is where the error comes from, so the scale is the faster instrument once the quantity passes a couple of spoons.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.5% of a cup of granulated sugar, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 2.5 cups, and a 1 kg pack 5.
How the figure is arrived at: One of the most reliable ingredients to measure by volume: the crystals are uniform and do not compact under their own weight.
The formula
grams- The amount of granulated sugar you are converting, in grams
0.08- Tablespoons per gram for granulated sugar, from its density of 0.84535 g/mL
tablespoons- The equivalent quantity in tablespoons
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in grams.
- It is multiplied by 0.08, the tablespoons-per-gram figure for granulated sugar.
- The result appears in tablespoons, with a second reading in tsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
50 g of granulated sugar in tablespoons
50 g of granulated sugar weighs out at 4 tablespoons. Divide 4 by 0.08 and you get back to 50 g, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
150 g of granulated sugar in tablespoons
A recipe calling for 150 g of granulated sugar needs 12 tablespoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 150 × 0.08 = 12, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 6 tablespoons.
500 g of granulated sugar in tablespoons
A recipe calling for 500 g of granulated sugar needs 40 tablespoons on the scale. The arithmetic is 500 × 0.08 = 40, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 20 tablespoons.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons are in 1 g of granulated sugar?
One gram of granulated sugar is 0.08 tablespoons. Half that quantity is 0.04 tablespoons and double it is 0.16 tablespoons, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of granulated sugar not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Granulated sugar has a density of 0.84535 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 200 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 36.6 g per cup, and it is the reason a single volume-to-weight factor cannot be applied to every ingredient.
Does how I measure it change the weight?
Yes, and by more than most people expect. Handling changes the weight of a cup of granulated sugar by roughly 20% — about 20 g either side of 200 g — because one of the most reliable ingredients to measure by volume: the crystals are uniform and do not compact under their own weight. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of granulated sugar the same as an ounce?
No. A fluid ounce is a volume — one eighth of a US cup, 29.57 mL — and an ounce is a weight. One fluid ounce of granulated sugar weighs 0.8818 oz, so the two readings differ by 11.8%. They coincide only for something with the density of water, and then only roughly.
Is this a US cup or a metric cup?
US customary: 236.59 mL, which is the cup every US recipe means. A metric cup is 250 mL, so the same cup of granulated sugar would weigh 211.34 g instead of 200 g — 11.3 g more, or 5.67%. Australian and some European recipes use the metric cup, and the difference is large enough to matter in baking.
Do I need a scale for this, or will measuring cups do?
A scale, if the result matters. Volume measuring carries a spread of about 20% for granulated sugar — roughly 40 g on a 200 g cup — while a domestic scale is accurate to a gram or two. For anything where the ratio of ingredients drives the outcome, bread and pastry above all, weigh it.
How much does 3 tbsp of granulated sugar weigh?
3 tbsp of granulated sugar comes to 37.5 g, or 37.5 grams. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the tablespoons-to-grams page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Granulated sugar in grams and tablespoons
| Grams | Tablespoons | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 5 g | 0.4 tbsp | 0.4 |
| 10 g | 0.8 tbsp | 0.8 |
| 25 g | 2 tbsp | 2 |
| 50 g | 4 tbsp | 4 |
| 100 g | 8 tbsp | 8 |
| 125 g | 10 tbsp | 10 |
| 150 g | 12 tbsp | 12 |
| 200 g | 16 tbsp | 16 |
| 250 g | 20 tbsp | 20 |
| 300 g | 24 tbsp | 24 |
| 500 g | 40 tbsp | 40 |
| 1000 g | 80 tbsp | 80 |
Based on 200 g per cup of granulated sugar. One gram of granulated sugar is 0.08 tablespoons.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 200 g | 7.05 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 12.5 g | 0.441 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 2 tsp | 8.333 g | 0.294 oz | 9.858 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4.167 g | 0.147 oz | 4.929 mL |
| 3/4 tsp | 3.125 g | 0.11 oz | 3.697 mL |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.083 g | 0.0735 oz | 2.464 mL |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.042 g | 0.0367 oz | 1.232 mL |
| 1/8 tsp | 0.5208 g | 0.0184 oz | 0.6161 mL |
US customary measures: 1 cup = 236.59 mL, 1 tbsp = 14.79 mL, 1 tsp = 4.93 mL.
| Ingredient | Grams per cup | Ounces per cup | Density (g/mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncooked white rice | 185 g | 6.526 oz | 0.7819 |
| Uncooked brown rice | 190 g | 6.702 oz | 0.8031 |
| Dried lentils | 192 g | 6.773 oz | 0.8115 |
| Granulated sugar (this page) | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Arborio rice | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Dried chickpeas | 200 g | 7.055 oz | 0.8454 |
| Packed brown sugar | 220 g | 7.76 oz | 0.9299 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.