To convert pounds of granulated sugar into cups, multiply by 2.2679618: one pound comes to 2.2679618 cups. Every ingredient has its own figure here, because the units are measuring different things and only the density links them.
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 cup of granulated sugar is 200 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 180 g and 240 g covers the range from lightly spooned to firmly packed. That 20% spread is larger than most of the adjustments recipes fuss over, and it disappears entirely the moment the ingredient is weighed instead.
Pounds are how granulated sugar is bought rather than cooked, so this is the bag-size arithmetic: one pound is 2.268 cups, a 2 lb pack is 4.536 cups and a 5 lb sack is 11.34. That last figure is the one worth knowing before a large bake — it tells you whether one bag covers the recipe.
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
pounds- The amount of granulated sugar you are converting, in pounds
2.26796185- Cups per pound for granulated sugar, from its density of 0.84535 g/mL
cups- The equivalent quantity in cups
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in pounds.
- It is multiplied by 2.26796185, the cups-per-pound figure for granulated sugar.
- The result appears in cups, with a second reading in tbsp beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
3/4 lb of granulated sugar in cups
Take 3/4 lb of granulated sugar: 0.75 × 2.2679618 gives 1.70097 cups. Doubling the batch takes it to 3.40194 cups, because the relationship is a straight proportion once the density is known.
1 1/2 lb of granulated sugar in cups
A recipe calling for 1 1/2 lb of granulated sugar needs 3.40194 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 1.5 × 2.2679618 = 3.4019428, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 1.70097 cups.
3 lb of granulated sugar in cups
A recipe calling for 3 lb of granulated sugar needs 6.80389 cups on the scale. The arithmetic is 3 × 2.2679618 = 6.8038855, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 3.40194 cups.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 lb of granulated sugar?
One pound of granulated sugar is 2.2679618 cups. Half that quantity is 1.13398 cups and double it is 4.53592 cups, 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 2 cup of granulated sugar weigh?
2 cup of granulated sugar comes to 400 g, or 0.88185 pounds. This page runs that calculation in reverse — enter a weight and it returns the volume — and the cups-to-pounds page does it in the direction the question is usually asked.
Granulated sugar in pounds and cups
| Pounds | Cups | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4 lb | 0.56699 cup | 0.5669904625 |
| 1/2 lb | 1.13398 cup | 1.133980925 |
| 3/4 lb | 1.70097 cup | 1.700971387 |
| 1 lb | 2.26796 cup | 2.26796185 |
| 1 1/2 lb | 3.40194 cup | 3.401942775 |
| 2 lb | 4.53592 cup | 4.5359237 |
| 3 lb | 6.80389 cup | 6.80388555 |
| 5 lb | 11.3398 cup | 11.33980925 |
Based on 200 g per cup of granulated sugar. One pound of granulated sugar is 2.2679618 cups.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 200 g | 7.05 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 150 g | 5.29 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 133.3 g | 4.7 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 100 g | 3.53 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 66.67 g | 2.35 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 50 g | 1.76 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 12.5 g | 0.441 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 4.167 g | 0.147 oz | 4.929 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.