To convert cups of tapioca starch into grams, multiply by 120: one cup comes to 120 grams. 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 0.50721 g per mL, against 1.00 for water. A cup of water weighs 236.6 g and a cup of tapioca starch weighs 120 g, so this ingredient is 50.72% as heavy as the same volume of water — the single fact the whole page rests on.
A cup of tapioca starch is 120 g when it is measured the standard way, but how it gets into the cup changes the answer: between about 108 g and 144 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.
Grams are the unit this conversion is really for. A domestic scale resolves to a gram, which is 0.833% of a cup of tapioca starch, so weighing gets an accuracy no measuring cup can reach. A 500 g pack of it is 4.167 cups, and a 1 kg pack 8.333.
The condition this weight assumes: Sold as tapioca flour as well — the same thing under two names, which is worth knowing before buying both.
The formula
cups- The amount of tapioca starch you are converting, in cups
120- Grams per cup for tapioca starch, from its density of 0.50721 g/mL
grams- The equivalent quantity in grams
How it works, step by step
- Enter the quantity in cups.
- It is multiplied by 120, the grams-per-cup figure for tapioca starch.
- The result appears in grams, with a second reading in oz beneath it.
- Use the measure table if you want a standard recipe quantity rather than a number you type in.
Worked examples
1/3 cup of tapioca starch in grams
1/3 cup of tapioca starch weighs out at 40 grams. Divide 40 by 120 and you get back to 1/3 cup, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
3/4 cup of tapioca starch in grams
A recipe calling for 3/4 cup of tapioca starch needs 90 grams on the scale. The arithmetic is 0.75 × 120 = 90, and halving the recipe halves the weight to 45 grams.
3 cup of tapioca starch in grams
3 cup of tapioca starch weighs out at 360 grams. Divide 360 by 120 and you get back to 3 cup, which is the quickest check that the factor is the right way up.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in 1 cup of tapioca starch?
One cup of tapioca starch is 120 grams. Half that quantity is 60 grams and double it is 240 grams, so the figure scales straight up and down — there is no offset in this conversion, only the factor.
Why is a cup of tapioca starch not 236 g like water?
Because weight per cup depends on what is in the cup. Tapioca starch has a density of 0.50721 g per mL where water has 1.00, so a cup of it weighs 120 g rather than 236.6 g. That is a difference of 116.6 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 tapioca starch by roughly 20% — about 12 g either side of 120 g — because sold as tapioca flour as well — the same thing under two names, which is worth knowing before buying both. Weighing removes the question entirely.
Is a fluid ounce of tapioca starch 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 tapioca starch weighs 0.5291 oz, so the two readings differ by 47.1%. 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 tapioca starch would weigh 126.8 g instead of 120 g — 6.8 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 tapioca starch — roughly 24 g on a 120 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 many cups of tapioca starch is 500 g?
500 g of tapioca starch is 4.1667 cups — 0.00833333 cups to one gram, so 500 × 0.00833333 = 4.1667. Going that way is a division by 120, or a multiplication by 0.00833333 if you prefer.
Tapioca starch in cups and grams
| Cups | Grams | Unrounded |
|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cup | 15 g | 15 |
| 1/4 cup | 30 g | 30 |
| 1/3 cup | 40 g | 40 |
| 1/2 cup | 60 g | 60 |
| 2/3 cup | 80 g | 80 |
| 3/4 cup | 90 g | 90 |
| 1 cup | 120 g | 120 |
| 1 1/2 cup | 180 g | 180 |
| 2 cup | 240 g | 240 |
| 3 cup | 360 g | 360 |
| 4 cup | 480 g | 480 |
Based on 120 g per cup of tapioca starch. One cup of tapioca starch is 120 grams.
| Measure | Grams | Ounces | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz | 236.6 mL |
| 3/4 cup | 90 g | 3.17 oz | 177.4 mL |
| 2/3 cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz | 157.7 mL |
| 1/2 cup | 60 g | 2.12 oz | 118.3 mL |
| 1/3 cup | 40 g | 1.41 oz | 78.86 mL |
| 1/4 cup | 30 g | 1.06 oz | 59.15 mL |
| 1 tbsp | 7.5 g | 0.265 oz | 14.79 mL |
| 1 tsp | 2.5 g | 0.0882 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) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut flour | 112 g | 3.951 oz | 0.4734 |
| Cake flour | 114 g | 4.021 oz | 0.4818 |
| Whole wheat flour | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| Tapioca starch (this page) | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 4.233 oz | 0.5072 |
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
| Self-rising flour | 125 g | 4.409 oz | 0.5283 |
Ordered by weight. The spread across this group is why a single generic cups-to-grams factor cannot work.