ml to oz Calculator

About the ml to oz Calculator

Millilitres are how most of the world labels drinks, medicines, cosmetics, baby bottles and recipe liquids, while American labels and recipes use fluid ounces. The UK has its own, slightly smaller fluid ounce too. So a 250 ml cup of milk, a 355 ml can of soda or a 5 ml spoon of medicine often needs converting — and it matters which fluid ounce you mean.

This ml to oz calculator converts millilitres to fluid ounces, either US or UK. It also shows the result in the other fluid ounce, in US cups, tablespoons and teaspoons, and gives the weight of the same volume of water, a reminder that fluid ounces and ounces of weight are different things.

How to Use the ml to oz Calculator

Enter the volume in millilitres.

Choose US fl oz for American recipes and labels, or UK fl oz for British ones.

The fluid ounces appear straight away, with cups, spoons and the other ounce.

The Formula

  US fl oz = ml ÷ 29.5735295625
  UK fl oz = ml ÷ 28.4130625

  1 US cup = 8 US fl oz = 236.588 ml
  1 US tbsp = 14.7868 ml       1 US tsp = 4.92892 ml
  1 UK pint = 20 UK fl oz = 568.261 ml

Both fluid ounces are exact fractions of their gallons: the US fluid ounce is 1/128 of a US gallon, and the UK fluid ounce is 1/160 of an imperial gallon.

Step-by-Step Example

250 ml.

  US:  250 ÷ 29.5735 = 8.45351 US fl oz
  UK:  250 ÷ 28.4131 = 8.79877 UK fl oz

So 250 ml is about 8.45 US fluid ounces, a little more than a US cup, or 8.8 UK fluid ounces.

A 355 ml drinks can is 12.004 US fluid ounces — the standard American 12 oz can, labelled 355 ml elsewhere.

Quick Reference

    5 ml  = 0.169 US fl oz   (1 US teaspoon ≈ 4.93 ml)
   15 ml  = 0.507 US fl oz   (1 US tablespoon ≈ 14.79 ml)
   30 ml  = 1.014 US fl oz
  100 ml  = 3.381 US fl oz
  250 ml  = 8.454 US fl oz
  330 ml  = 11.159 US fl oz
  500 ml  = 16.907 US fl oz
 1000 ml  = 33.814 US fl oz

US and UK Fluid Ounces

It seems odd, but the US fluid ounce is larger than the UK one, even though the US gallon is smaller. The US gallon is divided into 128 fluid ounces and the larger UK gallon into 160, so each US fluid ounce ends up about 4 percent bigger. For a teaspoon of vanilla the difference is irrelevant; for a litre of stock it amounts to more than a fluid ounce. American recipes always mean US fluid ounces; older British recipes mean UK ones.

Fluid Ounces and Weight

A fluid ounce is a measure of volume. An ounce on a kitchen scale is a measure of weight. For water they happen to be close — a US fluid ounce of water weighs about 29.6 grams, just over an ounce — but for other ingredients they differ. A fluid ounce of honey weighs about 42 grams, while a fluid ounce of flour weighs only around 15. When a recipe says "8 oz of chocolate" it means weight; "8 fl oz of milk" means volume.

Baby Bottles and Medicine

Baby bottles are usually marked in both millilitres and fluid ounces. A 240 ml bottle holds about 8.1 US fl oz; a 60 ml feed is about 2 US fl oz. For medicines, always use the millilitre markings on the measuring syringe or cup that comes with the product rather than converting to ounces or using kitchen spoons, which vary in size.

Drinks Labels

Drinks are commonly sold in sizes that are round numbers in one system and awkward in the other. A 330 ml European can is 11.2 US fl oz; a 500 ml bottle is 16.9 US fl oz; a 750 ml wine bottle is 25.4 US fl oz. American sizes of 12, 16 and 20 fl oz become 355, 473 and 591 ml on international labels.

Travel Liquid Limits

Airport security rules in many countries limit liquids in hand luggage to containers of 100 ml each. In fluid ounces that is about 3.4 US fl oz, which is why American travel-size bottles are often labelled 3.4 oz. Some airports with newer scanners have relaxed the rule, but many still apply it, so it is worth checking a bottle's label in millilitres before packing. A 150 ml bottle, about 5.07 US fl oz, is over the limit even if it is only partly full, because the rule applies to the container size.

Understanding Your Result

The headline is the volume in the fluid ounce you chose.

The other fluid ounce line gives the result in US or UK fluid ounces.

The cups and spoons line gives US cups, tablespoons and teaspoons.

The weight of water line shows what the same volume of water would weigh, in ounces and grams.

When Should You Use This Calculator?

Use it for American recipes when your measuring jug is in millilitres.

Use it for drinks, bottles and cans labelled in ml or fl oz.

Use it for baby bottles and feeding amounts.

Use it for cosmetics, cleaning products and travel liquid limits.

Common Mistakes

Mixing US and UK fluid ounces. The US fluid ounce is about 4 percent larger, so check where a recipe comes from.

Treating fluid ounces as weight. Only water comes close.

Using kitchen spoons for medicine. Use the syringe or cup supplied.

Rounding a fluid ounce to 30 ml for large volumes. It adds about 1.4 percent.

Assuming a metric cup is a US cup. A metric cup is 250 ml, a US cup 236.6 ml, so the metric cup holds about 6 percent more.

Measuring at an angle. Read a measuring jug at eye level on a flat surface.