Convert US gallons to US cups
1 gal = 16 cup
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How many US cups are in a US gallon?
One US gallon is 16 US cups. To convert any amount, multiply by 16. Going the other way, one US cup is 0.0625 US gallons.
What is the formula to convert gal to cup?
Multiply the US gallon figure by 16. So cup = gal × 16. For a quick mental estimate, multiplying by about 16 gets you within a percent or so, which is close enough for most everyday purposes.
What does a US gallon actually look like?
One US gallon is a large jug of milk. The US gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches, or 3.785 litres. The imperial gallon still used in some UK contexts is about 20% larger, which makes fuel-economy comparisons misleading.
And what is a US cup?
One US cup is a standard mug of coffee. The US customary cup is 8 US fluid ounces, about 237 mL. US legal cups are 240 mL, metric cups are 250 mL, and Japanese cups are 200 mL — recipes rarely say which.
Is this the US or the imperial measure?
US customary. The imperial gallon still used in some UK contexts is about 20% larger than the US gallon, which makes fuel-economy figures misleading when the unit is not stated. Imperial fluid ounces are slightly smaller than US ones, and imperial pints are 20 fluid ounces against the US 16. Cups are worse still: US customary is about 237 mL, US legal is 240, metric is 250 and Japanese is 200 — and recipes almost never say which.
Is this conversion exact?
Yes. Since the 1959 international yard and pound agreement, the imperial and metric systems are related by exact definitions rather than measurements — the inch is exactly 25.4 mm and the pound exactly 0.45359237 kg. Everything derived from those, including this conversion, is therefore exact. Round at the end rather than partway through, since rounding gal before converting introduces an error the conversion then multiplies.
About gal to cup
How to convert US gallons to US cups
Multiply by 16. One US gallon is 16 US cups, and one US cup is 0.0625 US gallons.
cup = gal × 16
Worked example
10 gal = 160 cup. For a sense of scale, one US gallon is a large jug of milk, and one US cup is a standard mug of coffee.
About the US gallon
The US gallon is exactly 231 cubic inches, or 3.785 litres. The imperial gallon still used in some UK contexts is about 20% larger, which makes fuel-economy comparisons misleading.
About the US cup
The US customary cup is 8 US fluid ounces, about 237 mL. US legal cups are 240 mL, metric cups are 250 mL, and Japanese cups are 200 mL — recipes rarely say which.
Quick reference
| US gallons | US cups |
|---|---|
| 1 gal | 16 cup |
| 2 gal | 32 cup |
| 5 gal | 80 cup |
| 10 gal | 160 cup |
| 25 gal | 400 cup |
| 50 gal | 800 cup |
| 100 gal | 1600 cup |
| 1000 gal | 16000 cup |
Getting it right
Check whether your source means US or imperial measures. An imperial gallon is about 20% larger than a US gallon, and an imperial fluid ounce is slightly smaller than a US one. Recipes and fuel-economy figures are where this bites hardest, because the numbers look plausible either way.
Other volume conversions
Convert US cups back to US gallons, or pick any other pair with the full unit converter. Related: gal to L, gal to mL, gal to fl oz.