How Many Cups in a Gallon
A cups-in-a-gallon conversion page translates volumes between cups and gallons. In the US Customary system, a liquid gallon contains exactly 16 cups (each cup being 8 US fluid ounces). In the British Imperial system, a gallon also contains exactly 16 Imperial cups: the gallon is 160 Imperial fluid ounces and the cup is 10 of them. The page helps cooks scale recipe liquids accurately.
Convert gallons to cups and cups to gallons instantly. Learn about differences in cup sizes between US customary, legal, and Imperial measurement standards.
Quick Answer
Find out exactly how many cups are in a gallon: 16 in both the US and Imperial systems, though the cups are different sizes.
How Many Cups in a Gallon?
There are 16 cups in a US gallon.
The Imperial system also puts 16 cups in a gallon. Both cups are one sixteenth of their own gallon, so what differs between the systems is the size of the cup, not the number of them.
Liquid Measurement System
Formula: 1 Gallon = 16 US Cups
US Gallons to Cups Table
| Gallons (gal) | Cups |
|---|---|
| 1/16 gal (1 Cup) | 1 cup |
| 1/8 gal (1 Pint) | 2 cups |
| 1/4 gal (1 Quart) | 4 cups |
| 1/2 gal | 8 cups |
| 1 gal | 16 cups |
| 2 gal | 32 cups |
| 5 gal | 80 cups |
| 10 gal | 160 cups |
Imperial Gallons to Cups Table
| Imperial Gallons (gal) | Cups |
|---|---|
| 1/8 gal | 2 cups |
| 1/4 gal | 4 cups |
| 1/2 gal | 8 cups |
| 1 gal | 16 cups |
| 2 gal | 32 cups |
| 5 gal | 80 cups |
| 10 gal | 160 cups |
Examples
1 Gallon (US)
16 Cups
1 Gallon (Imperial)
16 Cups
5 Gallons (US)
80 Cups
How it works
The number of cups in a gallon varies depending on whether you are using the United States Customary system or the British Imperial system:
US Customary System
1 Gallon = 16 Cups
Imperial System (UK)
1 Gallon = 16 Cups
Comparing Three Different Cup Sizes
Depending on what recipe or country you are cooking in, the standard cup size can actually take three different values:
- US Customary Cup: Primarily used in US home recipes. It is defined as 8 US fluid ounces, which is approximately 236.59 milliliters.
- US Legal Cup: Used in the United States for FDA nutrition labeling. It is rounded to exactly 240 milliliters.
- Imperial Cup: Used historically in the UK and Commonwealth countries. It is defined as 10 Imperial fluid ounces, which is approximately 284.13 milliliters.
Quick Kitchen Reference Guide
When baking or cooking, remember these basic US liquid equivalencies:
1 Cup = 8 Fluid Ounces = 16 Tablespoons
1 Pint = 2 Cups = 16 Fluid Ounces
1 Quart = 2 Pints = 4 Cups = 32 Fluid Ounces
1 Gallon = 4 Quarts = 8 Pints = 16 Cups = 128 Fluid Ounces
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