CupsToGrams kitchen card
1 US cup = 240 ml, 1 tablespoon = 15 ml, 1 teaspoon = 5 ml. Figures verified 5 August 2026. https://cupsngrams.com/powdered-sugar
Powdered Sugar: Cups to Grams
Also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar.
One US cup (240 ml) of powdered sugar weighs 120 grams; half a cup weighs 60 grams. A quarter cup is 30 grams, a tablespoon is 7.5 grams and a teaspoon is 2.5 grams. These numbers are for powdered sugar only, because a cup measures volume, not weight.
120 g
1 cup of powdered sugar = 120 g (US legal cup, 240 ml)
1 cup of powdered sugar = 120 g (US legal cup, 240 ml)
Based on powdered sugar at 120 g per US cup.
CupsToGrams, cupsngrams.com
Baking from a UK, Australian or New Zealand recipe? Their cup is not the American one. Pick the standard your recipe assumes and every cup figure follows it.
Powdered Sugar conversion table
| Cups | Cups (decimal) | Grams | Tablespoons | Millilitres | Ounces (weight) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8 cup | 0.125 | 15 g | 2 tbsp | 30 ml | 0.529 oz |
| 1/4 cup | 0.25 | 30 g | 4 tbsp | 60 ml | 1.06 oz |
| 1/3 cup | 0.33 | 40 g | 5.33 tbsp | 80 ml | 1.41 oz |
| 1/2 cup | 0.5 | 60 g | 8 tbsp | 120 ml | 2.12 oz |
| 2/3 cup | 0.67 | 80 g | 10.7 tbsp | 160 ml | 2.82 oz |
| 3/4 cup | 0.75 | 90 g | 12 tbsp | 180 ml | 3.17 oz |
| 1 cup | 1 | 120 g | 16 tbsp | 240 ml | 4.23 oz |
| 1 1/4 cups | 1.25 | 150 g | 20 tbsp | 300 ml | 5.29 oz |
| 1 1/3 cups | 1.33 | 160 g | 21.3 tbsp | 320 ml | 5.64 oz |
| 1 1/2 cups | 1.5 | 180 g | 24 tbsp | 360 ml | 6.35 oz |
| 1 2/3 cups | 1.67 | 200 g | 26.7 tbsp | 400 ml | 7.05 oz |
| 1 3/4 cups | 1.75 | 210 g | 28 tbsp | 420 ml | 7.41 oz |
| 2 cups | 2 | 240 g | 32 tbsp | 480 ml | 8.47 oz |
| 2 1/4 cups | 2.25 | 270 g | 36 tbsp | 540 ml | 9.52 oz |
| 2 1/2 cups | 2.5 | 300 g | 40 tbsp | 600 ml | 10.6 oz |
| 3 cups | 3 | 360 g | 48 tbsp | 720 ml | 12.7 oz |
| 3 2/3 cups | 3.67 | 440 g | 58.7 tbsp | 880 ml | 15.5 oz |
Ounces here are ounces of weight (1 oz = 28.35 g), not fluid ounces. One US cup is 8 fluid ounces of volume whatever is in it, but what it weighs in ounces depends on the ingredient: a cup of powdered sugar weighs about 4.23 oz. Why these two are not the same. Decimals for thirds are rounded (1/3 cup is 0.333 cups), and each linked amount opens a page comparing every ingredient at that measure.
Cite this: CupsToGrams, "Powdered Sugar: Cups to Grams", https://cupsngrams.com/powdered-sugar, figures verified . The data is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back to this page.
About measuring powdered sugar
Powdered sugar, also called icing or confectioners sugar, is granulated sugar ground to a fine powder with a little cornstarch added to stop it caking. It is light and full of air, so one US cup weighs only about 120 grams, far less than granulated. It also lumps easily, which makes volume measures unreliable for icings and glazes where the sugar-to-liquid ratio is everything. Sift and weigh for smooth results.
Sift powdered sugar before measuring. Lumps make a scooped cup wildly inconsistent.
How many grams is a cup of powdered sugar?
One US cup (240 ml) of powdered sugar weighs about 120 grams. Because a cup measures volume rather than weight, that figure is specific to powdered sugar and does not transfer to any other ingredient: the same cup holds 125 grams of all-purpose flour and 340 grams of honey.
- 1/4 cup of powdered sugar is about 30 grams
- 1/3 cup of powdered sugar is about 40 grams
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar is about 60 grams
- 2/3 cup of powdered sugar is about 80 grams
- 3/4 cup of powdered sugar is about 90 grams
- 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar is about 180 grams
- 2 cups of powdered sugar is about 240 grams
- 3 cups of powdered sugar is about 360 grams
Working the other way round, 100 grams of powdered sugar is about 0.833 cups, and 500 grams is about 4.17 cups.
Does it matter which cup my recipe means?
It does, though less than the ingredient itself. This page uses the US legal cup of 240 ml. An Australian metric cup is 250 ml, so a metric cup of powdered sugar comes to about 125 grams, and the old British imperial cup of 284.1 ml holds about 142 grams. See cup sizes by country for every standard side by side.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of powdered sugar?
One US cup of powdered (icing) sugar is about 120 grams. It is very light and airy, so it weighs much less than granulated sugar.
Is powdered sugar the same as icing sugar?
Yes. Powdered sugar, icing sugar and confectioners sugar are the same thing: finely ground sugar, usually with a little cornstarch to prevent caking.
Why weigh powdered sugar for icing?
Icings depend on the exact ratio of sugar to liquid. Because lumpy powdered sugar packs unevenly, weighing to 120 grams per cup gives a far more reliable glaze.
Where this figure comes from
We have not yet found a published reference that states a weight for a cup of powdered sugar. The 120 grams on this page follows the calibration the rest of the site is built on, with butter at 227 grams per cup, water at 240, all-purpose flour at 125 and granulated sugar at 200. Treat it as a good working figure rather than a cited one. If you have a better source, tell us and we will check it and credit you.
Published figures for the same ingredient vary between references anyway, because how an ingredient is packed changes what a cup of it weighs. Treat any cup figure as accurate to within a few percent, and weigh on a scale when a recipe is sensitive. Our full approach is on the methodology page.
Figures last verified . Compiled by the CupsToGrams editorial team at FusionStudios. Spotted a value that looks off? Tell us.