How Many Grams in a Cup of Sugar?
For standard U.S. granulated sugar, 1 cup weighs 200 grams. That is the number behind most American recipes, and it is the one to memorize.
The catch is that “sugar” covers a family of ingredients with very different densities. Brown sugar is heavier per cup because it is packed, powdered sugar is much lighter because it is full of air, and coconut sugar sits somewhere in between. Using 200 g for all of them will quietly wreck the texture of whatever you are baking.
| Sugar type | 1 cup (g) | ½ cup (g) | ⅓ cup (g) | ¼ cup (g) | 1 tbsp (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granulated (white) sugar | 200 | 100 | 67 | 50 | 12.5 |
| Caster / superfine sugar | 200 | 100 | 67 | 50 | 12.5 |
| Brown sugar, packed | 220 | 110 | 73 | 55 | 13.8 |
| Brown sugar, loose | 180 | 90 | 60 | 45 | 11.3 |
| Powdered / confectioners’ | 120 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 7.5 |
| Powdered, sifted | 100 | 50 | 33 | 25 | 6.3 |
| Coconut sugar | 160 | 80 | 53 | 40 | 10 |
| Raw / turbinado sugar | 200 | 100 | 67 | 50 | 12.5 |
| Maple sugar | 150 | 75 | 50 | 38 | 9.4 |
| Honey (liquid) | 340 | 170 | 113 | 85 | 21 |
| Maple syrup (liquid) | 322 | 161 | 107 | 80 | 20 |
Note the two liquid sweeteners at the bottom: they are measured by weight too, but a cup of honey weighs 70% more than a cup of granulated sugar. Never swap one for the other cup-for-cup.
Why Brown Sugar Is Always “Packed”
Recipes that call for brown sugar almost always mean firmly packed — pressed into the dry measuring cup until it holds the cup’s shape when turned out. That is why a packed cup weighs 220 g while a loosely scooped cup weighs about 180 g. The difference is roughly two tablespoons of sugar, plus the molasses that comes with it, which changes both sweetness and moisture.
Practical rules:
- If a recipe says “1 cup brown sugar” with no qualifier, pack it.
- If it says “lightly packed,” press gently — you will land near 200 g.
- If your brown sugar has hardened, soften it (a slice of bread or a damp paper towel in the bag overnight) before packing. Hard lumps leave air pockets and you will under-measure.
The Cup-Size Trap: US vs Metric vs UK
Sugar conversions usually assume the U.S. legal cup of 240 ml, which is what the 200 g figure is based on. But cups are not universal:
- Metric cup (Australia, New Zealand, Canada in some recipes): 250 ml → about 220 g of granulated sugar.
- Old UK/imperial cup: 284 ml → roughly 250 g of granulated sugar.
- Japanese cup: 200 ml → about 176 g of granulated sugar.
That is a spread of more than 70 grams on the same recipe line, which is plenty to make caramel seize or a cake sink. If you are working from a non-U.S. recipe, check which cup the author means before converting — or better, find a version of the recipe that lists grams.
Scaling Sugar by Weight
Sugar is the easiest ingredient to scale once it is in grams. Say a brownie recipe calls for 1¼ cups granulated sugar:
- Convert: 1.25 × 200 g = 250 g.
- Scale to a 9×13 pan from an 8×8 (about 1.8×): 250 × 1.8 = 450 g.
- Read back if you want: 450 ÷ 200 = 2¼ cups.
The gram path stays exact; the cup path accumulates rounding at every step. Our Recipe Servings Calculator does the whole conversion for every ingredient at once — you enter the original servings and the new count, and it hands back a scaled list, including an egg-rounding suggestion for awkward factors.
Sugar, Pan Size, and Bake Time
Sugar does more than sweeten: it tenderizes, browns, and holds moisture. Change the sugar-to-flour ratio and you change how the bake behaves. Once you have scaled a recipe, verify the batter volume against your pan — a scaled-up batch poured into the original tin will overflow or bake into a dense, undercooked center.
Our Baking Pan Converter compares pan areas and depths so you can see whether the new volume fits, and it will suggest an equivalent swap (two 8-inch rounds for one 9×13, for example) without you doing the geometry.
Quick Answers to Common Questions
- Is 200 g of sugar the same as 1 cup? For granulated sugar, yes (U.S. cup). Not for brown, powdered, or coconut sugar.
- How do I measure 100 g without a scale? Half a U.S. cup of granulated sugar is 100 g. For brown sugar, a scant ½ cup packed.
- Can I reduce the sugar? Usually by 10–25% in cookies, quick breads, and muffins without structural damage. Much beyond that and you lose browning, moisture, and spread.
- Does powdered sugar need sifting before measuring? Sift first, then measure — a sifted cup is about 100 g versus 120 g unsifted.
For a single page with sugar, flour, fats, and liquids side by side, keep our Conversion Chart bookmarked. It is the same density data the converters use, formatted for quick glances mid-recipe.
Try Our Free Tools
Measuring sugar by weight takes about five seconds and removes the single largest source of error in home baking. The Kitchen Measurement Converter converts any sugar between cups, grams, and ounces, the Recipe Servings Calculator rescales the entire recipe in one pass, and the Baking Pan Converter makes sure the bigger batch actually fits. Free, instant, no signup.