3 Tablespoons to Cups

3 tablespoons equals ⅛ cup (0.19 US cups), because one US cup holds 16 tablespoons. The nearest clean measure is ⅛ cup; measure precisely with 3 level tablespoons. It's also about 44 ml.

3 tablespoons, measured every way
US cups	⅛ cup (0.19)
Teaspoons	9 tsp
Milliliters	about 44 ml
Fluid ounces	1.5 fl oz
If it's butter	43 g

Tablespoons to cups chart

Tablespoons to US cups (16 tbsp = 1 cup)
Tablespoons	Cups	ml
2 tbsp	⅛ cup	30
3 tbsp	⅛ cup	44
4 tbsp	¼ cup	59
5 tbsp	⅓ cup	74
6 tbsp	⅜ cup	89
7 tbsp	⅜ cup	104
8 tbsp	½ cup	118
9 tbsp	½ cup	133
10 tbsp	⅝ cup	148
11 tbsp	⅔ cup	163
12 tbsp	¾ cup	177
14 tbsp	⅞ cup	207
16 tbsp	1 cup	237
20 tbsp	1 ¼ cups	296
24 tbsp	1 ½ cups	355
32 tbsp	2 cups	473

Why 16 tablespoons per cup

US customary volume nests in powers of two: 1 cup = 16 tbsp, ½ cup = 8 tbsp, ¼ cup = 4 tbsp, and every tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. That's why awkward counts like 10 or 12 tbsp still reduce to clean fractions — and why a butter stick, at 8 tbsp, is exactly half a cup.

Data verified 2026-08-20 · Methodology