500 Grams of Sugar to Cups
2½ cups in a US cup — and what that looks like with a measuring spoon
500 grams of granulated sugar is 2½ cups in a US cup. In the kitchen that is 2½ cups.
Grams weigh and cups fill, so the answer only exists once you say what is in the cup. A US cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g, and every figure on this page comes from that one number.
It also depends on whose cup you mean. In a 250 ml metric cup — the standard in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — 500 g of granulated sugar is 2⅜ cups, because that cup holds about 5.7% more than the 236.6 ml US cup.
That lands exactly on the 2½ cups measure, so no rounding is needed.
500 g of sugar in each cup standard
| Cup standard | Size | Grams per cup | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 236.6 ml | 200 g | 2½ |
| Metric (UK, AU, NZ, CA) | 250 ml | 211 g | 2⅜ |
| Imperial (older UK) | 284 ml | 240 g | 2⅛ |
A recipe that says "cups" without saying which one is almost always American. If it came from a British, Australian or New Zealand source, use the metric row.
How to measure 500 g of sugar without scales
Granulated sugar does not compact the way flour does, so scooping and spooning give almost the same weight. Fill the cup and level it off.
This is white granulated sugar at 200 g per cup. Caster sugar is finer and packs to 225 g, and powdered sugar is much lighter at 120 g, so those are different conversions.
- Build it as 2½ cups rather than guessing at 2½ of a cup.
- 500 g is 40 tablespoons of granulated sugar, at 12.5 g per tablespoon.
- A digital scale removes the question entirely, and costs less than the ingredients it saves.
Nearby amounts of sugar
| Grams | US cups | Metric cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260 g | 1⅓ | 1¼ | 20.8 |
| 280 g | 1⅜ | 1⅓ | 22.4 |
| 300 g | 1½ | 1⅜ | 24 |
| 350 g | 1¾ | 1⅔ | 28 |
| 400 g | 2 | 1⅞ | 32 |
| 450 g | 2¼ | 2⅛ | 36 |
| 600 g | 3 | 2⅞ | 48 |
| 700 g | 3½ | 3⅓ | 56 |
500 g of something else
The same 500 g is a different number of cups for every ingredient, because they do not weigh the same for their size.
| Ingredient | Grams per US cup | US cups |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 125 g | 4 |
| Butter | 227 g | 2¼ |
| Water | 237 g | 2⅛ |
| Rice | 185 g | 2⅔ |
| Milk | 244 g | 2.05 |
| Powdered Sugar | 120 g | 4⅛ |
500 grams in other units
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| US cups | 2½ |
| Tablespoons | 40 |
| Teaspoons | 120 |
| Ounces (weight) | 17.64 oz |
| Pounds | 1.10 lb |
| Millilitres (volume it fills) | 591 ml |
Frequently asked questions
How many cups is 500 grams of sugar?
500 grams of granulated sugar is 2½ cups in a US cup, based on 200 g per cup. A 250 ml metric cup gives 2⅜ cups.
What is the easiest way to measure 500 g of sugar?
2½ cups — built from a standard cup and spoon set. Granulated sugar does not compact the way flour does, so scooping and spooning give almost the same weight. Fill the cup and level it off.
Is 500 g of sugar the same in cups in the UK?
No. A UK, Australian, New Zealand or Canadian metric cup is 250 ml against the US cup's 236.6 ml, so 500 g of granulated sugar is 2⅜ cups there and 2½ cups in the US.
Can I just use 2½ cups instead?
Yes — 500 g of granulated sugar is exactly 2½ cups, so the nearest measure is the right one.
How many ounces is 500 grams?
500 grams is 17.64 ounces by weight. Unlike cups, that answer is the same whatever you are measuring — ounces weigh, fluid ounces fill, and they are not the same unit.