Tablespoons to Milliliters Converter (tbsp to mL)

US recipes use the tablespoon for oils, sauces, butter and baking powder, and many US labels state serving sizes in it, while metric recipes and dosing cups work in milliliters. Two US tablespoons make a US fluid ounce, so one holds exactly 14.78676478125 mL; nutrition labels and metric spoon sets round that to 15 mL.

The rounding matters less than which spoon a recipe means. A UK, Canadian or New Zealand tablespoon is 15 mL, very close to the US one, but an Australian tablespoon holds 20 mL, about 35% more than a US one, so Australian recipes need adjusting. The table lists tablespoon amounts printed on US wrappers and labels.

How to use this tool

1. Type a value in the Tablespoon box to see it in milliliters, or type in the Milliliter box to convert the other way.
2. Press ⇄ to swap the two units, or Load example for a typical value.
3. Check the charts below for common values; for other units, open the Volume converter.

Formula

Milliliter (mL) = Tablespoon (tbsp) × 14.7867647812

Tablespoon (tbsp) = Milliliter (mL) × 0.0676280454037

Both factors come from exact definitions: 1 milliliter = 0.0676280454037 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon = 14.7867647812 milliliters (shown to 12 significant digits).

Example

Two conversions worked with the same factors the converter uses:

3 tbsp × 14.7867647812 ≈ 44.3603 mL

45 mL × 0.0676280454037 ≈ 3.04326 tbsp

Tablespoon to Milliliter chart

Common values from tablespoons to milliliters, rounded to four decimal places.

Milliliter to Tablespoon chart

The reverse direction for values people often look up.

Tablespoon amounts in US kitchens

Quick mental estimate

Multiply by 15: 3 tbsp → 45 mL. The true figure is 44.36 mL, so the shortcut runs about 1.4% high, which no recipe will notice.

Use the converter or the charts when the exact figure matters.

The two units

Tablespoon (tbsp): The US tablespoon is half a US fluid ounce, or 3 teaspoons: exactly 14.78676478125 mL. Australia uses a 20 mL tablespoon, so check which one a recipe means.

Milliliter (mL): A milliliter is one thousandth of a liter and exactly the same volume as one cubic centimeter. There are 1,000 microliters in a milliliter and 1,000 milliliters in a liter.