There are 2 cups in a pint. That is the answer, and it is the simplest conversion in the American kitchen: 1 pint equals 2 cups, which equals 16 fluid ounces, which equals 473 millilitres. If a recipe calls for a pint of cream, pour in 2 cups. If your measuring jug shows pints and the recipe is written in cups, double the pints. This page gives you the table, real cooking examples, and the important difference between a US pint and an Imperial pint, because mixing those two up is the most common pint mistake in the kitchen.
The conversion table
| Pints | Cups | Fluid ounces | Millilitres | Quarts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/4 pint | 1/2 cup | 4 fl oz | 118 ml | 1/8 quart |
| 1/2 pint | 1 cup | 8 fl oz | 237 ml | 1/4 quart |
| 3/4 pint | 1 1/2 cups | 12 fl oz | 355 ml | 3/8 quart |
| 1 pint | 2 cups | 16 fl oz | 473 ml | 1/2 quart |
| 1 1/2 pints | 3 cups | 24 fl oz | 710 ml | 3/4 quart |
| 2 pints | 4 cups | 32 fl oz | 946 ml | 1 quart |
| 3 pints | 6 cups | 48 fl oz | 1,419 ml | 1 1/2 quarts |
| 4 pints | 8 cups | 64 fl oz | 1,893 ml | 2 quarts |
The millilitre figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. A US pint is 473.18 ml, and a US cup is 236.59 ml, so the maths is exact: two cups make a pint.
Worked example 1: a pint of cream for a pasta sauce
Your pasta sauce recipe calls for 1 pint of double cream, and your measuring jug is marked in cups. One pint is 2 cups, so measure 2 cups and pour it in. If you are halving the recipe for two people, you need half a pint, which is 1 cup. The conversion is so simple that it is easy to get careless, and the usual mistake is the other way round: someone reads "1 pint" and measures 1 cup, which halves the cream and leaves a thin, disappointing sauce. Always double the pints to get cups, and check the number before you pour.
Worked example 2: berries by the punnet
A punnet of strawberries is often sold as a pint, and a recipe asks for 2 cups of sliced strawberries. One pint of whole strawberries is 2 cups by volume, but once you hull and slice them, they settle and you will have slightly less than 2 cups — about 1 3/4 cups. That is a useful reminder that a pint is a measure of volume, not of weight or of count: a pint of whole berries and a pint of sliced berries are not the same amount of fruit. If the recipe is fussy, buy a little extra, and if it is a jam recipe, weigh the fruit instead, because a pint of strawberries weighs about 340 grams and that is the number that matters for setting.
Worked example 3: a British recipe and an American jug
An old British cookbook asks for 1 pint of milk, and you measure it in an American jug. An Imperial pint is 568 ml, or 20 Imperial fluid ounces, while a US pint is 473 ml, or 16 US fluid ounces. If you measure 1 US pint, you will be short by 95 ml — about 40 percent of a cup. For a soup, that does not matter. For a custard, it does. The fix is to check the recipe's origin: if it is British and written before metrication, use 568 ml, or 2.4 US cups, for each pint. If it is American, use 2 cups. And if the recipe gives millilitres as well, trust those and ignore the pints entirely.
Method and source
A US liquid pint is defined as one eighth of a US gallon, which is 28.875 cubic inches, or 473.18 millilitres. A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, or 236.59 millilitres, and 473.18 divided by 236.59 is exactly 2. The American system is built on powers of two — 2 cups to a pint, 2 pints to a quart, 4 quarts to a gallon — which is why these conversions are so clean. The Imperial pint is different: it is one eighth of an Imperial gallon, which is 4.546 litres, so an Imperial pint is 568.26 ml, or 20 Imperial fluid ounces. The two pints share a name and nothing else, and that is the trap. There is also a US dry pint, used for berries and produce, which is 550.6 ml, but you will almost never meet it in a recipe.
Practical guidance
Remember the chain: 2 cups make a pint, 2 pints make a quart, 4 quarts make a gallon. If you know that, you can convert any of these units in your head. When a recipe says "pint", it almost always means a liquid pint of milk, cream, stock, or water. For fruit sold by the pint, treat the volume as approximate and weigh it if the recipe is precise. Buy a jug marked in both cups and millilitres, and when a recipe comes from another country, convert to millilitres first, because millilitres are the same everywhere. And if you are scaling a recipe, convert to cups first — cups are the smallest unit in the chain, and the maths stays in whole numbers.
Frequently asked questions
How many cups are in 1 pint?
There are 2 cups in 1 US pint. That is the standard American conversion. An Imperial pint, used in Britain, is larger — about 2.4 US cups — so check which country the recipe comes from if it matters.
How many cups are in half a pint?
There is 1 cup in half a pint. Half a pint is also 8 fluid ounces and about 237 ml. It is a common amount in sauces and dressings, and it is the same as 1 cup in any American recipe.
How many pints are in 4 cups?
There are 2 pints in 4 cups. Divide the cups by two to get pints. Four cups is also 1 quart, 32 fluid ounces, and about 946 ml.
Is a pint 2 cups everywhere?
No. A US pint is 2 US cups, but an Imperial pint is about 2.4 US cups, because the Imperial pint is 568 ml and the US cup is 237 ml. An Australian or Canadian recipe that says "pint" usually means an Imperial pint, so check the source.
How many fluid ounces are in a pint?
There are 16 US fluid ounces in a US pint, and 20 Imperial fluid ounces in an Imperial pint. The fluid ounce is also different between the two systems, which is another reason to convert through millilitres when a recipe crosses the Atlantic.
How many cups are in a pint of heavy cream?
There are 2 cups in a pint of heavy cream, the same as in a pint of any liquid. A pint carton of cream holds 2 cups, which is a convenient amount for a pasta sauce or a soup that serves four.