Tablespoon to Grams: Sugar Conversion Guide (White, Brown & Powdered)
1 tablespoon of white sugar weighs about 12.5 grams. Packed brown sugar weighs 13.8 g and powdered sugar 8.3 g. Charts, UK vs US spoons, and a free calculator.
Quick answer: 1 tablespoon of sugar = 12.5 grams
1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar weighs about 12.5 grams.
That’s for plain white sugar in a level US tablespoon. Other sugars weigh more or less in the same spoon:
- White granulated sugar: 12.5 g
- Brown sugar, packed: 13.8 g
- Powdered (icing) sugar: 8.3 g
- White sugar in a 15 ml UK tablespoon: 12.8 g
Pick your sugar and your tablespoon size in the calculator below. It converts tbsp to grams and grams back to tablespoons.
Sugar Converter
3 items · Density varies by itemWhy the type of sugar changes the weight
All three sugars are mostly the same thing: sucrose. So why don’t they weigh the same per spoon? It comes down to how much air sits between the grains.
A solid sugar crystal weighs about 1.59 g per ml. But crystals don’t fit together perfectly. Think of marbles in a jar. There’s always space between them. In a spoonful of white sugar, close to half the volume is air. That’s why a tablespoon weighs 12.5 g and not 23 g.
Each type of sugar fills that space differently:
- Granulated sugar has dry, even crystals. They pour and settle the same way every time, so the weight per spoon stays steady.
- Brown sugar is white sugar coated in molasses. Light brown has less molasses, dark brown has more. The molasses makes it damp and sticky. When you press it into a spoon, it squeezes out the air and packs tight, so a packed spoon weighs more than white sugar.
- Powdered sugar is white sugar ground to a fine dust. In the US, it usually has a little cornstarch mixed in to stop clumping. The fine powder traps lots of air, like fresh snow. So a spoonful weighs a third less than granulated.
This is why you can’t swap one sugar for another gram for gram using a spoon. A tablespoon of powdered sugar holds about 4 g less sugar than a tablespoon of granulated. Over a cup, that gap grows to about 70 g.
Sugar tablespoon to grams table by type
The values below are for a level tablespoon, except brown sugar, which recipes expect packed.
| Sugar type | Density (g/ml) | US tbsp (14.8 ml) | UK / metric tbsp (15 ml) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granulated white sugar | 0.85 | 12.6 g | 12.8 g |
| Brown sugar, packed (light or dark) | 0.93 | 13.8 g | 14.0 g |
| Brown sugar, loose | ~0.61 | 9.1 g | 9.2 g |
| Powdered / icing sugar, unsifted | 0.56 | 8.3 g | 8.4 g |
| Caster / superfine sugar | ~0.85 | about 12.5 g | about 13 g |
USDA’s FoodData Central lists 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar at 12.5 g, based on 200 g per cup. Our density figure gives 12.6 g. The gap is a few grains, so use either.
USDA puts a packed cup of brown sugar at 220 g, which matches the 13.8 g per tablespoon above. A loose cup weighs about 145 g.
Caster sugar has finer crystals than granulated. It weighs about the same per spoon. Weights vary a little by brand, so treat that row as a close estimate.
Sifted powdered sugar is lighter again, about 6 g per tablespoon. If a recipe says “1 cup powdered sugar, sifted,” measure first, then sift. If it says “1 cup sifted powdered sugar,” sift first, then measure.
UK vs US sugar tablespoons
A US tablespoon holds 14.79 ml, set by NIST as half a US fluid ounce. A UK tablespoon holds 15 ml, the same as the metric tablespoon used in Europe, New Zealand and Canada.
| Tablespoon | Size | White sugar | Brown sugar (packed) | Icing sugar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 14.8 ml | 12.6 g | 13.8 g | 8.3 g |
| UK | 15 ml | 12.8 g | 14.0 g | 8.4 g |
| Australia | 20 ml | 17.0 g | 18.6 g | 11.2 g |
The UK and US difference is about 0.2 g per spoon. That’s why one site says 12.5 g and another says 13 g. Both are right for their spoon. It won’t change your recipe.
Australia is different. A 20 ml Australian tablespoon holds about 4.4 g more white sugar than a US spoon. Use the right spoon for Australian recipes.
UK and US recipes use different names for the same sugars:
- Caster sugar (UK) = superfine sugar (US)
- Icing sugar (UK) = powdered or confectioners’ sugar (US)
- Light or dark soft brown sugar (UK) = light or dark brown sugar (US)
Tablespoon to grams sugar chart: 1 to 8 tbsp
| Tablespoons | White sugar (US) | White sugar (UK) | Brown sugar, packed (US) | Powdered sugar (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 12.6 g | 12.8 g | 13.8 g | 8.3 g |
| 2 tbsp | 25.1 g | 25.5 g | 27.5 g | 16.6 g |
| 3 tbsp | 37.7 g | 38.3 g | 41.3 g | 24.8 g |
| 4 tbsp (¼ cup) | 50.3 g | 51.0 g | 55.0 g | 33.1 g |
| 5 tbsp | 62.8 g | 63.8 g | 68.8 g | 41.4 g |
| 6 tbsp | 75.4 g | 76.5 g | 82.5 g | 49.7 g |
| 8 tbsp (½ cup) | 100.6 g | 102.0 g | 110.0 g | 66.2 g |
So 6 tablespoons of white sugar weighs about 75 g, and 8 tablespoons weighs about 100 g. 16 tablespoons make a cup, which is 200 g of white sugar.
Looking for 6 or 8 tablespoons of something else? The tablespoon to grams guide has the same chart for water, butter and flour.
Grams to tablespoons: how much is 9 grams of sugar?
9 grams of white sugar is about 0.7 of a tablespoon, or just over 2 teaspoons.
This question comes up a lot when reading nutrition labels. The FDA requires labels to list sugar in grams, not spoons. A good rule: 4 grams of sugar is about 1 teaspoon. So a snack with 9 g of sugar holds a bit over 2 teaspoons.
To convert grams to tablespoons, divide by the weight of one tablespoon:
tablespoons = grams ÷ 12.6 (white sugar, US spoon)
| Sugar (g) | Tablespoons (US) | Teaspoons (US) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 g | 0.3 tbsp | 1 tsp |
| 5 g | 0.4 tbsp | 1.2 tsp |
| 9 g | 0.7 tbsp | 2.1 tsp |
| 10 g | 0.8 tbsp | 2.4 tsp |
| 25 g | 2 tbsp | 6 tsp |
| 50 g | 4 tbsp | 12 tsp |
| 100 g | 8 tbsp | 24 tsp |
| 200 g | 16 tbsp (1 cup) | 48 tsp |
Two numbers for scale. The FDA’s daily value for added sugar is 50 g, which is 4 tablespoons. A 12 oz can of regular cola has about 39 g of sugar, a little over 3 tablespoons.
Packed vs. level: brown sugar
When a recipe says “1 tbsp brown sugar,” it almost always means packed. Here’s the difference:
- Packed: press the sugar firmly into the spoon with your fingers or the back of another spoon, add more, press again, then level the top. When you tip it out, it should hold the spoon’s shape, like a sandcastle.
- Loose: spoon it in and level it without pressing.
A packed tablespoon of brown sugar weighs about 13.8 g. A loose one weighs about 9 g. Packing adds about 50%.
Over a full cup, loose brown sugar comes up 75 g short of packed. That’s enough to make cookies pale, dry and flat. If your brown sugar has gone hard, warm it for a few seconds in the microwave with a damp paper towel, then pack it.
White and powdered sugar should never be packed. Spoon them in and scrape the top flat with a knife.
Swapping sugar for honey or syrup
You can replace some or all of the sugar in many recipes with honey or maple syrup. Honey is sweeter than sugar, so you need less of it by volume:
- By volume: use ¾ cup of honey for every 1 cup of white sugar.
- By weight: use about 125 g of honey for every 100 g of sugar.
The weight goes up while the volume goes down. Honey is heavy for its size: a tablespoon weighs about 21 g, against 12.6 g for sugar. And honey is about 17% water, so 125 g of honey carries roughly 100 g of sugars.
That water changes the batter. For each cup of honey, cut about ¼ cup of other liquid from the recipe, and lower the oven by 25°F (about 15°C). Honey browns faster than sugar. Maple syrup works with the same volume swap.
For more honey amounts and other syrups, see the honey and syrup tablespoon to grams guide.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 tablespoon of sugar?
1 tablespoon of granulated white sugar weighs about 12.5 g in a US spoon. A 15 ml UK or metric tablespoon holds 12.8 g. Packed brown sugar weighs about 13.8 g per tablespoon and powdered sugar about 8.3 g.
Is brown sugar heavier than white sugar per tablespoon?
Yes, when it's packed. A packed tablespoon of brown sugar weighs about 13.8 g, against 12.6 g for white sugar. Loose brown sugar is lighter than white, about 9 g per tablespoon, so how you fill the spoon matters more than the type.
How many tablespoons is 9 grams of sugar?
9 grams of granulated sugar is about 0.7 of a US tablespoon, or just over 2 teaspoons. A level teaspoon of sugar weighs about 4.2 g.
More tablespoon to grams conversions
- Sugar tablespoon to grams calculator: converter, formula and full conversion table for granulated sugar.
- How many grams are in a tablespoon?: the full guide for water, flour, salt, honey and more.
- Butter tablespoon to grams (US, UK & Australia): charts for 1 to 9 tbsp and US butter sticks.
- Honey, maple syrup & golden syrup tablespoon to grams: 1 tbsp of honey weighs 21 g.
- Flour tablespoon to grams (plain, all-purpose & UK flour): spooned vs. scooped flour, and UK vs US spoons.
- Tablespoon to grams calculator: convert 35 ingredients both ways.