Milliliters to teaspoons converter, how many mL are in a teaspoon.

To convert milliliters to teaspoons, divide by 4.92892. For a quick answer, divide by 5, the size of a teaspoon on a food label. So 5 mL is 1.01442 US teaspoons or exactly 1 label teaspoon, and 10 mL is 2.02884 US teaspoons or exactly 2 label teaspoons. Small amounts are where the two answers part by a visible step, so the tool shows both.

How to use the converter

1. Type the amount in the Milliliters (mL) box.
2. The big result shows US teaspoons. The Label teaspoons (5 mL) card divides by 5, and other cards give tablespoons, fluid ounces and cups.
3. Type teaspoons in the second box to see how many milliliters they hold, or press S to swap.
4. Set Decimals to 2 for a kitchen answer. Auto shows five or more.
5. Pick a row from Common values, then use Copy result or Copy link.

Where the sizes come from

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C lists the teaspoon, measuring, as one third of a tablespoon exactly, and the tablespoon as half a fluid ounce exactly. That makes a US teaspoon 4.92892 mL, a figure that agrees with NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8. The same Handbook gives 5 milliliters for the teaspoon after rounding to the nearest milliliter. Pages checked 19 Oct 2026.

21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), read on the Legal Information Institute copy of the regulation, says a teaspoon means 5 mL for nutrition labeling. A label teaspoon is about 1.44 percent bigger than a US measuring teaspoon, so 5 mL is 1.01442 of one. The pages checked say nothing about the spoons of other countries.

Milliliters to teaspoons, both ways

The label column is simply the milliliters divided by 5, so it is easy to check. The US column is the one to use with a real measuring spoon.

Worked examples

• 2.5 mL. 2.5 ÷ 4.92892 = 0.5072 US teaspoons. That is half a label teaspoon (0.5).
• 7.5 mL. 1.5216 US teaspoons, against 1.5 on the label rule.
• 15 mL. 3.0433 US teaspoons, which is 1.0144 US tablespoons. On the label rule it is 3 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon.
• 1 mL. 0.20288 US teaspoons, or one fifth of a label teaspoon.
• Back again, 2 teaspoons. 2 × 4.92892 = 9.858 mL, against 10 mL on the label rule.

The other cards

Under the big result the tool shows the same volume as US tablespoons, fluid ounces and cups. For 30 mL these are 2.029 tablespoons, 1.014 fluid ounces and 0.127 cups. The label rule in 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii) also says 1 fl oz means 30 mL, so on a label 30 mL is one fluid ounce and six teaspoons. Use the cards when the recipe asks for a bigger spoon or a cup and you have only the teaspoon amount.

Which teaspoon to use

A label teaspoon is 1.44 percent bigger than a US measuring teaspoon, and the gap is the same share of any amount. Measure with a spoon that is marked, level it off, and use the US column if the spoon is a US measuring spoon. If the recipe came with milliliters, ask which spoon it assumed.

Teaspoons back to milliliters

Three teaspoons are one tablespoon, so 3 US teaspoons are 14.787 mL and the label rule gives 15 mL. The gap in milliliters grows with the count, though it stays the same share, from 4.929 mL against 5 mL at one teaspoon to 29.574 mL against 30 mL at six.

Mistakes that are specific to milliliters and teaspoons

The first is to take a milliliter for a teaspoon. 1 mL is only a fifth of a teaspoon, so a recipe that asks for 5 mL needs one teaspoon and not five. The second is to confuse the teaspoon with the tablespoon: 15 mL is three teaspoons on the label rule, and one tablespoon. The third is to forget that a spoon measures volume, so the answer says nothing about grams. The fourth is to round too early. 7.5 mL is 1.5 label teaspoons but 1.5216 US teaspoons, and rounding both to one decimal gives 1.5.

Who uses milliliters to teaspoons

Cooks reading a bottle that gives mL for a flavor or an extract. People following a recipe written for a country that cooks in milliliters. Bakers who want to be sure of a small amount. For medicine, follow the label and the device in the box. This page does only the maths. For larger amounts use ML to tablespoons. To go from tablespoons to teaspoons use Tablespoons to teaspoons.