Tablespoons to mL converter, 14.79 or 15, both shown.

To convert US tablespoons to milliliters, multiply by 14.7868. So 1 tbsp is 14.7868 mL, 2 tbsp is 29.5735 mL and 4 tbsp is 59.147 mL. Many labels and recipes round a tablespoon to 15 mL, and the card As label tablespoons (15 mL) in milliliters shows that answer, 15 mL for each. The difference is about 1.4 percent, small for one spoon and noticeable for sixteen.

How to use the converter

1. Type the amount in the US tablespoons (tbsp) box. A decimal such as 2.5 or a fraction such as 3/4 works.
2. The big result shows Milliliters (mL). Use Decimals in the side column to fix the number of places.
3. Under it, the label-tablespoon card gives the 15 mL version, and other cards give teaspoons, fluid ounces and cups.
4. Type milliliters in the second box, or press ⇄, for mL to tablespoons.
5. Click a row in Common values to load it. Copy result, Copy link, Copy table and Print chart keep the answer. Start again resets the box.

Two definitions

NIST Handbook 44 (2026), Appendix C says a tablespoon is exactly 3 teaspoons and exactly half a US fluid ounce, with the rounded value "15 milliliters" beside it (checked 24 Oct 2026). Half a fluid ounce of 29.5735295625 mL is 14.786765 mL, which NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 prints as 1.478 676 E+01. The label rule, 21 CFR 101.9(b)(5)(viii), says a tablespoon means 15 mL and a teaspoon 5 mL for nutrition labelling (checked 24 Oct 2026). Neither is wrong: one is the exact US unit and the other is a rounded value for labels.

Worked examples

• 2 tbsp of oil. 2 × 14.7868 = 29.57 mL. That is exactly 1 fluid ounce, since a tablespoon is half of one.
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce. 44.36 mL, or 44 mL to the nearest whole mL. With 15 mL spoons it is 45 mL.
• 1 1/2 tbsp of vinegar. Type 1 1/2 and read 22.18 mL.
• 8 tbsp of butter. 118.3 mL, which is half a cup.
• 0.5 tbsp. 7.393 mL, which is 1.5 teaspoons.
• mL back to tablespoons. 45 mL ÷ 14.7868 = 3.043 US tablespoons, or exactly 3 label tablespoons.

The US spoon ladder in mL

Scaling a recipe in spoons

If a sauce uses 3 tbsp of oil and you triple it, you need 9 tbsp, which is 133.1 mL with the US spoon, or 135 mL with 15 mL spoons. Over a whole batch the two differ by 1.9 mL, about 1.4 percent. For soups that never shows. For a cure, a cake or a cocktail, use one value all the way through.

The other direction, in a table

Use the swap button to run this table in the page. A value like 20 mL is one and a third label tablespoons but about 1.35 US ones.

Mistakes to avoid

The first is mixing the tablespoon with the dessertspoon or with a teaspoon: a tablespoon is 3 teaspoons, so 1 tbsp = 3 tsp. The second is using the tablespoon of a country this page does not cover. Only the US and label values are shown, since those are the ones with an official source here. If a recipe gives its own mL for a spoon, use that number. The third is a heaped or flat spoon. A level spoon is the unit; heaped spoons hold more.

Related pages: mL to tablespoons, Tablespoons to cups, Tablespoons to teaspoons and Cups to tablespoons.