Short answer
- A US liquid pint contains 16 US fluid ounces. An imperial pint contains 20 imperial fluid ounces. A US dry pint, used for produce sold by volume, contains about 18.618 US fluid ounces by volume. The three pints are different sizes, and the two kinds of fluid ounce are different sizes too, so the system has to be named before any conversion makes sense. | Pint | Fluid ounces | Milliliters | Where you meet it | |---|---|---|---| | US liquid pint | 16 US fluid ounces | 473.176 ml | US drinks, milk, cream, and cooking liquids | | Imperial pint | 20 imperial fluid ounces | 568.261 ml | UK draught beer and cider, and milk in returnable containers | | US dry pint | About 18.618 US fluid ounces by volume | 550.610 ml | US berries, cherry tomatoes, and other produce sold by volume | If a recipe or jug comes from the United States and involves a liquid, use 16. If it comes from the United Kingdom, use 20. A small US basket of berries is a dry pint, a different measure again.
By Emma Hudson
How many ounces are in a pint? The answer most people expect is 16, and that answer is correct for a US liquid pint. It is not correct for every pint. An imperial pint, the pint used in the United Kingdom, holds 20 imperial fluid ounces, and a US dry pint holds about 18.6 US fluid ounces by volume. This guide gives the full picture for each system, with conversion tables in both directions, worked examples, and the mistakes that cause most kitchen and bar errors.
The US Liquid Pint: 16 US Fluid Ounces
The question how many fl oz in pint has a clean answer in the US liquid system: one US liquid pint contains 16 US fluid ounces. The arithmetic behind it is simple, because the US liquid system is built by halving and doubling at each step:
- 1 US gallon = 4 US quarts = 128 US fluid ounces
- 1 US quart = 2 US pints = 32 US fluid ounces
- 1 US pint = 2 US cups = 16 US fluid ounces
- 1 US cup = 8 US fluid ounces
- 1 US fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons = 6 teaspoons
So a pint is one eighth of a gallon, half a quart, and two cups, all at once. That chain lets you convert between these units without a calculator: halve as you move down toward cups and ounces, and double as you move up toward quarts and gallons.
In metric terms, one US fluid ounce is 29.5735 ml, so one US liquid pint is 16 times 29.5735 ml, which equals 473.176 ml. For everyday cooking, 473 ml is close enough, but the precise figure is the one to use when scaling a recipe or comparing a label with a jug. A US liquid pint is also 28.875 cubic inches, exactly one eighth of the 231 cubic inch US gallon. A half pint is 8 US fluid ounces, or 1 cup, and a quarter pint is 4 US fluid ounces, or half a cup.
The Imperial Pint: 20 Imperial Fluid Ounces
The imperial pint used in the United Kingdom is larger than the US liquid pint in two ways at once: it contains more ounces, and its ounces are slightly smaller. One imperial pint contains 20 imperial fluid ounces. One imperial fluid ounce is 28.4131 ml, so 20 times 28.4131 ml equals 568.261 ml. UK law defines the pint as 0.56826125 cubic decimeter (568.26125 ml) and the imperial gallon as 4.54609 liters, with the pint as one eighth of that gallon.
That makes the imperial pint about 20.1 percent larger by volume than the US liquid pint, because 568.261 divided by 473.176 is about 1.201. The ounce count is 25 percent higher, because 20 divided by 16 is 1.25. The gap between those percentages is the difference in ounce size, which is why ounces cannot be swapped between systems without naming the ounce.
Cross system figures make the gap concrete. One imperial pint equals about 19.215 US fluid ounces by volume, and one US liquid pint equals about 16.653 imperial fluid ounces by volume. Neither figure is a whole number, which is why crossing systems is safest in milliliters: convert to ml first, then into the target system.
The classic place this matters is beer. A pint of draught beer in a London pub is an imperial pint of 568 ml, a use protected in UK law for draught beer and cider and for milk in returnable containers. A pint in an American bar is a US liquid pint of 473 ml. The gap is about 95.085 ml per pint, roughly a fifth of a US pint.
The US Dry Pint: About 18.6 Fluid Ounces by Volume
A US dry pint is a volume measure for dry goods, not liquids. It is one eighth of a US dry gallon and half of a US dry quart, and it equals 550.610 ml. Divided by 29.5735 ml, that is about 18.618 US fluid ounces by volume. A dry pint is also 33.600 cubic inches, larger than the 28.875 cubic inches of a liquid pint.
You meet dry pints most often as small baskets or cartons of soft fruit and vegetables: a pint of blueberries, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a pint of mushrooms at a market stall. The basket is a dry pint measure, even though nobody measures the fruit with a jug. The important point is that a dry pint is not 16 fluid ounces. It is about 16.4 percent larger by volume than a liquid pint, so if a recipe calls for a pint of berries and you measure out 16 fluid ounces of them in a liquid jug, you will be about 14 percent short.
A dry pint measures volume, not weight. A dry pint of blueberries does not weigh the same as a dry pint of cherry tomatoes, because the fruits pack differently and have different densities. Two baskets can both be honest dry pints and still hold different weights. If a recipe needs an exact weight, weigh the produce rather than trusting the basket.
There is no separate imperial dry pint in current UK use: the imperial pint is 568.261 ml for dry and liquid capacity alike. The dry and liquid split is a US feature.
Converting Pints to Ounces and Ounces to Pints
Converting between pints and ounces uses one pair of formulas per system. The number is 16 for US liquid measures and 20 for imperial measures.
US liquid system:
- Fluid ounces = pints times 16
- Pints = fluid ounces divided by 16
Imperial system:
- Fluid ounces = pints times 20
- Pints = fluid ounces divided by 20
Pints to ounces, both systems
| Pints | US liquid fluid ounces | Imperial fluid ounces | US liquid ml | Imperial ml |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25 pint | 4 fl oz | 5 fl oz | 118 ml | 142 ml |
| 0.5 pint | 8 fl oz | 10 fl oz | 237 ml | 284 ml |
| 1 pint | 16 fl oz | 20 fl oz | 473 ml | 568 ml |
| 1.5 pints | 24 fl oz | 30 fl oz | 710 ml | 852 ml |
| 2 pints | 32 fl oz | 40 fl oz | 946 ml | 1,137 ml |
| 2.5 pints | 40 fl oz | 50 fl oz | 1,183 ml | 1,421 ml |
| 3 pints | 48 fl oz | 60 fl oz | 1,420 ml | 1,705 ml |
| 4 pints | 64 fl oz | 80 fl oz | 1,893 ml | 2,273 ml |
| 5 pints | 80 fl oz | 100 fl oz | 2,366 ml | 2,841 ml |
| 6 pints | 96 fl oz | 120 fl oz | 2,839 ml | 3,410 ml |
| 8 pints | 128 fl oz | 160 fl oz | 3,785 ml | 4,546 ml |
| 10 pints | 160 fl oz | 200 fl oz | 4,732 ml | 5,683 ml |
The milliliter columns are rounded to the nearest ml. The 8 pint row is a useful check: it gives 1 gallon in each system.
Ounces to pints, both systems
| Fluid ounces | US liquid pints | Imperial pints |
|---|---|---|
| 4 fl oz | 0.25 pint | 0.2 pint |
| 8 fl oz | 0.5 pint | 0.4 pint |
| 12 fl oz | 0.75 pint | 0.6 pint |
| 16 fl oz | 1 pint | 0.8 pint |
| 20 fl oz | 1.25 pints | 1 pint |
| 24 fl oz | 1.5 pints | 1.2 pints |
| 32 fl oz | 2 pints | 1.6 pints |
| 40 fl oz | 2.5 pints | 2 pints |
| 48 fl oz | 3 pints | 2.4 pints |
| 64 fl oz | 4 pints | 3.2 pints |
| 96 fl oz | 6 pints | 4.8 pints |
| 128 fl oz | 8 pints | 6.4 pints |
Read this table carefully, because it shows both systems side by side. Sixteen US fluid ounces are 1 US pint but only 0.8 of an imperial pint, and 20 imperial fluid ounces are 1 imperial pint. Keep the ounces and pints from the same system together, and use milliliters as the bridge when you have to cross over.
Pints With Cups, Quarts, and Gallons
Because pints sit in the middle of the US liquid chain, they convert neatly to their neighbors:
- 1 US pint = 2 US cups = 16 US fluid ounces
- 2 US pints = 1 US quart = 32 US fluid ounces
- 4 US pints = 2 US quarts = 64 US fluid ounces, which is half a US gallon
- 8 US pints = 1 US gallon = 128 US fluid ounces
- 1 US pint = 0.5 US quart = 0.125 US gallon
The imperial chain has the same shape but different sizes:
- 1 imperial pint = 4 imperial gills = 20 imperial fluid ounces
- 2 imperial pints = 1 imperial quart = 40 imperial fluid ounces
- 8 imperial pints = 1 imperial gallon = 160 imperial fluid ounces
The count of pints in a gallon is 8 in both systems. The sizes are not the same, because a US gallon is 3,785.412 ml and an imperial gallon is 4,546.09 ml.
Metric amounts convert just as directly. One liter is about 2.113 US liquid pints, or about 1.760 imperial pints. A 500 ml bottle is about 1.057 US liquid pints, or about 16.907 US fluid ounces, and a 750 ml bottle is about 1.585 US liquid pints. To convert milliliters to US liquid pints, divide by 473.176; to convert to imperial pints, divide by 568.261. To go the other way, multiply pints by the same figure.
Worked Examples
Example 1: scaling a recipe up. A US soup recipe uses 1.5 pints of stock, and you want to double it. Doubling gives 3 pints, which is 48 US fluid ounces, 6 cups, or 1.5 quarts.
Example 2: scaling a recipe down. A US recipe calls for 24 US fluid ounces of cream, but your jug is marked in pints. Divide 24 by 16 to get 1.5 pints. Half the recipe needs 0.75 pint, or 12 US fluid ounces.
Example 3: a UK recipe in a US kitchen. A British recipe calls for 2 imperial pints of milk. That is 40 imperial fluid ounces, or 2 times 568.261 ml, about 1,137 ml. In US units that is about 2.40 US liquid pints, not 2 pints. Using 2 US pints instead would give 946 ml and leave the recipe about 191 ml short.
Example 4: a US recipe in a UK kitchen. A US recipe calls for 2 US liquid pints of water, which is 32 US fluid ounces, or about 946 ml. In imperial terms, 946 divided by 568.261 is about 1.66 imperial pints. Filling a UK pint measure twice would add about 1,137 ml, roughly 191 ml too much.
Example 5: drinks for a group. A US punch recipe needs 6 pints of juice. Six pints is 96 US fluid ounces, 12 cups, 3 quarts, or 0.75 US gallon. If the juice comes in 64 fluid ounce bottles, you need one and a half bottles, because 96 divided by 64 is 1.5.
Example 6: the berry basket. A recipe calls for 2 dry pints of blueberries. Two dry pints are about 37.237 US fluid ounces by volume (2 times 18.618) and about 1,101 ml (2 times 550.610). Measuring 32 US fluid ounces in a liquid jug, on the mistaken idea that every pint is 16 ounces, would leave you about 5.2 fluid ounces short.
Fluid Ounces Versus Ounces on a Scale
A second trap is the word ounce itself. A fluid ounce measures volume, how much space something takes up. An ounce on a kitchen scale, an avoirdupois ounce, measures weight. One avoirdupois ounce is 28.3495 grams, and 16 of them make 1 pound (453.592 grams).
One US fluid ounce of water weighs a little more than one weight ounce, about 1.043 weight ounces, because 29.5735 ml of water weighs about 29.5735 grams and a weight ounce is 28.3495 grams. That near match for water is why the two ounces get confused, but it fails for anything denser or lighter than water. Honey and syrup are denser, so a fluid ounce of either weighs more than a fluid ounce of water; oil is lighter, so a fluid ounce weighs less. Flour breaks the idea completely, because its weight in a cup changes with how tightly it is packed.
So when a recipe says a pint, it means a volume, and the conversion is 16 US fluid ounces regardless of what is in the jug. When a recipe says 16 ounces of flour, it usually means weight, and you should reach for the scale, not the jug. The old saying that a pint is a pound is only roughly true for a US liquid pint of water, which weighs about 1.043 pounds, and not for an imperial pint of water, which weighs about 1.25 pounds.
Why Are There Two Different Pints?
The US and UK systems share names but not definitions, because they diverged in the nineteenth century. The United States kept older English measures based on the wine gallon of 231 cubic inches. The United Kingdom reorganized its system in 1824 around a new imperial gallon, later defined exactly as 4.54609 liters. That larger gallon produced a larger pint, and because the imperial gallon is divided into 160 fluid ounces rather than 128, it also produced a slightly smaller fluid ounce. NIST notes the same contrast in its tables of British units.
Neither system is wrong; they are simply different, and the confusion comes only from using the same words for both. The practical fix is to name the system: 16 US fluid ounces and 20 imperial fluid ounces are unambiguous, while 16 ounces on its own, in an international recipe, is not.
Practical Uses
In cooking, pints appear in recipes for soups, sauces, custards, and drinks, and in the sizes of US cream, milk, and ice cream containers. In drinks service, draught beer and cider are sold by the pint or half pint in the UK, and US bars commonly use a 16 fluid ounce glass for a pint serving, although the pour can be a little less if the glass is not filled to the brim.
In food shopping, pints appear on US produce baskets, where they mean dry pints, and on milk containers in both systems, where they mean liquid pints. In school work, the pint is a useful teaching unit precisely because it is not universal: converting it forces you to state the system, the factor, and the rounding.
Common Mistakes
- Using 16 for a UK recipe. A British recipe calling for a pint of milk means 568 ml, not 473 ml. Using the US figure leaves you about 95 ml short per pint.
- Using 20 for a US recipe. The reverse error adds about 95 ml per pint, which matters in baking and in drinks where balance counts.
- Measuring a dry pint as a liquid pint. A basket of berries is a dry pint of about 18.6 fluid ounces by volume, not a liquid pint of 16.
- Mixing ounce sizes. Dividing imperial ounces by 16, or US ounces by 20, gives a plausible looking but wrong answer. Always divide by the number that belongs to the system your ounces came from.
- Treating fluid ounces as weight. A pint is always a volume. Ingredients specified by weight need a scale, not a jug.
- Forgetting that cups differ in context too. A US cup is 8 US fluid ounces, while many modern UK recipes use a metric cup of 250 ml or give weights in grams instead, so check the origin of the recipe before trusting any cup figure in it.
The Rule to Remember
Name the pint before you convert it. Once the system is named, the arithmetic for liquid measures is just multiplication or division by 16 or 20, and the most common pint mistake disappears.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many ounces are in a pint?
There are 16 US fluid ounces in a US liquid pint, 20 imperial fluid ounces in an imperial pint, and about 18.618 US fluid ounces by volume in a US dry pint. For liquids in the United States the answer is 16; in the United Kingdom it is 20.
How many fl oz in a pint of beer?
In the UK, a pint of beer is an imperial pint of 20 imperial fluid ounces, or 568 ml. In the US, it is a US liquid pint of 16 US fluid ounces, or 473 ml. Some US bars serve beer in 16 ounce glasses that are not filled to the brim, so the pour can be a little less, but the measure itself is 16 fluid ounces.
How many ounces are in half a pint?
Half a US liquid pint is 8 US fluid ounces, or 1 US cup. Half an imperial pint is 10 imperial fluid ounces. Half a US dry pint is about 9.309 US fluid ounces by volume.
How many pints are in a gallon?
There are 8 pints in a gallon in both systems. The sizes are not the same, because a US gallon is 3,785.412 ml and an imperial gallon is 4,546.09 ml.
How many pints are in a quart?
There are 2 pints in a quart in both systems. A US quart is 32 US fluid ounces and an imperial quart is 40 imperial fluid ounces, so the quart has the same size gap as the pint.
How do I convert ounces to pints?
For US liquid measures, divide the fluid ounces by 16. For imperial measures, divide by 20. So 32 US fluid ounces is 2 US pints, and 40 imperial fluid ounces is 2 imperial pints.
How do I convert pints to ounces without a calculator?
For US pints, multiply by 16, or remember that each pint is two cups of 8 ounces. For imperial pints, multiply by 20, which is the same as doubling the number and adding a zero: 3 imperial pints is 3 times 2, which is 6, with a zero added, giving 60 fluid ounces.
Is a pint the same as a pound?
No. A pint is a volume and a pound is a weight. A US liquid pint of water weighs about 1.043 pounds, so the old saying is only approximately true for water in the US system, and an imperial pint of water weighs about 1.25 pounds. For other foods, the weight of a pint depends on density and packing.
How many milliliters are in a pint?
A US liquid pint is 473.176 ml, an imperial pint is 568.261 ml, and a US dry pint is 550.610 ml. For rough kitchen work, 473 ml, 568 ml, and 551 ml are close enough; for scaling or science work, use the fuller figures.
What is a dry pint used for?
A US dry pint is used for produce sold by volume, such as blueberries, cherry tomatoes, and mushrooms in baskets or cartons. It is a volume of 550.610 ml, not a weight, so two dry pints of different produce can weigh different amounts.
Keep reading: How Many Ounces in a Gallon
Keep reading: Milliliters in a Gallon
Sources & references
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Handbook 44, Appendix C, General Tables of Units of Measurement. Used for the US liquid measure chain (16 fluid ounces = 1 pint; 2 pints = 1 quart; 4 quarts = 1 gallon of 231 cubic inches = 128 fluid ounces), for 1 US fluid ounce = 29.57353 ml, for 1 US liquid pint = 473.1765 ml, for 1 US dry pint = 0.5506105 liter (550.610 ml) and 33.6003125 cubic inches, for the dry pint as half a dry quart, and for the notes on British units (20 fluid ounces = 1 pint; 8 pints = 1 gallon of 160 fluid ounces). https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/2024/01/14/NIST%20HB%2044%202024%20Appendix%20C%20General%20Tables%20of%20Units%20of%20Measurement.pdf
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Metric Kitchen: Cooking Measurement Equivalencies. Used for the rounded home cooking equivalents that place 16 fluid ounces (1 pint, 2 cups) at about 480 ml and 1 gallon (128 fluid ounces) at about 3.84 liters, and for the weight equivalents of 28 g for 1 ounce by weight and 454 g for 1 pound. https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/metric-si/metric-kitchen/metric-kitchen-cooking-measurement-equivalencies
- Weights and Measures Act 1985, Schedule 1, as published by legislation.gov.uk. Used for the imperial pint defined as 0.56826125 cubic decimeter, the imperial gallon as 4.54609 cubic decimeters, the imperial quart as one quarter of a gallon, the imperial fluid ounce as 1/20 of a pint, and the avoirdupois ounce as 1/16 of a pound and the pound as 0.45359237 kilogram. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/72/schedules/2009-11-13?view=plain+extent
- The Units of Measurement Regulations 1995, Schedule, as published by legislation.gov.uk. Used for the imperial fluid ounce as 28.4130625 milliliters, the pint as 0.56826125 liter, the gallon as 4.54609 liters, and the avoirdupois ounce as 28.349523125 grams. https://www.legislation.gov.uk:443/uksi/1995/1804/made/data.xht
