US Butter Stick: The Definitive Reference
The US stick of butter is the single most asked-about butter measurement. One stick weighs exactly 113 grams (4 oz), holds 8 tablespoons, and equals ½ cup. US butter is sold in 1-pound (454 g) packages with 4 sticks — each pre-printed with tablespoon markings on the wrapper.
US vs. European Butter Packaging
| Package | Weight | Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| US stick | 113 g (4 oz) | 8 tbsp / ½ cup |
| US 1-pound block (4 sticks) | 454 g | 2 cups / 32 tbsp |
| European 250 g block | 250 g | ≈ 2.21 sticks / 17.6 tbsp |
| European 125 g block | 125 g | ≈ 1.1 sticks / 8.8 tbsp |
If a UK or Australian recipe calls for "250 g butter," that is just over 2 US sticks (226 g), so add one extra tablespoon (~14 g) to reach 250 g exactly.
Formula
Every conversion goes through grams as the base unit:
- Grams = Sticks × 113
- Grams = Cups × 227
- Grams = Tablespoons × 14.175 (113 ÷ 8)
- Grams = Ounces × 28.35
Measuring Butter Without a Scale
The pre-marked wrapper is the easiest method: each line represents 1 tablespoon (14 g). To measure ⅓ cup without markings: 1 stick is ½ cup (8 tbsp), so ⅓ cup = 5 tbsp + 1 tsp (about 76 g). The water-displacement method also works for softened butter that has been removed from its wrapper — put 1 cup of water in a 2-cup measuring cup, then add butter until the water line reaches 1⅓ cups; drain the water and you have ⅓ cup (75 g) of butter.
Baking with Salted vs. Unsalted Butter
Most baking recipes call for unsalted butter so the baker can control salt levels precisely. Salted butter contains about 1.5–2% salt — roughly ¼ tsp per stick. If a recipe specifies unsalted and you only have salted, reduce the recipe's added salt by ¼ tsp per stick. The gram weight is the same for both.
For more on butter substitutions, see our article on converting butter to oil and our guide on how much is a stick of butter.