How Many Grams in an Ounce?

If you have a kitchen scale handy, you know just how much more convenient it is to measure ingredients by weight instead of volume. Forget all the extra cups and spoons you’ll need to wash later; everything can go straight into the mixing bowl with much more exact results, too!

The trouble is that not all recipes are written with consistent units throughout, which only gets more confusing if you need to scale the quantities up or down.

Luckily, this is a relatively easy conversion since both ounces and grams are measurements of weight. The difference is that ounces are part of the imperial system whereas grams are a metric unit of weight.

What Are Grams?

The word “gramme” comes from the French in a decree revising the metric system that dates back to the 1700s. This decree defined the gram as the weight of one cubic centimeter of water.

Grams are described as a unit of mass (weight) as part of the metric system, used internationally. It takes 1000 milligrams to make a gram, and 1 gram is equal to 1/1000^th of a kilogram.

It’s typically used to measure very small items, or when exact weights are critical for success. A metal paperclip is roughly one gram, for example. Grams are especially helpful when measuring ingredients for cooking and baking since they can be used to account for both dry and wet components.

What Are Ounces?

The word “ounce” can be used to describe a measurement of mass, weight, or volume, derived from the ancient Roman “uncia.” It was known as 1/12^th part of any sum, be it a foot or a pound. In this case, we’re talking about weight, as you would often see it used to account for packaged foods, food portions, and more. The written abbreviation is “oz” and there are 16 ounces in 1 pound.

How Many Grams In An Ounce?

Many people will round down to say there are 28 grams in an ounce. To be more precise, here is the exact conversion:

28.3495 grams (g) = 1 ounce (oz)

The trouble is that most digital scales found in home kitchens aren’t calibrated to recognize such exact quantities right down to the decimal point. Thankfully, the difference of .0005 grams is unlikely to throw off any standard cooking or baking procedure.

Here are more common conversions of grams to ounces:

Converting Grams to Ounces

Converting Ounces to Grams

What Are Troy Ounces?

Although still used today regarding precious metals, this standard of measurement is unlikely to come up in the kitchen. 1 troy ounce is equal to 1.097 standard ounces. There are 31.103 grams in 1 troy ounce.

More Kitchen Conversion Resources

• How Many Grams in a Pound
• Cups in a Liter
• Ounces in a Cup
• Ounces in a Pint

We hope you found this metric conversion guide useful and that you now have an understanding of how to convert grams to ounces. This article was written with support from Hannah Kaminsky and edited by Rachel Lessenden.