What Is a Simple Syrup Ratio Calculator?
Simple syrup recipes are almost always described as a ratio of sugar to water by volume — 1:1 for standard syrup, 2:1 for rich syrup used in cocktails and iced coffee. This calculator takes your chosen ratio and a target batch volume and converts it into exact cup measurements and gram weights for both sugar and water.
Working from a ratio means you can scale to any batch size — a single cup for one drink or a multi-quart batch for a party — without redoing the math by hand.
How to Read Your Results
Sugar Needed & Water Needed
The volume of each ingredient, in cups, to combine before heating and dissolving.
Sugar Weight & Water Weight
The same amounts converted to grams, using standard densities (about 200 g per cup of granulated sugar and about 237 g per cup of water), useful if you prefer to weigh ingredients on a kitchen scale for accuracy.
Real-World Example
You want 2 cups of standard 1:1 simple syrup for a batch of lemonade.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1.00 cup | 200 g |
| Water | 1.00 cup | 237 g |
| Target syrup volume | 2.00 cups | — |
Combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, warm gently until the sugar fully dissolves, then cool and bottle. If you switched to a 2:1 rich ratio for the same 2-cup batch, you'd instead use about 1.33 cups sugar and 0.67 cups water.
Tips for Simple Syrup
- You don't need to boil it — warming the water until just hot to the touch is enough to fully dissolve granulated sugar.
- Use superfine (caster) sugar if you want the syrup to come together faster at a lower temperature.
- Rich (2:1) syrup is noticeably thicker and sweetens drinks more per ounce, so use it a little more sparingly than standard syrup.
- Flavor it while warm by steeping herbs, citrus peel or spices in the syrup as it cools, then strain before bottling.
Related Calculators
Last updated: August 2026 · Reviewed by: Simple Calculator Tools Editorial Team