When families shop for keepsake urns for ashes, the first question is almost always practical: “How much fits?” Capacity is usually listed in cubic inches, but many people intuitively think in kitchen measurements like tablespoons. This page bridges that gap with a simple conversion you can trust and a quick cheat sheet for the keepsake sizes families use most often.
One quick grounding point helps: on Funeral.com, keepsake urns are described as designed to hold a small portion of remains and are typically under 7 cubic inches. That “under 7” range is what makes keepsakes shareable across siblings, households, and memorial plans. Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes
First, the Two Units You’re Comparing
Cubic inches is a volume measurement (how much space is inside the urn). Cremated remains are measured by volume for urn selection, which is why product listings use cubic inches. A tablespoon is also a volume measurement, but it’s a kitchen unit. This cheat sheet uses the U.S. tablespoon definition (not UK or “heaping” spoons).
The conversion is based on two standard volume constants: 1 U.S. tablespoon = 14.7867648 mL and 1 cubic inch = 16.387064 mL. US tablespoon to mL cubic inch to mL
From those, you get two helpful rules that make the math easy.
1 cubic inch ≈ 1.11 U.S. tablespoons
1 U.S. tablespoon ≈ 0.90 cubic inchesThese are approximations on purpose. Cremated remains can settle and compact slightly depending on how they were processed and how they’re handled, so tablespoons are best used as a “feel” for capacity, not as a precision measuring tool.
Cheat Sheet: Keepsake Urn Cubic Inches to Tablespoons
This is the table most families actually need, because keepsake urns are usually described in cubic inches. Think of this as your fast translation into “about how many tablespoons of space.”
| Keepsake Capacity (cubic inches) | Approx. U.S. Tablespoons of Space | Approx. U.S. Teaspoons of Space |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cu in | 1.1 tbsp | 3.3 tsp |
| 2 cu in | 2.2 tbsp | 6.6 tsp |
| 3 cu in | 3.3 tbsp | 10.0 tsp |
| 4 cu in | 4.4 tbsp | 13.3 tsp |
| 5 cu in | 5.5 tbsp | 16.6 tsp |
| 6 cu in | 6.6 tbsp | 19.9 tsp |
| 7 cu in | 7.8 tbsp | 23.3 tsp |
That last line (7 cubic inches) is useful for planning because it’s roughly the top end of what Funeral.com describes as a typical keepsake urn range. Keepsake urns typically under 7 cubic inches
Reverse Cheat Sheet: Tablespoons to Cubic Inches
If you’re portioning ashes and thinking, “I want each keepsake to have about a tablespoon,” this table tells you roughly what urn capacity you’re looking for.
| U.S. Tablespoons | Approx. Cubic Inches Needed |
|---|---|
| 1 tbsp | 0.9 cu in |
| 2 tbsp | 1.8 cu in |
| 3 tbsp | 2.7 cu in |
| 4 tbsp | 3.6 cu in |
| 5 tbsp | 4.5 cu in |
| 6 tbsp | 5.4 cu in |
| 8 tbsp | 7.2 cu in |
| 10 tbsp | 9.0 cu in |
| 12 tbsp | 10.8 cu in |
A practical takeaway: once you get beyond about 7–8 tablespoons of space, you’re usually pushing beyond the “typical keepsake” range and into a small cremation urn or “sharing urn” category instead of a mini keepsake. Funeral.com describes small cremation urns as generally under about 28 cubic inches, which is often the right fit when a household wants a more substantial portion rather than a small token share. Small Cremation Urns for Ashes
What This Means in Real Keepsake Plans
If you’re planning to share ashes among siblings or adult children, most families choose a “symbolic but real” portion for each keepsake rather than trying to divide everything evenly by kitchen volume. Keepsakes are meant to be personal, not mathematical. That said, the cheat sheet helps you sanity-check your plan. If someone says, “I want a few tablespoons,” you can immediately see that a 3 cubic inch keepsake is in that neighborhood.
For a concrete example of how capacities are listed, Funeral.com’s Aero Butterfly Heart Keepsake Urn lists a capacity of 3 cubic inches, which the table above translates to about 3.3 tablespoons of space. It’s a classic “heart keepsake” size that works well when multiple people are sharing. If your plan is one keepsake for each sibling, pieces in the 3–5 cubic inch range often feel balanced: meaningful without requiring the keepsake to become a larger display urn.
If your plan is “two households want meaningful portions,” many families do better with two small cremation urns (larger partial shares) and then add smaller keepsakes for children or travel. This avoids the common problem of trying to make a tiny keepsake carry emotional weight it wasn’t built to carry.
When to Size Up (Even If the Math Says You Don’t Need To)
Capacity math is a guide, but the lived experience is about how the urn closes and how calm the transfer feels. Families often size up when weight is an estimate, when the remains are returned in a bulky inner bag, when they want to include tiny mementos (a collar tag, a small note), or when they want the keepsake to feel less “token” and more like a small memorial object.
If the keepsake is being carried or handled often, closure security matters just as much as capacity. In those cases, families sometimes choose to keep the majority of ashes stable in a primary urn and use smaller formats for sharing and carrying, such as cremation jewelry. A necklace or pendant typically holds a pinch by design, which can be emotionally perfect when someone wants closeness without another container on a shelf. Cremation Jewelry Cremation Necklaces
Where to Shop by “Amount” on Funeral.com
If you want a simple way to match your plan to the right product category, these links keep it straightforward. Use keepsake urns for ashes when you want a small, shareable portion and a compact memorial. Use small cremation urns when you want a larger portion for a second household. Use cremation urns for ashes for full-size primary urns. And if this is a pet memorial sharing plan, the dedicated category is pet keepsake cremation urns.
The Bottom Line
Most keepsake urns are intentionally small—often under 7 cubic inches—because they’re designed for sharing and symbolic portions. Keepsake urns (typically under 7 cubic inches) If you’re translating that into kitchen language, 1 cubic inch is about 1.11 tablespoons, so a 3 cubic inch keepsake is about 3.3 tablespoons of space and a 7 cubic inch keepsake is about 7.8 tablespoons. The cheat sheet above is meant to reduce uncertainty, not create a new “measuring project.” Choose the amount that feels right, then choose the container category that makes that plan calm.
