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UPDATE! We’ve taken an even deeper look into the difference between regular mouth and wide mouth Mason jars – PLUS added details about all the different sizes and shapes of jars too in our new blog post! Check Out Our Updated Size Guide Blog Post! Hey there, Mason jar fans! Today we’re doing a deep-dive into one of the questions that we are mostoften asked – What is the difference between a wide mouth and a regular mouth Mason jar? Let me start by saying this: one of the greatest things about Mason jars is that there are only two lid sizes: again, regular mouth and wide mouth. This means that any regular mouth lid will fit on any regular mouth Mason jar, and any wide mouth lid will fit on any wide mouth Mason jar. For instance, if you like regular mouth jars and you have kiddos, you can give them their milk in a regular mouth 8 oz. jar with a straw lid at breakfast. You could then wash off that very lid and stick it right on your regular mouth 16 oz. jar and take a smoothie with you to work. Back to the question, though. What is the difference between these two lid sizes? The quick, dirty, and literal answer is: about 0.63 inches at the diameter of the jar mouth. But, as everyone knows, it’s not the width of the jar opening that matters, it’s what you can do with it that does. So, here are some of the characteristics, width notwithstanding, that truly differentiate the wide mouth jars from the regular mouth ones: Wide Mouth Jars: These jars are heralded for their ability to accommodate larger items such as pickles, beets, whole fruits, etc. They are believed to be easier to clean since you can usually fit an entire sponge or hand inside. This attribute, in and of itself, is enough to sell Mason jar enthusiasts on the wide mouth jar. But did you know that the wide Mouth jar is specially designed for stacking? With its flat, wide bottom (I feel you there, wide mouth!) and an equally large top opening, this jar is ideal when space is at a premium, whether being used for storage or for canned goods. *Editor’s Note: We realize that stacking canned goods is a polarizing topic. We will be sharing our thoughts on this at a later date! Regular Mouth Jars: Most people know and love this more traditional/familiar Mason Jar shape. A regular mouth jar is tapered at both the top and bottom and has a narrower mouth than its cousin, the wide mouth. Many users prefer this type of jar for jellies, salsas, and sauces. They are also great for holding smaller, loose items, such as spices, thumbtacks, or bobby pins as the smaller mouth facilitates the pouring out of the contents. Regular mouth jars can be slightly more difficult to clean, depending on the consistency of their contents (nut butters, for example), and thus slightly less user-friendly. Also, due to their tapered tops/bottoms, they do not stack very well and tend to wobble or tip. This may not be an issue for you, but it is something to consider when choosing which jars to use for your specific needs. Wide Mouth Pint Regular Mouth Pint For those of you that are visual learners, check out this gem of a video by Maggie from 2015. Mason Jar Lifestyle was just getting started and she gives you the run-down on the types of jars, specifically wide mouth vs. regular mouth, and accompanying products that MJL offers. This video is an oldie, but a goodie, much like Mason jars (regardless of mouth size) themselves! Enjoy the info and the video and then drop us a line to let us know your preference in jar type. Also, be sure to join us on our new Facebook Community – Living the Mason Jar Lifestyle. We have thousands of members and we’re loving the conversations and sharing going on over there. We’d love to have you there with us! Until next time, keep on keeping on with the Mason Jar Lifestyle! Michelle Kettleborough is a life-loving, Denver-based writer and mother-of-two. She has just recently embarked on the Mason jar lifestyle. Keep up with her chronicles here.

Hey there, Mason jar fans!   One of the most common questions we receive at Mason Jar Lifestyle is about Mason jar sizes. “Will this fit on my Mason jar?!”, “Does this fit a regular Mason jar?” and also “Does this fit a normal Mason jar?” And we get it! I’ve been on your side of the computer screen before, finger poised over the Buy Now button of a pair of cute, size 7 shoes wondering, “Will these fit??” I always wear a 7… well almost always. What if this isn’t one of those times! Don’t panic! We’ve decide to put all of your questions about regular mouth and wide mouth Mason jars to rest here in our comprehensive size guide post! We’ve even created an awesome printable you can use at home just to be sure you’re getting the right size accessory for your Mason jar! Read down further for directions and illustrations on how to use it. The Basics Regular Mouth Or Wide Mouth Mason Jar Size Comparison Chart Regular Mouth Wide Mouth Freezable? Jar Sizes and Uses Regular Mouth Jelly Jar – 4 oz – ½ cup Regular Mouth Half-Pint – 8 oz – 1 cup Regular Mouth Three Quarters Pint – 12 oz – 1¼ cups Regular Mouth Pint – 16 oz – 2 cups Regular Mouth Quart – 32 oz – 4 cups Wide Mouth Line Up: Wide Mouth Half-Pint – 8 oz – 1 cup Wide Mouth Pint – 16 oz – 2 cups Wide Mouth Pint and a Half – 24 oz – 3 cups Wide Mouth Quart – 32 oz – 4 cups Wide Mouth Half Gallon – 64 oz – 8 cups How To Use The Mason Jar Size Guide Label Size Guide For Mason Jars First the Basics: Good news! There are only TWO lid sizes for Mason jars – regular and wide mouth – and the difference between them is less than an inch. So whether you have a 4 oz regular mouth jelly jar or a 32 oz regular mouth quart jar – the lid size doesn’t change! Pretty neat, huh?! That means you can give your kid a glass of milk in an 8 oz (half-pint) regular mouth jar with a straw lid and metal straw and then wash and reuse the same lid with a longer straw in your 16 oz (pint) regular mouth jar with cold brewed coffee in it! So much versatility! Also the major Mason jar brands, Ball, Kerr, and Bernardin (their Canadian brand), are made by the same parent company, Newell Brands, so you can expect consistency across the majority of the commercially available Mason jars. These two facts will simplify your accessory shopping for sure!Back To Top   Regular Mouth or Wide Mouth: Both of these a-Mason jars have a lot to offer and canners and Mason jar enthusiasts certainly have their preferences. For me personally, it comes down to what I’m using the jar for that determines if I reach for a wide or regular mouth So let’s compare them and then I’ll show you how to use our nifty printable guide at home.Back To Top   Mason Jar Size Comparison Chart: Regular Mouth Mason Jar Size Ounces Cups Height Width @ Midpoint Straw Size Jelly Jar 4 oz ½ 2 ¼” 2 ¾” N/A Half Pint 8 oz 1 3 ¾” 2 ⅜” Short Three Quarters Pint 12 oz 1½ 5 ¼” 2 ⅜” Medium Pint 16 oz 2 5″ 2 ¾” Medium Quart 32 oz 4 6 ¾” 3 ⅜” Long Wide Mouth Mason Jar Size Ounces Cups Height Width @ Midpoint Straw Size Half Pint 8 oz 1 2 ½” 2 ⅞” N/A Pint 16 oz 2 4 ⅝” 3″ Medium Pint and a Half 24 oz 2 ½ 6 ⅝” 3″ Long Quart 32 oz 4 6 ½” 3 ¼” Long Half Gallon 64 oz 8 9 ⅛” 4″ Extra Long Back To Top   Regular Mouth: The regular mouth jar was the original model and measures 2 ³⁄8″ for the inner diameter and 2¾” for the outer diameter. It often has the iconic Mason jar shape (tapered top and wider at the bottom – just like me!) and is widely popular and available. You can easily score some regular mouth jars at yard sales and your favorite thrift store whenever you need to add to your collection. In generally, canners prefer a regular mouth jar for pourable foods such as sauces, jellies, and jams. Here at Mason Jar Lifestyle, we use accessories to turn our regular mouth jars into almost anything! Below is a chart with the sizes regular mouth jars that are available and some suggested ideas: Regular Mouth Jar Size Type With accessories, it could be used for… 4 oz jelly Snacks, dips, organization, kid-size portions 8 oz half-pint Hot & cold kids cups, crafts, sorting, pen holder 12 oz 3/4 pint Candle holder, dry goods, toothbrush holder 16 oz pint Hot & cold drinks, flower vase, soap pumps 32 oz quart Solar lights, coin banks, bug house, dry goods Back To Top   Wide Mouth: The wide mouth jar is the newer kid on the shelf and measures 3″ for the inner diameter and 3 ³⁄8″ for the outer diameter. This model has a distinct advantage in the cleaning category because it’s much easier to fit your hand and/or sponge into the opening. Canners favor wide mouth jars for whole fruits and veggies as they’re easier to fill. Here at Mason Jar Lifestyle, the wide mouth jars get A LOT of love! We love them for drinking, making salads, and consuming leftovers. Some more ideas include: Wide Mouth Jar Sizes Type With accessories, it could be used for… 8 oz half-pint Snacks, dips, spreads, ramekin with a lid, air freshener 16 oz pint Hot & cold cups, leftovers, to-go lunch, straw organizer 24 oz pint & half To-go smoothies, salads, hot & cold big drinks 32 oz quart Cold brewing coffee, store juice, soup, snacks, nuts, and more 64 oz half-gallon Fermentation, sun tea, dry good storage, countertop compost Back To Top   Freezable? Another popular questions is which jars are freezable and which aren’t. The answer is if the jar has straight sides (no tapering / shoulders) then it’s freezable. On some jars there’s a fill line marked for freezer use but the general rule of thumb is to leave half an inch (½”) of open space at the top to allow for expansion. We’ve marked which ones are freezer safe on our ink friendly printable size guide as well as our expanded versions for your convenience: Jar Sizes and Uses:   The Regular Mouth Mason Jar Line Up   Jelly Jar – 4 oz – ½ cup This sweet little jar is about 2 ¼” tall and is freezable. It’s perfect to use for jellies, jams, customized condiments, jazzed up butters, dipping sauces, and infused vinegars. We love them around Mason Jar Lifestyle to organize office supplies like paperclips, rubber bands, pushpins, and more! They’re also helpful in organizing small bits of craft supplies like buttons or straight pins. Add one of our many decorative lids for style and function! Got a stinky fridge, cabinet, or bathroom? Put some baking soda in your jar with one of our cut out lids for adorable, stink-reduction! But my all time favorite use is for SNACKS! The 4 oz jar is perfect for breaking up big bags of goldfish crackers and other foods that need to be kept airtight and fresh with one of our storage lids – we have stainless steel, cork, or plastic. For snacking kiddos, I recommend adding a silicone sleeve for break protection.Back To Top   Half-Pint – 8 oz – 1 cup The half-pint, regular mouth, Mason jar is about 3 ¾” tall. Canners love this jar for jams, jellies, marmalades, fruit syrups, chutneys, and pizza sauce. It’s also a great fit with our short size straws or grab a combo pack of straight safer or thin bent straws. Around the house, this handy sized jar is perfect for kid’s drinks! I keep an assortment of silicone sleeves, painted straw lids, and metal straws on hand for playdates! Each kid can customize their cup and keep track of it all day (saving my dishpan hands!). We add a silicone drinking lid to the jar and sleeve for kid-sized, hot, to-go drinks – our tradition is hot chocolate in the car while looking at Christmas lights! This jar is also a great size for organizing! Get your craft corner straightened out and stylish with decorative lids. Tidy up your desk with a frog lid to keep your pens in place.Back To Top   Three Quarters Pint – 12 oz – 1¼ cups The quilted jelly jar is the most popular version of the 12 oz Mason jar and it measures about 5 ¼” high. This beauty can be used as a drinking cup with any of our regular mouth lids and medium size straw in stainless steel, glass, or silicone. Here at Mason Jar Lifestyle, we love the 12 oz size for home décor projects and they’re extra attractive with their quilted pattern! Add a regular mouth soap or lotion pump to beautify your bathroom. Tame the sink chaos with a toothbrush holder or sundry lid for cotton balls and swabs. No matter how you decide to use this unique jar, it’s sure to add some style and elegance!Back To Top Pint – 16 oz – 2 cups The regular mouth pint jars are a popular choice, have that iconic Mason jar shape, and measure about 5″ tall. A pint sized jar is great for drinking all sorts of beverages! Throw on a silicone sleeve, drinking lid, and medium straw for your perfect on-the-go cup! Buy staples in bulk? Hey, me too! This size jar makes a perfect counter top container to neatly pour liquids using our cruet lid or stylishly serve sugar with our diner style dispensing lid. You can easily store other dry goods and easily pour them out with a regular mouth pouring lid. Entertaining? The pint size jar is pairs perfectly with our tiki torch lids or table top and hanging candle holders to bring ambiance to your gathering.Back To Top Quart – 32 oz – 4 cups Get ready to meet The Thirst Buster! This quart jar packs 32 glorious ounces of hydration and measures a little under 6 ¾” in height. It’s perfect paired with a silicone sleeve, drinking lid, and long straw for on the go, at the gym, or at your desk! Watch your rainy day vacation fund pile up in a beautiful quart jar by adding a coin slot insert, such as our stainless steel option. You can even decorate the jar with adorable chalkboard labels! A quart jar is also great for bug catching or storing bulk dry goods with a storage lid or pour spout. Back To Top   Wide Mouth Line Up: Half-Pint – 8 oz – 1 cup The 8 oz half-pint jar is short and round (I feel ya, sister!) measuring about 2 ½” tall. Our favorite use for this little cup is SNACKS!!! I mean, who doesn’t like snacks! The wide mouth half-pint has a large opening into which hands easily fit. Plus with a plastic or stainless steel storage lid you can keep your food fresh, air tight, and leak proof! So buy those delicious treats in bulk and easily portion them out when you get home. Whether it’s hummus, ranch, or chocolate ganache, this vessel will accommodate all your dipping needs! You can mix, transport, serve, and store all in the one container. If you’re taking it on-the-go, use a silicone sleeve for added protection (and cuteness!). Add whimsy and rustic charm to your next gathering by serving individual portions of mac & cheese or custards in half-pint Mason jars instead of ramekins – just remember they aren’t high temperature oven safe so stick to no bake recipes like THESE. Here at Mason Jar Lifestyle, we love using the 8 oz jar as an all natural air freshener by combine baking soda, essential oils (optional), and a cutout lid for flair and ventilation. Put one of these in your fridge, bathroom, basement, mudroom, and wherever odor lurk.Back To Top Pint – 16 oz – 2 cups The wide mouth pint is one of our favorite jars at here at MJL (just peek in our dishwasher)! This versatile jar measures about 4 ⅝” high (a little shorter than it’s regular mouth pint jar counterpart) and is a great fit for your hand. This handy jar is probably my favorite go-to for my morning cup for warm coffee, especially when paired with a silicone sleeve and silicone drinking lid with stainless steel band. Pictured here is my coffee in our handsome faux leather sleeve with handle – another great choice! It’s also a great fit with all of our medium size straws or grab a combo pack of straight safer or thin bent straws. Make your life easier with the wide mouth pint as it’s a great fit for putting up individual portions of homemade soup or dinner leftovers for super easy lunch packing. When I do this, I use a silicone lid liner and stainless steel band. Then at reheating time, I only need to remove the metal band and place the lid liner slightly off-center when popping my food in the microwave. Minimizes dishes and keeps the microwave clean – that’s a win/win! If you like to keep things organized, then the wide mouth pint is perfect for keeping pens, markers, brushes, straws, and more neat and tidy – just add a frog/flower lid!   Back To Top   Pint and a Half – 24 oz – 3 cups The pint and a half Mason jar is tied for favorite drinking vessel at the MJL warehouse (again – see dishwasher). With it’s thirst quenching capacity of 24 oz, ability to fit in most car cupholders and sturdy height of 6 ⅝”, it’s the perfect jar for all day hydration. I personally carrying a pint and half around with a silicone sleeve, silicone straw hole lid, and long straw all day long. BONUS: this jar is close in height to the regular and wide mouth quart, so you can use the same size straws for both! Are you a daily smoothie kinda person? Well the pint and a half jar has a similar capacity to many shaker bottles! You can add a ReCap lid, pour and store lid with handle, and/or smoothie straw to make your shake easy to drink and transport. Grabbing a quick bite at your desk? This jar is a great size for storing and reheating leftovers, soups, lentils, or enjoy a fresh green salad.Back To Top Quart – 32 oz – 4 cups The wide mouth quart (about 6 ½” height) and regular mouth quart (about 6 ¾” height) jars are very close in size (about ¼” difference) and are pretty much the same width so you can use the same length straws (long) and silicone sleeves for both. The wide mouth quart is my husband’s go-to jar for drinking at home and the office. Love cold brew coffee? The quart size cold brew coffee filter is my personal favorite (though we have pint and half gallon as well!). It’s so easy to brew and then strain and store in the fridge all in one jar. Try a pour and store lid with handle for freshness and easy serving. Want to brighten up your décor with flowers? Then a wide mouth quart with a frog/flower lid makes that easy and stylish! The wide base makes it a stable vase and the wide mouth gives you lots of room for arranging. Back To Top   Half Gallon – 64 oz – 8 cups The biggest of the wide mouth Mason jars is the half gallon measuring at 9 ⅛” tall. When you need a lot of something – this is the jar for you! I love the half gallon for parties and I make up a big batch of sun tea, fresh lemonade, coffee punch, or another festive beverage and then serve with a pour and store lid with handle. Got a lot to pickle or ferment? Then the half gallon jar is the what you need with a glass fermentation weight, 3 piece air lock, and silicone straw hole lid. The half gallon is also a great size for bulk dry good storage, cold brewing coffee (we have a filter for that!), countertop composting, and so much more! We also sell extra long straws for these big beauties if you’re really thirsty in both stainless steel and glass!Back To Top How To Use The Mason Jar Size Guide: We created this handy dandy Mason jar size guide to help you understand if you have regular or wide mouth Mason jar so that you can order accessories with confidence. For accuracy you’ll want to be sure you’re printing this PDF file on letter size paper (8½” x 11″), in landscape, and at 100% size. You can double check you’ve printed it correctly by measuring one of the circles to see if you have the correct dimensions. Once you have your Mason Jar Lifestyle Size Matters – printable size guide ready, you can lay your jar over top of the circles to see what whether it’s a regular or wide mouth Mason jar: Remember if it’s a Ball, Kerr or Bernardin brand Mason jar, then it’ll be a regular or wide mouth Mason jar (with very few exceptions like the “mini” jar versions – such as the Ball 4oz mini storage jar and Classico Atlas jars). Sometimes you’ll find store brands or other jars out there and they may not fit neatly into the regular or wide mouth categories so make sure you double check what brand your jar is.Back To Top Label Size Guide For Mason Jars: As I was doing my research for this article, I came across another blog post which gives label sizes for various shaped stickers on different canning jars. I thought that might be a helpful reference tool for canners and crafters. You can check out Canning Craft’s Canning Label Sizes blog post if you’re curious! Wow, that’s a lot of information! Hopefully I’ve covered all your Mason jar size related questions. If not, drop a comment below and let me know what you’re still curious about. You can also ask over on social media. Join the conversations going on right now on our Facebook business page, Mason Jar Lifestyle, or Facebook group, Living The Mason Jar Lifestyle! We are also on Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Looking forward to connecting with you soon!Back To Top