Pip value calculator for forex, gold and silver

The formula

Pip value = pip size × contract size × lots, converted into your account currency. The pip size is 0.0001 on most pairs, 0.01 on pairs quoted in yen, $0.10 on gold in the convention used here and $0.01 on silver. The contract is 100,000 units for forex, 100 ounces for gold and 5,000 ounces for silver.

So one lot of EUR/USD is 100,000 × 0.0001 = 10 US dollars a pip. The pip value is always worked out first in the quote currency, the second one in the pair, and then converted into yours. On EUR/GBP it is £10 a lot. On USD/JPY it is 1,000 yen, which is $6.67 at a USD/JPY rate of 150.

When the pip value is fixed and when it moves

If your account is in the quote currency, the pip value never changes. A dollar account trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD or gold always gets $10 a pip on one lot, whatever the price. If it is not, the pip value moves a little with the exchange rate every day: a pound account trading EUR/USD gets $10 a lot converted into pounds at the day’s rate. That is why the calculator shows the rate it used and lets you type your own from your platform.

Pip values to remember, dollar account

For any other pair or account currency, the table at the top of this page converts every market at the current rate.

Pip, pipette and point

A pipette is a tenth of a pip: the fifth decimal on EUR/USD, the third on USD/JPY, the second on gold in this convention. Many platforms show it, and MetaTrader calls the smallest price step a point. Signals are written in pips. When a channel quotes points, ask how it counts them before converting anything, because the answer can differ by a factor of ten.

Where this fits

A pip value on its own does not tell you how big to trade. Our lot size calculator uses these values to turn a signal’s stop into a lot size, and the position sizing guide explains why that number matters more than any entry.

Questions

How much is a pip worth on 0.01 lots?

On EUR/USD and the other pairs quoted in US dollars, $0.10 for a dollar account. On gold, also $0.10, with one pip counted as $0.10 of price.

How much is 1 pip on 1 lot?

$10 on any pair quoted in US dollars, and on gold, for a dollar account. On other pairs it is 10 units of the quote currency, or 1,000 on yen pairs where the pip is 0.01, converted into yours: £10 on EUR/GBP for a pound account.

Why is the pip value different on yen pairs?

The pip is 0.01 instead of 0.0001, and the value lands in yen: 1,000 yen a pip on one lot. At a USD/JPY rate of 150 that is $6.67, so the same stop on a yen pair needs about one and a half times the lot size for the same money.

Does the pip value change with the price?

Only through the conversion into your account currency. A dollar account on EUR/USD gets $10 a pip whatever EUR/USD trades at. A dollar account on USD/JPY gets 1,000 yen converted at the current rate.