Par William Harris · Dernière révision
How to Calculate Pip Value in MetaTrader 5 (any symbol, any account currency)
Ce dont vous avez besoin
- • MT5 with the symbol in Market Watch
- • Calculator or spreadsheet
- • Current exchange rate for cross calculations
Instructions étape par étape
Étape 1 : Understand what a pip is
A pip ('Percentage in Point') is the unit of price movement in forex. For most pairs it's the 4th decimal place — EURUSD moving from 1.0850 to 1.0851 is 1 pip. For JPY pairs it's the 2nd decimal — USDJPY 150.00 to 150.01 is 1 pip.
MT5 also reports prices in points: 1 pip = 10 points on 5-decimal pricing (modern brokers), 1 pip = 1 point on 4-decimal pricing (legacy). EURUSD price of 1.08501 has 5 decimals — the last digit is a 'fractional pip' or 'pipette', and 10 of them make 1 pip. Modern broker pricing is almost always 5-decimal; pip vs point matters when configuring EA inputs that ask for stop loss 'in points' vs 'in pips'.
For each symbol, MT5 stores: the digit count (5 for EURUSD, 3 for USDJPY, 2 for XAUUSD), the point size (smallest price movement), and the contract size (100,000 for forex, 100 for gold, 1 for crypto on most brokers). Pip size is typically point × 10.
Étape 2 : USD-quote pairs (EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD)
When USD is the quote currency (second part of the pair) and your account is in USD, pip value is constant:
Pip Value per 1.0 lot = Pip Size × Contract Size EURUSD: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10/pip per lot GBPUSD: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10/pip per lot AUDUSD: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10/pip per lot NZDUSD: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10/pip per lot
For smaller lot sizes: 0.10 lot = $1/pip 0.01 lot (1 micro-lot) = $0.10/pip
Example: a 50-pip move on 0.10 lot EURUSD = 50 × $1 = $50 profit/loss.
This is the easy case. Memorize $10/pip per lot and you have 90% of retail EUR/GBP/AUD/NZD pairs covered. Save the more complex formulas for JPY pairs, gold, and exotic crosses.
Étape 3 : USD-base pairs (USDJPY, USDCHF, USDCAD)
When USD is the base currency (first part of the pair) and your account is in USD, pip value depends on the current exchange rate:
Pip Value per 1.0 lot = (Pip Size × Contract Size) / Current Rate
USDJPY at 150.00: Pip Value = (0.01 × 100,000) / 150.00 = 1000 / 150 = $6.67/pip per lot
USDJPY at 100.00: Pip Value = (0.01 × 100,000) / 100.00 = 1000 / 100 = $10/pip per lot
USDCHF at 0.90: Pip Value = (0.0001 × 100,000) / 0.90 = 10 / 0.90 = $11.11/pip per lot
USDCAD at 1.35: Pip Value = (0.0001 × 100,000) / 1.35 = 10 / 1.35 = $7.41/pip per lot
Update the calculation periodically as exchange rates move. A 10% currency move changes pip value by 10% in the opposite direction. For position sizing, this matters: a USDJPY EA configured at JPY 100 pip value over-sizes positions by 50% if JPY rises to 150.
Étape 4 : Cross pairs (EURGBP, EURJPY, GBPJPY)
When neither side of the pair is your account currency, you need the conversion rate of the quote currency to your account currency.
Pip Value = (Pip Size × Contract Size) / Cross Rate × Conversion to USD
EURGBP for USD account, EURGBP rate 0.85, GBPUSD rate 1.27: Pip Value in GBP = 0.0001 × 100,000 = £10 Pip Value in USD = £10 × 1.27 = $12.70/pip per lot
EURJPY for USD account, EURJPY rate 165, USDJPY rate 150: Pip Value in JPY = 0.01 × 100,000 = ¥1000 Pip Value in USD = ¥1000 / 150 = $6.67/pip per lot
GBPJPY for USD account, USDJPY 150: Pip Value in JPY = 0.01 × 100,000 = ¥1000 Pip Value in USD = ¥1000 / 150 = $6.67/pip per lot
These are messier; rely on MT5's pre-computed value (next step) rather than computing manually for cross pairs.
Étape 5 : Metals and crypto (XAUUSD, XAGUSD, BTCUSD)
Gold and crypto use different pip conventions:
XAUUSD (Gold) on most brokers: • Pip size = 0.01 (1 cent) • Contract size = 100 oz • Pip Value = 0.01 × 100 = $1/pip per 1.0 lot • A 50-pip move on 1.0 lot gold = $50
Some brokers use different conventions: XAUUSD 1 lot = 1 oz (so pip = $0.01), or pip size = 0.001 (more granularity). Always verify in MT5 → Symbols → Specifications.
XAGUSD (Silver): • Pip size = 0.001 • Contract size = 5000 oz • Pip Value = 0.001 × 5000 = $5/pip per 1.0 lot
BTCUSD: • Pip size varies by broker. Common: 0.01 ($0.01) or 1.00 ($1). • Contract size = 1 BTC on most brokers • Pip Value = pip_size × 1 = $0.01 or $1 per lot per pip • On a $50,000 BTC, a 1% move = $500, so practical 'pip' size as a percentage matters more than the technical pip definition.
For BTC and other crypto pairs, use Money Management mode 'risk by % of equity' rather than computing manually — the pip arithmetic gets confusing at very different price scales.
Étape 6 : Non-USD account currencies (EUR, GBP, JPY)
Everything above assumed a USD account. For a non-USD account, divide the USD pip value by the EUR-USD exchange rate (or whatever pair maps your account currency to USD).
Example: GBP account, EURUSD trade, GBPUSD rate 1.27. Pip value in USD = $10/lot (standard EURUSD) Pip value in GBP = $10 / 1.27 = £7.87/pip per lot
Example: EUR account, XAUUSD trade, EURUSD rate 1.08. Pip value in USD = $1/lot (standard XAUUSD) Pip value in EUR = $1 / 1.08 = €0.93/pip per lot
MT5 normalizes pip value to your account currency in Market Watch → Symbols → Properties. Always cross-check against MT5's number; manual calculation is for spot-checks, not production.
Étape 7 : Read the pre-computed pip value from MT5
MT5 stores pip value per symbol, in your account currency, updated in real-time as exchange rates move. To view:
1. Open Market Watch (Ctrl+M). 2. Right-click any symbol → 'Specification'. The popup shows full symbol details. 3. Look for 'Tick Value' — this is the dollar value of a 1-point movement on 1 standard lot in your account currency. Multiply by 10 for pip value (because 1 pip = 10 points on modern 5-decimal pricing). 4. Alternatively, use the formula: Pip Value = (Tick Value × 10) × Lot Size
For MQL5 EAs, the API is: SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE) — returns tick value in account currency. SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE) — returns tick size in price units. Pip value = (tick_value / tick_size) × pip_size × lot_size
Most retail trade-monitor scripts and position-size calculators use this API directly. The MT5 broker has already done the cross-currency conversion for you.
Erreurs courantes à éviter
- ✗ Using $10/pip for XAUUSD (it's $1/pip per standard lot)Solution: Gold pip = $1/lot. EURUSD pip = $10/lot. Don't apply EURUSD math to gold.
- ✗ Assuming pip value is constant for USDJPYSolution: USDJPY pip value moves with the rate. At JPY 100 it's $10/lot; at JPY 150 it's $6.67/lot. Recompute if size matters.
- ✗ Computing pip value manually when MT5 has it pre-computedSolution: Use Symbol Specification → Tick Value × 10. For EAs: SymbolInfoDouble with SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE.
- ✗ Confusing pip and point on 5-decimal pricingSolution: 1 pip = 10 points on 5-decimal brokers. Always check the EA's docs for 'pip' vs 'point' inputs.
- ✗ Forgetting account-currency conversionSolution: Pip value is always in account currency. For EUR/GBP accounts, divide the USD number by the account-currency rate.
Questions fréquemment posées
What's the difference between a pip and a pipette?
Brokers added the 5th decimal in the late 2000s to enable tighter raw spreads (e.g. 0.3 pip = 3 pipettes). MT5's price display shows the 5th decimal, but pip-counting in trading conditions and EA inputs typically refers to the 4-decimal pip. If you see 'spread 3' in MT5's Market Watch, that's 3 points = 0.3 pips. Confusing, but consistent if you remember the 10:1 ratio.
What's the smallest lot size MT5 supports?
0.01 lot minimum is the standard. Below that, look for Cent-type accounts at brokers like RoboForex, FBS, FXTM. Cent accounts are useful for ultra-small live testing — you can run a real-money trial with $50 of risk capital that would be unrealistic on a Standard account (where 0.01 lot might risk $30+ per trade).
Is pip value affected by my account leverage?
The confusion arises because higher leverage lets you open larger positions, which then have higher pip values. But that's a position-size effect, not a pip-value effect. Pip value is per-lot constant; leverage determines how many lots you can hold relative to your equity. Position size × Pip value per lot = Total pip value of your exposure.
How do I calculate the cost of spread in dollars?
On a Standard account with wider spreads and no commission, the math is the same but commission = $0. 1.5-pip spread EURUSD: 1.5 × $10 × 1.0 = $15 per round-turn. The ECN with commission usually wins — $12 vs $15 = $3 saved per lot. Scale by your monthly volume: 100 lots/month = $300/month saved by using ECN.
Is there a calculator I can use instead of doing this math?
For manual one-off calculations, an online calculator is faster than the formula. For systematic position sizing in code (EA development, custom scripts), use MT5's MQL5 API: SymbolInfoDouble(symbol, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE) — it returns the broker's pre-computed value in your account currency, already correct for the current exchange rate. Don't reimplement pip-value math in MQL5; the broker has done it for you.
Pip value clear — what's next?
Plug pip value into the risk-per-trade formula and you're ready to size positions correctly. Most position-sizing errors trace back to pip value confusion.
Continue to: How to calculate risk per trade →Guides connexes
William Harris
Fondateur et développeur principal de FxRobotEasy
Chicago, USA · Depuis 2021
- 12+ ans de trading en direct
- 10+ ans MQL5 / MQL4
- 3 Expert Advisors vérifiés en direct
- Fondé en 2021
“Je développe avec du code depuis le collège. Je trade depuis l'université. L'intersection de ces deux mondes — algorithmes, marchés et la technologie qui les relie — c'est là que j'ai passé les quinze dernières années. FxRobotEasy est ce qui se produit lorsqu'on refuse d'abandonner jusqu'à ce que l'idée imaginée fonctionne réellement sur un compte de courtier en direct.”