FxRobotEasy Tools · Last reviewed
Pip Value Calculator — Forex, Gold, and Crypto
How pip value is calculated
Pip Value = Pip Size × Contract Size × Lot Size × (Quote → Account FX rate) Where: Pip Size = 0.0001 (FX majors), 0.01 (JPY, XAUUSD), 0.001 (XAGUSD) Contract Size = 100,000 (FX), 100 (XAUUSD), 5,000 (XAGUSD) Lot Size = 1.0 standard, 0.1 mini, 0.01 micro FX rate = 1 when account = quote currency
Every forex pair has a pip size determined by the broker's price precision: 4 decimals (0.0001) for most majors, 2 decimals (0.01) for JPY pairs and gold, 3 decimals (0.001) for silver. Multiplying pip size by the contract size gives the monetary value of one pip per 1.0 lot — that's $10 for FX majors, $1 for gold, $5 for silver. Scaling by your actual lot size and (if needed) converting from the quote currency to your account currency gives the final figure. The conversion only matters when those two currencies differ — a USD account trading USDJPY needs to divide by the current USDJPY rate to get a USD-denominated pip value.
Worked example
Inputs
- Currency pair: EUR/USD
- Lot size: 0.10 (1 mini lot)
- Account currency: USD
Calculation
- Identify pip size for the pair. EURUSD uses 4-decimal pricing, so pip size = 0.0001.
- Identify contract size. FX majors use 100,000 units per standard lot.
- Multiply pip size × contract size: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10 per pip per 1.0 lot.
- Scale by lot size: $10 × 0.10 = $1.00 per pip.
- Account currency (USD) matches quote currency (USD), so no FX conversion is required.
Result: $1.00 per pip on a 0.10 lot EURUSD trade
Edge cases & special pairs
- JPY pairs (USDJPY, EURJPY, GBPJPY)Pip size = 0.01 (2 decimals). For USD account holding USDJPY: pip value in JPY = 0.01 × 100,000 × lot = 1,000 × lot JPY. Convert to USD by dividing by the current USDJPY rate. At JPY 150: 1,000 / 150 ≈ $6.67 per pip per lot.
- XAUUSD (Gold)Pip size = 0.01 and contract size = 100 oz on most retail brokers. Pip value = 0.01 × 100 × lot = $1 per pip per 1.0 lot (USD account). A common mistake is to apply the EURUSD $10/pip rule to gold — it over-states risk by 10×.
- XAGUSD (Silver)Pip size = 0.001 and contract size = 5,000 oz on most retail brokers. Pip value = 0.001 × 5,000 × lot = $5 per pip per 1.0 lot.
- BTCUSD and other cryptoBroker-specific. Some define 1 pip = $1, others $0.01 per smallest price increment. Contract size also varies (1 BTC vs 0.1 BTC per lot). Always read the broker's symbol specification.
- Non-USD account on USD-quote pairEUR account trading EURUSD: pip value in USD = $10/lot, then divide by EURUSD rate to get EUR value. At EURUSD 1.085: €10 / 1.085 ≈ €9.22 per pip per lot.
- Cent accountsCent accounts treat 1 lot as 1,000 units (vs 100,000 standard). Pip value is therefore 100× smaller. A 0.10-lot EURUSD trade on a Cent account is $0.01 per pip, not $1.
- Indices (US30, NAS100, SPX500)Pip definitions on indices are broker-dependent. Most CFD brokers quote in points where 1 point = $1 per 1.0 lot for US30 / NAS100. Verify in the symbol specification before sizing.
When to use this calculator
Use this calculator before placing any trade to confirm your stop loss distance produces the per-trade dollar risk you actually want. The position-sizing formula is risk_amount = stop_pips × pip_value × lot_size, so getting pip value wrong cascades into a position too large or too small for your risk budget. The most common error in retail forex is treating XAUUSD as if it has a $10/pip standard — it doesn't, and that 10× over-sizing has destroyed more retail accounts than any other single mistake. The second most common error is forgetting the FX conversion for non-USD accounts on USD-quote pairs. The calculator above handles all of this automatically; use it as the source of truth and ignore broker spread-table footnotes that round pip value to misleading figures.
Related guide: How to calculate pip value (deep-dive guide) →
Frequently asked questions
Is pip value the same across all brokers?
Contract size is occasionally non-standard — Cent accounts use 1,000 units per lot instead of 100,000, and some exotic CFD products on niche brokers use bespoke contract sizes. Always verify in the broker's symbol specification (MT5: Market Watch → right-click symbol → Specification). Pip value math is invariant given those specs; what changes between brokers is the EFFECTIVE cost per pip after spread + commission, which is what matters for live profitability.
What's the difference between a pip and a point?
MetaTrader 5 quotes prices with extra precision (5 decimals for FX majors, 3 for JPY) so spreads can be quoted in fractional pips. Internally MT5 stores prices in points, and the SymbolInfoDouble(SYMBOL_POINT) call returns the point size. When configuring an EA, 'Stop Loss = 200' means 200 points = 20 pips on EURUSD. The confusion costs new traders sized 10× their intended risk; always confirm.
How does pip value relate to stop-loss distance and position size?
This is the fixed-fractional position sizing formula: Lot Size = Risk Amount ÷ (Stop Pips × Pip Value Per Lot). It's the foundation of every credible risk-management framework. If you change brokers (which may change effective pip value for certain pairs after spread), or change account currency (which changes pip value on non-quote-currency pairs), the lot size that delivers the same 1% risk per trade also changes.
Does pip value change as the exchange rate moves?
For risk-budgeting purposes, the live pip value at trade time is what matters. MT5's MarketInfo() or SymbolInfoDouble(SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_VALUE) APIs return the broker's pre-computed value in your account currency, updated tick-by-tick. EAs should query this dynamically rather than caching a static value at start-up — a 10% FX move between EA load and trade signal can shift the pip value enough to break risk targets.
What's the pip value for a micro lot (0.01)?
Micro-lot ($0.10/pip) trading is the right size for the first 30-60 days of any new live setup. The dollar amounts are too small for psychological panic but real enough that the EA's behaviour in live conditions surfaces honestly. Once you confirm 30 days of live tracks demo within ±20%, scale to mini lots ($1/pip) and observe for another 30 days. Then standard lots if everything tracks.
How is pip value calculated for BTCUSD?
Crypto CFDs lack standardization. Some brokers (CMC, Pepperstone) treat 1 BTCUSD contract as 1 BTC with 1.00 pip size — a 100 BTCUSD price move on 1.0 lot is $100 P/L. Others (FXOpen) use 0.01 pip and 1 BTC contract, so the same 100 BTCUSD move is $10,000 P/L. The 100× difference matters massively. Never assume pip-value for crypto; always pull from the broker's specification page or do a 0.01-lot test trade.
Where do I get the live FX conversion rate for non-USD accounts?
The calculator above uses a manual conversion-rate input by default — type in whatever your MT5 Market Watch shows. For automation, MT5's SymbolInfoDouble returns the live rate updated tick-by-tick. The MarketInfo() function (legacy MT4 API still supported in MT5) does the conversion automatically with MODE_TICKVALUE in account currency.