XAUUSD Pip Calculator

What 0.01 lot of gold actually costs

The same wording covers three different numbers, and gold is the instrument where the gap between them is widest. On XAUUSD at 2,000.00 with a USD account, one micro lot — 0.01 of a standard lot — carries three answers that are not interchangeable:

• How much gold you control: $2,000.00. That is one troy ounce — 0.01 of 100 ounces — valued at the price. This is notional exposure, and it is not money you have spent.
• What one pip of movement is worth: $0.01. Pip size times contract size times the lot size: 0.01 × 100 × 0.01. At the 0.01 definition a pip and a cent of price movement are the same thing, so this is also what one cent of movement in the gold price does to the position.
• What the platform holds as margin: $20.00 at 1:100. The notional divided by the leverage. A deposit rather than a cost, and the only one of the three that changes when the leverage does.

$2,000.00, $0.01 and $20.00 — the same 0.01 lot, three answers that differ by a factor of two hundred thousand. None of them is what the trade earns: that depends on how far price travels, which is what the profit tool above measures.

How many units is one lot of gold?

One hundred troy ounces. Not 100,000 of anything, and not of a currency. Gold trades by weight, so the "unit" behind a lot is an ounce, and the number of ounces is what the lot size multiplies:

Two things about that table. The per-dollar column does not move with the gold price — it is weight times the lot size, and weight is fixed. And the names are industry shorthand, not a setting: the Volume field on MT4 and MT5 takes a number, so placing a micro lot of gold is typing 0.01 into it. One troy ounce is about 31.10 grams, which is the conversion the table above does not carry because the trade is quoted in ounces, not in grams.

What lot size is good for a $100 account on gold?

There is no such size, and that is not a refusal to answer. Lot size is not derived from your balance — it is derived from your balance, your risk percentage and your stop distance together, which is the same equation the lot size tool above runs. A table that tells you to use 0.01 on a 100 USD gold account has already chosen a stop distance for you, quietly, and did not say which one.

What you can work out is the reverse: at the smallest size your platform takes, how far can the gold price run. On gold one micro lot costs $1.00 per dollar of price movement:

The first row says more than a recommended lot size would. On a $100.00 account risking 1%, the smallest size available leaves you a one-dollar stop in the gold price — and at a one-dollar stop the lot size tool above returns exactly 0.01 lots, which is what it gives for those inputs. Widen the stop past one dollar and the exact answer drops below the smallest size you can enter.

One dollar of movement in gold is noise. Most sessions move more than that in a minute, which is the honest reading of that row: at 1% on a 100 USD account, the smallest size is too large for the stop the market will actually give you. The three ways out are the three variables, and this page does not choose between them: a wider risk percentage, a wider account, or a stop far enough away that the price does not touch it on the way to where you think it is going.

What this page does not assume about gold lot sizes

• No contract size for your account. 100 ounces to the standard lot is the industry convention on a standard account. A cent account puts a different weight behind the same 1.00.
• No nano lot. 0.001 is not in the table because most gold symbols stop at 0.01. Whether yours goes lower lives in your platform's symbol specification, not on this page.
• No minimum lot and no step as a default. 0.01 is the common minimum, not a universal one, and the two-decimal size shown here is a display rather than a size you can necessarily enter.
• No stop distance for you. That is why there is no recommended size for an account balance anywhere on this page. A size without a stop distance is not an answer.
• No cost inside the size. Spread, commission and overnight financing change what a gold trade earns. They do not change the size, so they are not in this equation.

What margin a lot of gold ties up

Gold comes with its own version of every margin question — gold margin calculator, xauusd margin calculator, how much margin do I need to trade gold, gold lot size calculator with leverage — and the answer is built from two numbers, of which only one is fixed. The contract size is fixed: 100 troy ounces to the standard lot. The exposure is not, because exposure is the ounces times the price, and the price moves every session.

What is the contract size for gold?

One hundred troy ounces to 1.00 lot. It is a small number next to a currency pair's 100,000 units, and a misleading one, because what it multiplies is not 1.0850 but something in the thousands. A standard lot of gold at 2,000.00 is 100 ounces and 200,000.00 USD of exposure, against 108,500.00 USD for a standard lot of EURUSD at 1.0850. The contract size is a thousandth of the pair's; the position is 1.84 times the size. The smaller lots scale off the same hundred: 0.10 lots is 10 ounces, and 0.01 lots is a single ounce — 2,000.00 USD of exposure at 2,000.00.

How much margin do I need to trade gold?

The deposit is the exposure divided by the leverage, which is the same equation as every other instrument on this site. What is different is that the deposit inherits the price:

Read the first row against the last. The contract never changed — still 100 ounces, still one lot — and the deposit rose 38.89%. That is why a margin figure for gold is not something you can look up once: the trade is identical and the answer is not, and it drifts in the direction that refuses orders. On a 10,000.00 USD account at 1:20, that one lot fits at 1,800.00 with 1,000.00 to spare, takes the whole account at 2,000.00, and is refused outright by 2,200.00 — 11,000.00 of margin against 10,000.00 of equity, with the metal having done nothing but go up.

Set that beside the per-pip figures further up this page, which are 1.00 USD on a standard lot at every one of those four prices. Two numbers describing one position, moving in opposite ways as the price moves: the pip value is pinned by the contract size and the pip definition, and the margin is not. The reason is set out in Why a gold pip value does not drift with the gold price below. Of the two, the one that grows with the price is the one the platform checks.

Whether it keeps growing after you open is a platform question rather than an arithmetic one. If the deposit is recomputed at the current price, a long's deposit rises with the price while its equity rises faster, and a short's deposit rises while its equity falls — the same asymmetry the forex margin calculator sets out for currency pairs, made larger here by how many dollars of exposure one lot of gold carries. This page recomputes nothing: it takes the price you enter.

What this section does not assume

• No leverage. 1:100 and 1:20 are two columns of the same arithmetic, not a recommendation and not what any platform gives you on gold. Gold is frequently offered at a lower leverage than the majors, and only your account terms say what yours is.
• No contract size for your account. 100 ounces to the lot is the convention on a standard account. A cent account, a mini contract or a futures contract put different weights behind the same 1.00.
• No floating profit or loss. Every figure in the table is the deposit at the moment of opening. Once a position is running, the equity side of the margin level moves too, and in which direction depends on whether you are long or short.
• No price feed. The four prices are round numbers chosen to show the shape of the arithmetic, not a quote and not a forecast. There is no market data behind this site.
• No account currency other than the dollar. XAUUSD is quoted in dollars and the table assumes yours are too. On any other account currency the exposure has to be converted before the leverage is applied.

What 0.01 lot of silver actually costs

Silver runs the same three-answer trap as gold, only the scale is different because one standard lot of silver is 5,000 ounces rather than 100. On XAGUSD at an example price of 30.00 with a USD account, one micro lot — 0.01 of a standard lot — carries three answers that are not interchangeable:

• How much silver you control: $1,500.00. That is fifty troy ounces — 0.01 of 5,000 ounces — valued at the example price. This is notional exposure, and it is not money you have spent.
• What one pip of movement is worth: $0.50. Pip size times contract size times the lot size: 0.01 × 5,000 × 0.01. At the 0.01 definition a pip and a cent of price movement are the same thing, so this is also what one cent of movement in the silver price does to the position.
• What the platform holds as margin: $15.00 at 1:100. The notional divided by the leverage. A deposit rather than a cost, and the only one of the three that changes when the leverage does.

$1,500.00, $0.50 and $15.00 — the same 0.01 lot, three answers that differ by a factor of three thousand between the first two. None of them is what the trade earns: that depends on how far price travels, which is what the profit tool above measures.

How many units is one lot of silver?

Five thousand troy ounces for a standard lot. Silver is quoted by weight like gold, so the "unit" behind a lot is an ounce and the number of ounces is what the lot size multiplies:

That per-dollar column is the number to keep in your head. A one-dollar move in silver is worth $50.00 on a micro lot, $500.00 on a mini and $5,000.00 on a standard — none of which moves with the silver price, because the weight is fixed. The names are industry shorthand, not a setting: the Volume field on MT4 and MT5 takes a number, so placing a micro lot of silver is typing 0.01 into it.

What lot size is good for a $100 account on silver?

The same answer as for gold, stated differently: there is no such size, because lot size is not derived from your balance alone. It is derived from your balance, your risk percentage and your stop distance together, which is the same equation the lot size tool above runs. On silver the multiplier is fifty times larger than on gold, so the stop you can afford collapses to almost nothing at the smallest size.

What you can work out is the reverse: at the smallest size your platform takes, how far can the silver price run. On silver one micro lot costs $50.00 per dollar of price movement:

The first row is the pointed one. On a $100.00 account risking 1%, the smallest size available leaves you a two-cent stop in the silver price — against gold's one-dollar stop at the same budget. Two cents of movement in silver is not a stop, it is the spread you pay to get in. The three ways out are the three variables, and this page does not choose between them: a wider risk percentage, a wider account, or a stop far enough away that the price does not touch it on the way to where you think it is going.

What this page does not assume about silver lot sizes

• No contract size for your account. 5,000 ounces to the standard lot is the industry convention on a standard account. A cent account or a differently specified symbol puts a different weight behind the same 1.00, and silver futures on an exchange use yet another contract size entirely.
• No nano lot. 0.001 is not in the table because most silver symbols stop at 0.01. Whether yours goes lower lives in your platform's symbol specification, not on this page.
• No minimum lot and no step as a default. 0.01 is the common minimum, not a universal one, and the two-decimal size shown here is a display rather than a size you can necessarily enter.
• No stop distance for you. That is why there is no recommended size for an account balance anywhere on this page. A size without a stop distance is not an answer.
• No cost inside the size. Spread, commission and overnight financing change what a silver trade earns. They do not change the size, so they are not in this equation.

Why a gold pip value does not drift with the gold price

On most currency pairs the pip value has to be converted out of the quote currency, and that conversion depends on the rate at that moment. Gold quoted as XAUUSD does not have that step. The quote currency is already the US dollar, so the pip value is a product of two fixed conventions and nothing else:

Pip size × contract size × lot size. With a pip of 0.01, a contract size of 100 ounces and one standard lot, that is 0.01 × 100 × 1 = 1 USD per pip. It is one dollar whether gold trades at 1,800 or 2,400.

This is the part that surprises people who came to gold from currency pairs. A one-dollar move in the gold price is worth 100 USD on a standard lot, and that figure does not change as the price does. What changes is how far a dollar of movement is from your stop, which is what the lot size tool above measures.

The two pip definitions for gold, and how to tell which one you are being quoted

Gold has no single agreed pip. Two definitions are in wide circulation:

• A pip is a move of 0.01 in price. On a standard lot of 100 ounces that is 1 USD per pip. This is the definition used across this site.
• A pip is a move of 0.10 in price. On the same position that is 10 USD per pip.

Neither is a calculation error. They are different definitions of the same word, and a tenfold difference in the answer rides on which one is meant. This matters most when a signal or a trade idea says "target 50 pips on gold" without saying which convention it is counting in — 50 pips is 50 dollars on the first definition and 500 dollars on the second.

To find out which one your broker or signal provider uses, do not look for a label. Run one number instead: take a position size you know, move the price by 1.00, and see what the platform says the position gained or lost. On a standard lot that figure is 100 USD whichever definition is in play, which makes it a neutral reference point. Now read what the same platform calls a pip. If 1.00 of movement is counted as 100 pips, the 0.01 convention is in use. If it is counted as 10 pips, the 0.10 convention is.

The pip definition selector at the top of this page exists for exactly this reason: it lets you match whatever convention you are being quoted, instead of forcing you to convert in your head. Silver is quoted the same way — dollars per ounce — so the same two definitions apply to it, and the selector covers both metals.

Gold is not a four-decimal pair, and the arithmetic has to know that

A calculator built for EURUSD assumes a pip of 0.0001 and a contract size of 100,000 units. Point it at gold and both assumptions are wrong: gold trades in dollars per ounce with two decimals of convention, and one lot is 100 ounces rather than 100,000 currency units. Running gold through a pair calculator produces a number that looks plausible and is off by a factor that depends on which wrong assumption it made first.

The same trap catches silver in the other direction. XAGUSD carries 5,000 ounces in a standard lot, so a pip of 0.01 is worth 50 USD — fifty times a gold pip at the same lot size. A tool that treats both metals as "100 units per lot" will understate silver by a factor of fifty.

What a stop distance in dollars means for gold

On a currency pair, traders usually measure a stop in pips. On gold it is often more natural to measure it in dollars, because the quote is a dollar price and the move you are risking is a dollar move. The lot size tool above takes the distance in dollars directly, which avoids a conversion step and the chance of applying the wrong pip definition inside it.

The arithmetic: money at risk divided by (stop distance in dollars × 100) gives the number of standard lots, because each dollar of movement is worth 100 USD per standard lot. Risking 100 USD on a five-dollar stop gives 100 ÷ (5 × 100) = 0.2 lots, which is 20 ounces.

That result is a ceiling, not a recommendation. It assumes the stop is the only thing standing between you and the loss, which ignores gaps, slippage and the spread you pay to get in.

Frequently asked questions

What is the pip value of XAUUSD?

One USD per pip on a standard lot of 100 ounces, using the 0.01 definition. It is 0.10 USD on a mini lot and 0.01 USD on a micro lot. If the source you are comparing against uses the 0.10 definition, their figure will be ten times larger on the same position.

How many ounces is one lot of gold?

One hundred ounces for a standard lot, ten for a mini lot and one for a micro lot. Some brokers use different contract sizes for metals, so check the contract specification on your own platform before relying on these figures for live sizing.

What is 0.01 lot size in gold?

On XAUUSD at 2,000.00 with a USD account it is three figures, and which one you want depends on the question: $2,000.00 of notional exposure, $0.01 per pip of movement, and $20.00 of margin held at 1:100. The section above works all three out, and says why a single dollar figure for a gold lot size cannot exist.

How many units is one lot of gold?

One hundred troy ounces for a standard lot, ten for a mini lot and one for a micro lot. Gold trades by weight, so the "unit" a lot multiplies is an ounce, not a currency unit — which is exactly why the ounce count and the per-dollar move answer two different questions, not one.

Is a gold pip the same as a gold tick?

At the 0.01 definition, the smallest price increment and the pip are the same size, which is why the two words get used interchangeably. One point is a tenth of a pip, the last decimal a broker shows on a three-decimal gold quote.

Why does my broker's pip value differ from this page?

Two things cause it. The pip definition may differ, which is the tenfold one. Or the contract size may differ — not every broker puts 100 ounces in a standard lot of gold. Both inputs are printed on this page so you can see which one is at odds with your platform.

How much margin do I need to trade one lot of gold?

The ounces times the price, divided by the leverage. One standard lot is 100 ounces, so at 2,000.00 that is 200,000.00 USD of exposure, which needs 2,000.00 USD of margin at 1:100 and 10,000.00 USD at 1:20. The figure moves with the metal: the same lot at 2,500.00 is 250,000.00 USD of exposure and a 25.00% larger deposit. The forex margin calculator takes a contract size of 100 and the current price and works it out, including the margin level it leaves behind.

Is a gold margin calculator different from a forex one?

Not in the equation — exposure over leverage — but in what goes into the exposure. A currency pair's contract size is 100,000 units and its price sits close to one, so the exposure a lot carries barely moves as the pair moves — 108,500.00 USD for EURUSD at 1.0850. Gold's contract size is 100 ounces and its price is in the thousands, so a lot is worth 200,000.00 USD at 2,000.00 and 250,000.00 USD at 2,500.00. Same arithmetic, and the input that keeps changing.

Does leverage change the pip value?

No. Leverage changes the margin a position requires, not what a pip is worth. Pip value comes from the pip size, the contract size and the lot size alone.

What is the pip value of XAGUSD?

Fifty USD per pip on a standard lot of 5,000 ounces, using the 0.01 definition. It is $5.00 on a mini lot and $0.50 on a micro lot. If the source you are comparing against uses the 0.10 definition, their figure will be ten times larger on the same position.

How many ounces is one lot of silver?

Five thousand ounces for a standard lot, five hundred for a mini lot and fifty for a micro lot. Some brokers use different contract sizes for metals, so check the contract specification on your own platform before relying on these figures for live sizing.

What is 0.01 lot size in silver?

On XAGUSD at an example price of 30.00 with a USD account it is three figures, and which one you want depends on the question: $1,500.00 of notional exposure, $0.50 per pip of movement, and $15.00 of margin held at 1:100. The section above works all three out, and says why a single dollar figure for a silver lot size cannot exist.

Why is a silver pip fifty times a gold pip?

Because the contract size is fifty times larger. One standard lot of gold is 100 ounces and one standard lot of silver is 5,000 ounces, so at the same 0.01 definition a silver pip is $50.00 against gold's $1.00. A tool that treats both metals as "100 units per lot" understates silver by a factor of fifty, which is the trap the table near the top of this page is built to avoid.

Is a silver pip the same as a silver tick?

At the 0.01 definition, the smallest price increment and the pip are the same size, which is why the two words get used interchangeably. One point — a move of 0.001 — is a tenth of a pip and worth $5.00 on a standard lot.

Can I use the gold pip definition for silver?

Yes. The same two definitions circulate for silver, because silver is also quoted in dollars per ounce — the selector at the top of this page applies to both metals. A signal that says "target 50 pips on silver" without naming the definition is 50 dollars at the 0.01 definition and 500 dollars at the 0.10 definition.

The pip calculator covers all 30 instruments, including gold and silver, and reports the pip value in the quote currency before conversion. The lot size calculator sizes a position from a stop distance measured in pips, and the risk reward calculator turns three price levels into the ratio and the break-even win rate.

Index CFDs carry the same problem one step further — there is no shared contract size to fall back on — and the US30 pip calculator handles them by working from what one index point is worth per lot.

What a gold trade earns once the costs come off is the forex profit calculator, which works from the lot size and the contract size you read off your own platform rather than assuming either one.