A pip is the standard unit for measuring how far a price has moved. Traders use pips for spreads, stop distances and profit or loss, so you need the idea before you open a trade, even on a demo account.
To find the value of a pip for your own trade, use the calculator below. Enter the currency pair, the lot size and your account currency. It shows the pip value in the quote currency and in your account currency.
Fill in the empty fields to see the result.
Pip meaning in plain words
A currency pair such as EUR/USD shows how much of the second currency (the quote currency) you pay for a unit of the first currency (the base currency). If the pair is new to you, read how to read a currency pair first.
When the price changes, the change is counted in pips. "The spread is so many pips" or "the stop loss is so many pips away" means a distance on the price scale, not money. Pip distance becomes money only after you multiply it by the pip value, which depends on your position size.
Most trading platforms quote prices with an extra digit at the end. That last digit is a pipette, a fraction of a pip. The pip is the digit just before the pipette. Some platforms, including MT4 and MT5, also use the word point for the smallest price step, which is often the pipette rather than the pip. This mix-up is common, so the page pips, points and pipettes covers it separately.
Exceptions: JPY pairs and gold
JPY pairs
The Japanese yen has a low value per unit compared with most major currencies, so pairs such as USD/JPY or EUR/JPY are quoted with fewer decimal places. The pip sits further to the left of the decimal point than on pairs like EUR/USD. With fractional pricing, the pip is still the digit just before the final pipette digit.
In practice, pip size is a property of the symbol. Do not count digits by hand. Look at the symbol specification in your platform, or let the calculator apply the correct pip size for the pair.
Gold (XAUUSD) and other metals
For gold there is no single convention. Different brokers, platforms and calculators define a "pip" on XAUUSD differently, and the contract size of a gold lot is not the same as for a currency pair. That is why a gold move of "so many pips" can mean different price distances in different sources.
For gold, always check the contract size and the price step in the symbol specification of the platform you use. Measure distances in price, not in pips copied from somewhere else. More on the instrument is on the metals trading and gold pages.
Pip value formula
Pip value is how much money a price move of a single pip makes or loses for a given position. It is calculated in two steps.
Step 1: pip value in the quote currency
Pip value (quote currency) = pip size × contract size × lot size
- Pip size is the price step of a pip for the symbol (smaller for most pairs, larger for JPY pairs).
- Contract size is the number of base currency units in a lot. It is listed in the symbol specification. See what is a lot.
- Lot size is the volume you trade, for example a standard, mini or micro lot. See lot sizes.
The result is in the quote currency. For EUR/USD it is in US dollars. For USD/JPY it is in yen.
Step 2: convert to the account currency
Your profit and loss is shown in your account currency, the currency your trading account is held in. If the quote currency is different, the pip value has to be converted:
- Quote currency = account currency (for example EUR/USD on a USD account): no conversion is needed.
- Base currency = account currency (for example USD/JPY on a USD account): divide the quote-currency pip value by the current price of the pair.
- Neither currency matches (for example EUR/GBP on a USD account): convert through the rate between the quote currency and your account currency. This is a cross rate calculation.
The calculator above does both steps and shows each result separately, so you can see where the conversion happens.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
How pip value depends on lot size and account currency
Lot size. Pip value is directly proportional to lot size. A larger lot gives a proportionally larger pip value. A smaller lot gives a smaller one. The pip size and the price stay the same. Only the money per pip changes. This is the main way traders control risk per trade: they set the stop distance in pips, then choose a lot size whose pip value keeps the possible loss acceptable.
Account currency. When the quote currency differs from your account currency, the pip value in your account currency moves with the exchange rate. On a USD account trading USD/JPY, for example, the dollar value of a pip changes as the USD/JPY price changes, even if your lot size stays the same. For pairs that match your account currency, the pip value stays constant.
Instrument. JPY pairs, gold, indices and other symbols each have their own pip size and contract size. Comparing "pips" across instruments without checking pip value can be misleading.
To see this in numbers, change one input at a time in the calculator and compare the outputs. For full profit and loss, including spread and other costs, use profit and loss calculation and total cost of a trade. Other tools are listed on the calculators page.
Pips, spread and risk
The spread, the gap between the bid and ask price, is usually quoted in pips or points. You pay it when you open a position. Multiply the spread in pips by the pip value to get its cost in money. See what is spread.
A stop loss placed a certain number of pips away limits your loss to roughly that distance times the pip value. The limit is not guaranteed: in fast markets or across gaps, the closing price can be worse than the stop.
With leverage, a small margin controls a large position, so the pip value can be large compared with your balance. A move of a few pips against you can cost much more than you expect. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast. Calculate pip value before you choose a lot size, and read risk management.
For readers in Pakistan, check the legal position as well. On this point, per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947. Details are on the law and regulators page.
Frequent questions
What is a pip in forex, in one sentence?
A pip is the standard unit of price movement for a currency pair, used to measure spreads, stop distances and price changes.
Is a pip the same as a point?
Not always. On many platforms a point is the smallest price step, which is often a pipette (a fraction of a pip). Check what your platform calls a point before using the word in calculations.
Why are JPY pairs different?
The yen has a low value per unit, so JPY pairs are quoted with fewer decimal places and the pip sits in a different position. The symbol specification and the calculator handle this for you.
How much is a pip on gold?
It depends on how the platform defines the price step and the contract size for XAUUSD. Check the symbol specification and measure gold moves in price rather than in borrowed "pip" counts.
Is pip value fixed?
It is fixed for a given lot size only when the quote currency matches your account currency. Otherwise it changes with the exchange rate used for conversion.
How do I use the pip calculator?
Choose the pair, enter the lot size and select your account currency. The calculator shows the value of a pip in the quote currency and in your account currency.