On this page (9 questions)
- ↑ Calculator
- 1What is a pip in forex?
- 2How do you calculate pip value?
- 3How do you convert pip value to your account currency?
- 4Why is the pip value different on JPY pairs?
- 5How do you calculate how many pips a trade moved?
- 6How much are 10, 20 or 50 pips worth?
- 7Do gold, indices and futures have pips?
- 8How does pip value help you choose a lot size?
- 9Why is the pip value shown with extra decimals?
What is a pip in forex?
A pip is the standard unit for a price move in a currency pair: 0.0001 on most pairs and 0.01 on pairs quoted in Japanese yen. On a five-decimal quote such as 1.08505, the last digit is a pipette, a tenth of a pip.
So a move in EUR/USD from 1.08500 to 1.08510 is 1 pip, and a move from 1.08500 to 1.08505 is half a pip. On USD/JPY, a move from 150.20 to 150.21 is 1 pip.
How do you calculate pip value?
Pip value = units traded × pip size, which gives the value of one pip in the pair’s quote currency. On 1 standard lot of EUR/USD that’s 100,000 × 0.0001 = $10 per pip.
Worked example
- Units1.00 lot × 100,000= 100,000 EUR
- Pip value in USD100,000 × 0.0001= $10.00
Smaller lots scale down in proportion. On any pair quoted in US dollars, with a USD account:
Pip value by lot
| Lot | Size in the platform | Units | Pip value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1.00 | 100,000 | $10.00 |
| Mini | 0.10 | 10,000 | $1.00 |
| Micro | 0.01 | 1,000 | $0.10 |
Most brokers use 100,000 units per lot, but check your contract specification. The calculator lets you change it under Contract.
How do you convert pip value to your account currency?
If your account is in the pair’s quote currency, there’s nothing to convert. If it’s in the base currency, divide by the pair’s price; if it’s neither, convert with the exchange rate between the quote currency and your account currency.
- Account in the quote currency:EUR/USD in a USD account. The pip value is already in dollars: $10.00 per standard lot.
- Account in the base currency:EUR/USD in a EUR account at 1.0850. $10.00 ÷ 1.0850 is about €9.2165, so about €9.22 per pip per lot.
- Account in neither:EUR/GBP in a USD account. One pip is £10.00 per lot; if GBP/USD is 1.2500, that’s £10.00 × 1.2500 = $12.50.
The calculator never fetches rates. When it needs one, it asks you for the current rate from your trading platform, and says so on the result if you leave the example rate in place.
Why is the pip value different on JPY pairs?
On JPY pairs a pip is 0.01, because the yen is quoted to two decimal places instead of four. One pip on a standard lot is ¥1,000, which is worth about $6.67 when USD/JPY is at 150.00.
Worked example
- Units1.00 lot × 100,000= 100,000 USD
- Pip value in JPY100,000 × 0.01= ¥1,000
- Converted to USD¥1,000 ÷ 150.00 is about $6.6666
Because your account currency is in the pair, the pip value moves with the price: at 140.00 the same pip is worth about $7.14. If you assume $10 a pip on USD/JPY, you’ll size about a third smaller than you meant to.
How do you calculate how many pips a trade moved?
Pips = price difference ÷ pip size. From 1.08500 to 1.08800 on EUR/USD is 0.00300 ÷ 0.0001 = 30 pips, and from 150.20 to 149.90 on USD/JPY is 0.30 ÷ 0.01 = 30 pips.
Whether those pips are a gain or a loss depends on the side. A buy gains when the price rises and a sell gains when it falls, so the USD/JPY move above is a 30-pip gain for a sell. The profit calculator does this for you and turns the pips into money.
How much are 10, 20 or 50 pips worth?
Multiply the pips by the pip value for your position size. On 0.40 lots of EUR/USD in a USD account a pip is worth $4.00, so 25 pips is $100.00.
Pips in money
| Size | 10 pips | 20 pips | 50 pips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | $100.00 | $200.00 | $500.00 |
| 0.10 lot | $10.00 | $20.00 | $50.00 |
| 0.01 lot | $1.00 | $2.00 | $5.00 |
These are for a pair quoted in US dollars, with a USD account. For other pairs the calculator works it out from the exact pip value and rounds once, at the end: 20 pips on 1.00 lot of USD/JPY at 150.00 is ¥20,000 ÷ 150.00, which is $133.33.
Do gold, indices and futures have pips?
Not in a standard way: brokers use different “pip” sizes for gold (XAUUSD), index CFDs move in points and futures in ticks. That is why this calculator covers forex pairs only.
For gold it’s clearer to think in dollars. At a broker where one lot is 100 troy ounces, a $0.01 move in the gold price is worth $1.00 per lot, and a $1.00 move is worth $100.00. Check your broker’s contract size first. The profit calculator handles gold in dollars, index CFDs in points and futures in ticks.
How does pip value help you choose a lot size?
Your stop in pips × the pip value per lot is what one lot would lose if the stop is hit. Divide the amount you’re willing to risk by that number and you have the position size, which is what the position size calculator does.
Example: a 20-pip stop on EUR/USD loses 20 × $10 = $200 per lot. With $100 of risk, that’s $100 ÷ $200 = 0.50 lots.
Why is the pip value shown with extra decimals?
Because it’s a rate you multiply, not an amount you pay. Rounding $6.6666 up to $6.67 before multiplying by 100 pips would add 33 cents the trade never made, so the calculator rounds only the final money figure.
Money totals are rounded to the smallest unit of your account currency, halves away from zero, the same way the journal rounds a trade’s P&L. The result doesn’t include spread, commission or swap. This calculator does the arithmetic. It isn’t trading advice.