Pip Value Calculator

In forex, profits and losses are counted in pips, the standard unit of price movement. But a pip is not worth the same amount on every trade: it depends on the currency pair, the size of your position and the exchange rate to your account currency. This calculator converts a pip into US dollars so you can size positions and set stops in money terms. It handles the three common cases: pairs where the US dollar is the quote currency, pairs where it is the base currency, and crosses that do not include the dollar at all.

Calculator#

How it works#

Pip value in quote currency = Units × Pip size
USD is the quote:  Pip value (USD) = Units × Pip size
USD is the base:   Pip value (USD) = Units × Pip size / Pair price
Cross pair:        Pip value (USD) = Units × Pip size × (Quote currency to USD rate)

The quote currency is the second currency in the pair. A pip on EUR/USD is a change of 0.0001 in US dollars per euro, so the pip value is naturally in dollars. For USD/JPY, the pip is in yen and must be converted. See Pips and Pipettes and Currency Pairs: Majors, Minors and Exotics.

Lot sizes and pip values on EUR/USD#

From pip value to position size#

To risk a fixed amount on a trade, divide the money you are willing to lose by the stop distance in pips times the pip value per unit. For example, risking $100 with a 25 pip stop on EUR/USD means $4 per pip, which is 40,000 units, or 0.4 standard lots. The Position Size Calculator does the same job with prices instead of pips.

Things to watch#

1. Pip values change with exchange rates for pairs where the dollar is the base or absent.
2. Pipettes: many brokers quote a fifth decimal (or third for JPY pairs); one pip equals ten pipettes.
3. Account currency: if your account is in euros or pounds, convert the result again.
4. Spread costs are also measured in pips; a 1.2 pip spread on a standard lot costs about $12 per round trip on EUR/USD. See Spread Costs.
5. Leverage: small pip values on large lots still add up quickly. See Leverage and Margin in Forex.

Frequently asked questions#

How much is one pip worth?#

On EUR/USD and other pairs quoted in US dollars, one pip on a standard lot of 100,000 units is worth $10; other pairs vary with exchange rates.

What is a pip on USD/JPY?#

A change of 0.01 in the price; on 100,000 units it is 1,000 yen, which converts to dollars at the current USD/JPY rate.

Why does pip value change?#

When the quote currency is not the US dollar, the dollar value of a pip moves with the exchange rate between the quote currency and the dollar.

Next, convert futures ticks into money with the Futures Tick Value Calculator.