Forex Pip Calculator

Pip value is the monetary worth of a one-pip move in a currency pair. Knowing your pip value before entering a trade is essential for calculating risk, setting stop-losses, and sizing positions correctly.

Definition: A pip (percentage in point) is the smallest standard price move in a currency pair. For most pairs it is the 4th decimal place (0.0001). For JPY pairs it is the 2nd decimal place (0.01).

Which formula you need depends on where the US dollar sits in the pair. This is the part that trips people up, and getting it backwards changes the answer by 8% or more.

USD is the quote currency (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD): Pip Value = Pip Size × Lot Size

No division. The pip is already denominated in dollars, so a standard lot of EUR/USD is worth exactly $10.00 per pip whatever the rate happens to be. That is why the reference table below shows a flat $10.00 for all three of those pairs.

USD is the base currency (USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD): Pip Value = (Pip Size ÷ Exchange Rate) × Lot Size

Here the pip is denominated in the other currency, so you divide by the rate to convert back into dollars. This is why USD/JPY pip value moves as the rate moves.

Cross pairs with no US dollar (EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY): Pip Value = Pip Size × Lot Size × (Quote currency to USD rate)

The pip lands in the quote currency, exactly as it does for a USD-quoted pair, and then needs a second conversion to reach dollars. A standard lot of EUR/GBP is £10 a pip; at a GBP/USD rate of 1.2650 that is $12.65. The pair’s own price of 0.8500 plays no part in it, which is why the calculator asks for the second rate rather than trying to work it out from the first.

What each variable means:

• Exchange Rate: the current market price of the pair (quote currency per base currency)
• Lot Size: the number of units traded
  • Standard lot: 100,000 units
  • Mini lot: 10,000 units
  • Micro lot: 1,000 units
  • Nano lot: 100 units
• 0.0001: the pip size for non-JPY pairs
• 0.01: the pip size for JPY pairs

Position size formula (risk-based): Lots = (Account Risk in $) ÷ (Stop Loss in pips × Pip Value per lot)

Reference: standard pip values (1 standard lot)

• EUR/USD: $10.00 per pip, fixed
• GBP/USD: $10.00 per pip, fixed
• AUD/USD: $10.00 per pip, fixed
• USD/JPY: varies with the rate. At 151.20 it is $6.61; at 107.50 it was $9.30
• USD/CHF: varies with the rate. At 0.95 it is $10.53

The first three never move because the dollar is the quote currency. The last two move every day for exactly the same reason the first three do not.

Worked example: Account: $10,000. Risk 1% per trade = $100 risk. Pair: EUR/USD at 1.0850. Stop loss: 30 pips.

Pip value (standard lot) = 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10.00/pip

The rate of 1.0850 does not appear anywhere in that calculation, and that is the point. EUR/USD is quoted in dollars, so the pip is already a dollar amount. Dividing by 1.0850 would give $9.22, which is the answer to a different question and about 8% light.

Position size = $100 ÷ (30 pips × $10.00) = $100 ÷ $300 = 0.333 lots (33,333 units)

If the trade moves against you 30 pips you lose exactly $100, which is 1% of the account. Round down rather than up when your broker forces a lot increment: 0.33 lots risks $99, and 0.34 risks $102.

Now the same trade on USD/JPY at 151.20. The pip size is 0.01, and USD is the base, so:

Pip value = (0.01 ÷ 151.20) × 100,000 = $6.61/pip

Position size = $100 ÷ (30 × $6.61) = 0.504 lots

Same account, same risk, same stop distance, and a position half again as large. Pip value is not a constant, and sizing every trade as though it were is how traders end up risking three times what they intended on one pair and a third of it on another.