GBPUSD Pip Value Calculator

Knowing what one pip of GBPUSD is actually worth, before you size a trade, is what this calculator answers — using GBPUSD's own real contract size and point value rather than a flat forex assumption.

How do I calculate pip value for GBPUSD?

At GBPUSD's stored contract size (100,000 units per lot), here's what one pip of movement is worth at three common lot sizes.

Say a trader opens 1.00 lot of GBPUSD, with a stop loss 53 pips away and a take profit 106 pips away.

Why does pip value change between instruments?

Pip value depends on the pair's quote currency and the current exchange rate, not just the pip size. GBPUSD is worth $10.00 per pip per lot right now — a different pair, or the same pair at a different exchange rate, would give a different dollar figure even with an identical pip count.

Why is pip calculation different for non-standard-decimal instruments like this one?

Most forex majors use a 4-decimal pip convention, but plenty of instruments don't: JPY pairs use 2 decimals, and GBPUSD uses its own quoting convention (one pip here equals a raw price move of 0.0001). This calculator uses GBPUSD's own real pip/point size rather than assuming the generic 4-decimal convention, which would silently miscount the move.

What one pip means on GBPUSD

It typically moves more pips per day than EUR/USD, so a stop that feels "normal" on EUR/USD can be too tight here.

On this site one pip for GBPUSD is 0.0001 in price. If GBPUSD rose from 1.3200 to 1.3240, the move is 0.0040 ÷ 0.0001 = 40 pips.

How the value per pip is calculated

For one lot: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10.00 per pip for 1 lot, already in US dollars because USD is the quote currency. Everything below uses $10.00 per pip for 1.00 lot.

GBPUSD value per pip at common lot sizes

• 1.00 lot: 1.00 × $10.00 = $10.00 per pip.
• 0.10 lots: 0.10 × $10.00 = $1.00 per pip.
• 0.01 lots: 0.01 × $10.00 = $0.10 per pip.
• 5.00 lots: 5.00 × $10.00 = $50.00 per pip.

Value per pip grows in direct proportion to lot size, so doubling the lots doubles both the gain and the loss for every pip price moves.

Worked example: what a stop costs on 0.30 lots of GBPUSD

• Entry 1.3200, stop 1.3160: the distance is 40 pips.
• Value per pip on 0.30 lots: 0.30 × $10.00 = $3.00.
• Money at risk if the stop is hit: 40 × 0.30 × $10.00 = $120.00.
• Spread of 3 pips (an invented figure for this example): 3 × 0.30 × $10.00 = $9.00, which is 7.5% of the stop distance.

The spread is a little wider than on EUR/USD, which matters most when the stop is short. On a 40 pip stop the spread above takes 7.5% of the room before price moves at all, and on a stop half as wide, 20 pips, it would take 15%.

Risk at other stop distances on 0.10 lots

• 20 pips: 20 × 0.10 × $10.00 = $20.00.
• 40 pips: 40 × 0.10 × $10.00 = $40.00.
• 80 pips: 80 × 0.10 × $10.00 = $80.00.
• 160 pips: 160 × 0.10 × $10.00 = $160.00.

Each doubling of the stop doubles the money at risk on the same lot size, which is why a wider stop needs a smaller position to keep the risk the same.

Working backwards: how far can the stop be?

Sometimes the lot size is fixed and the question is how wide the stop may be. Say you hold 0.10 lots of GBPUSD and will risk $100.

• Value per pip on 0.10 lots: 0.10 × $10.00 = $1.00.
• Stop distance: $100 ÷ $1.00 = 100.0, rounded down to 100 pips.
• Check: 100 × 0.10 × $10.00 = $100.00, inside the $100 budget.
• In price terms, 100 × 0.0001 = 0.0100, so a buy at 1.3200 would have its stop at 1.3100.

If that stop is too tight for how GBPUSD actually moves, the answer is fewer lots, not a stop that sits inside the normal noise. The GBPUSD lot size calculator does that step for you.

Does the value per pip change?

No. GBPUSD is quoted in US dollars, so the value per pip is fixed at $10.00 per lot whatever price does, and it will not drift between the time you size a trade and the time you close it.

Verify the GBPUSD pip value with your broker

The contract size of 100,000 and the pip size of 0.0001 are reference values. Brokers can define a point or pip differently and quote an extra decimal, so compare $10.00 per pip with the tick value in your platform's contract specification. For background on the instrument, see the pound sterling on Wikipedia.

Where to find the GBPUSD value in your platform

• Open the contract specification for GBPUSD (in MetaTrader, right-click the symbol in Market Watch and choose Specification).
• Check the contract size: this page assumes 100,000.
• Check the tick size and tick value, then scale to one pip of 0.0001 if they differ.
• Compare the result with $10.00 per pip per lot; a gap of more than a few percent usually means a different contract size or a different conversion rate.

More tools for GBPUSD

• Turn a risk amount and a stop distance into a lot size with the GBPUSD lot size calculator.
• See how much margin that position ties up with the GBPUSD margin calculator.
• Work out the result of a finished trade with the GBPUSD profit and loss calculator.
• Compare risk and reward before entering with the GBPUSD risk reward ratio calculator.
• Mark support and resistance from yesterday's range with the GBPUSD pivot points calculator.
• Compare a similar instrument: EURUSD pip value calculator.
• Compare a similar instrument: GBPJPY pip value calculator.

Conclusion

This only holds if 100,000 units per lot is actually your own broker's real contract size for GBPUSD — it's a figure that varies by broker, especially outside plain forex majors. Always confirm your own platform's GBPUSD specification (Market Watch, then Specification) before trusting a pip/point value for a real trade. See the difference between points and pips, Wikipedia's entry on percentage in point (pip) for the underlying concept, and real MT4 screenshots comparing pip value across different lot sizes.

Contract specification

Frequently asked questions