Gold Price Calculator
Price source: Spot price from Gold-API.com, with the front-month CME futures price (via Yahoo Finance) as a fallback. Prices are cached by our server and CDN, so they can lag the market by up to about an hour. How we check accuracy
How gold is priced
Gold is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce (31.1034768 g). The troy ounce is about 9.7% heavier than the ordinary (avoirdupois) ounce of 28.35 g used for food.
The LBMA Gold Price, set twice each London business day, is the reference used for many contracts. Between auctions the market follows spot trading and CME gold futures (GC), which cover 100 troy ounces each.
The price shown is for pure (24-karat, 999) gold. Jewellery and many coins are alloys, so multiply by the purity first.
Karat and fineness
| Grade | Fineness | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 24k | 999 (99.9%) | Investment bars and many bullion coins |
| 22k | 916.7 (91.67%) | Sovereigns, Krugerrands, American Eagles; common in South Asian jewellery |
| 18k | 750 (75%) | Fine jewellery in Europe |
| 14k | 583 or 585 (58.3–58.5%) | Most US jewellery; 585 is the European stamp |
| 10k | 417 (41.7%) | Lowest grade that may be sold as karat gold in the US |
| 9k | 375 (37.5%) | Lowest hallmarked grade in the UK |
Metal value = weight × fineness × price per unit of pure metal.
Worked examples
- Melt value of a 10 g 18k ring
- 10 g × 0.750 = 7.5 g of pure gold = 7.5 ÷ 31.1034768 = 0.2411 troy oz. At an illustrative $4,000/oz that is $964.52.
- One tola of 22k gold
- 1 tola = 11.6638 g (180 grains). 11.6638 × 22/24 ÷ 31.1034768 = 0.34375 troy oz of pure gold.
- A 1 kg bar in troy ounces
- 1,000 ÷ 31.1034768 = 32.1507 troy oz.
Prices in examples are illustrative; use the calculator above for the current price.
Common pitfalls
- Ounces on a kitchen or postal scale are avoirdupois. Weighing jewellery in those ounces and multiplying by the per-troy-ounce price undervalues it by about 9%.
- Spot is the wholesale price for large bars. Coins and small bars sell above spot, and dealers buy below it, so expect a spread in both directions.
- Scrap jewellery is bought for its melt value, which is usually well below what the piece cost new.
- Stamps such as 750 or 585 give fineness in parts per thousand.
Weights used for gold
Precious metals are priced in troy ounces; everyday scales use avoirdupois ounces and pounds.
| Unit | Grams | Troy ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | 1 | 0.03215 |
| 1 troy ounce | 31.1034768 | 1 |
| 1 ounce (avoirdupois) | 28.3495231 | 0.91146 |
| 1 tola | 11.6638038 | 0.375 |
| 1 pound (avoirdupois) | 453.59237 | 14.58333 |
| 1 kilogram | 1,000 | 32.15075 |
Frequently asked questions
What unit is gold priced in?
US dollars per troy ounce. One troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams, about 9.7% more than the 28.35 g ounce used on kitchen scales. To get the price per gram, divide the ounce price by 31.1034768.
Why is a dealer's gold price different from spot?
Spot is the wholesale price for large bars. Coins and small bars are sold with a premium that covers minting, distribution and the dealer's margin, and dealers buy back below spot. The calculator shows metal value at spot.
Sources
- NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement — NIST
- LBMA precious metal prices (gold, silver, platinum, palladium) — London Bullion Market Association
- Gold futures (GC) contract specifications — CME Group
- Guides for the Jewelry, Precious Metals, and Pewter Industries (16 CFR Part 23) — US Federal Trade Commission
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