Gold Lot Size: How to Size XAU/USD Trades Correctly
Gold catches out traders who size it like EUR/USD. It moves further, it's priced per ounce, and "pip" means different things at different brokers. The fix is to stop counting pips and use prices.
What one lot of gold is
At most brokers, one standard lot of XAU/USD is 100 troy ounces. So:
- A $1.00 move in the gold price = $100 per lot
- A $0.10 move = $10 per lot
- A $0.01 move = $1 per lot
Some brokers use 10 oz or even 1 oz lots, especially on cent or micro accounts. Check yours: in MetaTrader, right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch and open Specification. The contract size is listed there.
Why pips don't work for gold
Some brokers call $0.10 a pip on gold, others $0.01, and some platforms show points. A "50 pip" stop can mean $5 or $0.50 depending on who you ask, a 10× difference in risk. Entry and stop prices mean the same thing everywhere.
The formula
Lots = (balance × risk %) ÷ (|entry − stop| × contract size)
Example
- Balance $10,000, risk 1% = $100
- Buy at 2,400.00, stop at 2,395.00, so the stop is $5.00 away
- Contract size 100 oz, so the stop costs $5 × 100 = $500 per lot
$100 ÷ $500 = 0.20 lots. If your broker's contract is 10 oz, the same trade is 2.00 lots. Same risk, very different number, which is why the contract size matters.
Non-USD accounts
Gold is priced in dollars, so a EUR or GBP account has to convert the risk first. €100 at EUR/USD 1.08 is $108, which gives 0.21 lots on the example above.
Silver and gold in other currencies
- Silver (XAG/USD): usually 5,000 oz per lot, so $0.01 = $50 per lot.
- XAU/EUR, XAU/GBP, XAU/AUD: gold priced in that currency, same 100 oz lot.
Calculate it
Enter your entry, stop and contract size in the XAU/USD lot size calculator. There are also calculators for silver and gold in euros.