What Is a Pip? Pip Size, Pip Value and Pips vs Points

A pip is the standard unit for a change in an exchange rate: 0.0001 on most currency pairs and 0.01 on pairs quoted in Japanese yen.^[1] Many platforms quote one extra digit, a fractional pip worth one tenth of a pip.^[1] Pip value per 1.00 lot is pip size × contract size, converted to your account currency. On a 100,000-unit EURUSD contract, one pip is worth 10 USD per lot.

Metals, indices and crypto CFDs have no pip fixed by market convention. MetaTrader 5 states stop limits in points, Pine Script states exit distances in ticks, and PineConnector's sl_pips= uses its own pip of 10 quoting points. This page is part of the trading mechanics library. It shows how to convert between the units before a TradingView alert becomes an MT5 order.

Pips at a glance

• Pip, most currency pairs: 0.0001, the fourth decimal place, by market convention.^[1][2]
• Pip, JPY pairs: 0.01, the second decimal place.^[1][2]
• Fractional pip (pipette): one tenth of a pip, the fifth decimal, or the third on JPY pairs.^[3]
• Point (MT5): the value of the last quoted digit; see Digits in the MT5 Specification.^[4][5]
• Tick size: the minimum price change step, which can be larger than a point; syminfo.mintick in Pine Script.^[4][6]
• Pip value per 1.00 lot: pip size × contract size, converted to the account currency. Contract size is in the MT5 Specification.^[4]
• PineConnector pip: 10 symbol quoting points.^[7]

Pips vs points vs ticks: what is the difference?

A pip is a market convention, a point is a quoting unit and a tick is the smallest price step a symbol trades in. On a four-decimal quote the three can coincide. On five-digit and three-digit quotes they separate, and a number copied from one tool can be ten times too large in another.

• Pip: 0.0001 on most pairs and 0.01 on JPY pairs, whatever the quote precision.^[1]
• Fractional pip: one tenth of a pip, shown as the fifth decimal on most pairs and the third on JPY pairs. Ten fractional pips make one pip.^[3]
• Point: in MetaTrader 5, the value of the last digit of the quote. The Specification window lists Digits, the "number of decimal places in the price of the symbol".^[4] PineConnector's five-digit EURUSD example has a quoting Point of 0.00001, so one pip equals 10 points there.^[7]
• Tick size: MT5 describes it as the "minimum price change step".^[4] A broker's tick size can differ from Point; PineConnector's lookup example pairs a 0.00001 Point with a 0.00005 tick size.^[8] In Pine Script, syminfo.mintick holds the smallest increment by which the feed's prices change.^[6]

The word "point" also changes meaning between providers. IG says it measures currency moves in pips for CFD trades, "but we refer to them as points".^[2] On indices, "point" often means one whole index unit. PineConnector's EA reference warns not to assume that sl=10 on an index means ten whole index points.^[9] Check which unit a number uses before copying it into an alert.

How to calculate pip value

Pip value is the change in a position's value when price moves by one pip. MetaQuotes documents the profit formula for its Forex, CFD and CFD index calculation modes as (close_price - open_price) * Contract_Size * Lots.^[5] Setting the price change to one pip and the volume to one lot gives the pip value formula.

Pip value per 1.00 lot = pip size × contract size, converted from the profit currency to the account currency

• Pip size: 0.0001, 0.01, or the pip convention you have chosen and stated. For PineConnector messages, one pip is 10 × the symbol's Point.^[7]
• Contract size: the "number of units of the commodity, currency or financial asset in one lot", read from the broker's MT5 Specification.^[4] Brokers set it per symbol.
• Profit currency: the currency in which MT5 calculates the symbol's profit.^[4] For EURUSD, the formula gives a USD amount; confirm the field rather than assuming it.
• Conversion: divide by a rate quoted as account currency / profit currency, such as USDJPY when a USD account receives a JPY amount. Multiply by a rate quoted as profit currency / account currency, such as GBPUSD for a GBP amount.
• Lots: multiply the per-lot value by the volume traded.

Symbols in MT5's Futures calculation mode use tick price divided by tick size instead of contract size: (close_price - open_price) * TickPrice / TickSize * Lots.^[5] Check the Calculation field in the Specification before applying the Forex form.^[4]

Worked examples: EURUSD, USDJPY, EURGBP and gold

Illustrative example, not a recommendation. Pip value per 1.00 lot, for a USD account. Contract sizes and exchange rates are round assumptions; read your broker's values from the MT5 Specification.

• EURUSD, five digits, contract 100,000 EUR: 0.0001 × 100,000 = 10 USD per lot.
• USDJPY, three digits, contract 100,000 USD, USDJPY at 160.000: 0.01 × 100,000 = 1,000 JPY, and 1,000 ÷ 160 = 6.25 USD per lot.
• EURGBP, five digits, contract 100,000 EUR, GBPUSD at 1.30000: 0.0001 × 100,000 = 10 GBP, and 10 × 1.30 = 13 USD per lot.
• XAUUSD, two digits, illustrative contract of 100 ounces: one PineConnector pip of 0.10 × 100 = 10 USD per lot. One 0.01 point is 1 USD per lot, and a 1.00 move is 100 USD per lot.

Scale each value by the volume. A 0.10-lot EURUSD position changes by 1 USD per pip, so a 20-pip move is worth 20 USD before spread, commission and swap. The USDJPY and EURGBP values in USD change as USDJPY and GBPUSD move, so recompute them at current rates.

Calculator

Pip value calculator

Pip value = pip size x contract size x lots

For a linear FX contract, the result is in the symbol's quote currency (USD for EURUSD). To convert it, enter a rate: divide by USDJPY to turn JPY into USD, or multiply by GBPUSD to turn GBP into USD. Contract size is broker-specific: read the symbol specification in MT5.

Pip size 0.01 for JPY pairs

Contract size (units per lot) Broker-specific

Lots Position volume

Conversion rate Optional; blank means no conversion

Apply the rate by Multiplying Dividing Used only with a rate

Worked example with the default inputs.

Pip value (quote currency)

10.00

Per 1.00 lot (quote currency)

10.00

Pip value in account currency

Not converted

Working 0.0001 x 100,000 x 1 = 10.00

Illustrative calculator. Not a recommendation.

How PineConnector converts sl_pips, tp_pips and other pip inputs

As of 25 September 2026, PineConnector defines its own pip for every symbol: one PineConnector pip equals 10 symbol quoting points.^[7] The rule follows the broker's quote precision, not the asset name. The docs apply the same pip to pip-based stops, targets, entries, breakeven, trailing, ATR triggers and the spread= filter.^[7]

• Five decimals, EURUSD entry 1.10000: Point 0.00001, pip 0.00010. sl_pips=20 on a buy is 20 × 0.00010 = 0.00200, a stop at 1.09800.
• Three decimals, JPY pair entry 150.000: Point 0.001, pip 0.010. The same input is 20 × 0.010 = 0.200, a stop at 149.800.
• Two decimals, gold entry 2000.00: Point 0.01, pip 0.10. The same input is 20 × 0.10 = 2.00, a stop at 1998.00.

Demo test only. Confirm every account sharing the selected License ID is a demo account before creating the alert. These messages request broker trades or closures. Check the exact symbol and permitted volume, and add your configured secret= if required.^[15]

Illustrative message, not a recommendation. Destination: the TradingView alert's Message field. Replace LicenseID with your own Portal value and EURUSD with the exact broker symbol, including any broker symbol suffix. If Signal Authentication is enabled, add your configured secret=; a missing or incorrect key stops the signal from being forwarded to MetaTrader.^[10]

LicenseID,buy,EURUSD,vol_lots=0.01,sl_pips=20,tp_pips=40

On PineConnector's five-digit example with an entry of 1.10000, this message requests a stop loss at 1.09800 and a take profit at 1.10400.^[7] The alert triggering, PineConnector processing the signal, the EA's order request and the broker's acceptance are separate steps. Check the actual stop and target on the MT5 position afterwards.

Two cases need extra care:

• Indices and other two-decimal CFDs: one PineConnector pip is 0.10, so sl_pips=10 is a 1.00 price distance.^[7]
• Other quote precisions: the docs illustrate only five-, three- and two-decimal quotes. On a four-decimal EURUSD quote, the 10-point rule would give 0.0010, ten conventional pips. That case is not documented; test on demo.

Broker stop limits use points, not pips. MT5's Stops level is a channel "in points" around the current price inside which stops and pending orders cannot be placed.^[4] PineConnector's lookup example multiplies a 20-point Stops level by a 0.00001 Point to get 0.00020, which is 2 PineConnector pips.^[8] Its error guide says not to treat a displayed point count as the same number of pips.^[11] The MT5 stops level and freeze level guide covers the broker side.

Loss-based sizing uses pip value directly. PineConnector documents lots as the planned loss budget ÷ (stop distance in pips × pip value per 1.00 lot), before broker volume rounding.^[12] With vol_dollar=100, sl_pips=20 and 10 USD per pip per lot, the docs' example gives 100 ÷ (20 × 10) = 0.50 lots. Applying the same formula to the USDJPY value above gives 100 ÷ (20 × 6.25) = 0.80 lots.

PineConnector calls its 10 USD figure "a scenario assumption, not a universal pip value".^[12] Which pip value the EA reads for each broker symbol is not documented; compare the requested and accepted volume on demo. For volume limits and rounding, see lot size, contract size and lot step. For the sizing choice itself, see position sizing methods.

Where pips show up in TradingView and MetaTrader 5

TradingView's strategy tools work in ticks, not pips. The profit and loss parameters of strategy.exit() accept "the number of ticks" from the entry price, and trail_offset is also a number of ticks.^[13] The long and short position drawing tools show target and stop levels "in price, percentage, and ticks".^[14]

To express a pip distance in Pine Script v6, divide the price distance by syminfo.mintick, which equals syminfo.minmove / syminfo.pricescale.^[6] On a feed whose mintick is 0.00001, 20 pips (0.00200) is 200 ticks. On a feed whose mintick is 0.0001, the same distance is 20 ticks. A published strategy's Properties tab shows the tick size of the author's dataset.^[13]

In MetaTrader 5, open the Market Watch context menu on the exact broker symbol and choose Specification.^[4] Record Digits, Contract size, Tick size, Tick value, Profit currency, Calculation and Stops level.^[4][8] MQL5 exposes the same values as SYMBOL_DIGITS, SYMBOL_POINT, SYMBOL_TRADE_TICK_SIZE and SYMBOL_TRADE_CONTRACT_SIZE.^[5]

Follow one distance through the whole path: the idea "stop 20 pips below entry", the Pine rule, the alert message and the MT5 order. Pine's loss argument places the exit in TradingView's simulation only. The MT5 stop comes from the alert message, after PineConnector converts sl_pips= with the broker symbol's pip size.

The TradingView feed and the MT5 broker can quote different prices and precisions for the same pair. Check both before assuming that a Pine tick count and a broker point count match. See why TradingView prices differ from your broker.

Common pip mistakes and limitations

• Reading points as pips. On a five-digit quote, a 20-point Stops level is 2 pips, not 20. Mixing the units up produces a tenfold error.
• Assuming 10 USD per pip. The figure holds for a 100,000-unit contract quoted in USD on a USD account. Other pairs, contract sizes and account currencies give other values.
• Treating a gold or index pip as universal. Compare price distances, not pip counts, when you move settings between tools.
• Confusing tick size with Point. A symbol can quote to 0.00001 yet change price in larger steps. Requested prices must fit the tick size the broker accepts.^[8]
• Using a stale conversion rate. Pip values for symbols not quoted in the account currency move with the conversion rate.
• Ignoring costs and execution. Pip value measures price movement only. Spread, commission, swap, slippage and gaps change the outcome, so a pip-based loss estimate is not a maximum loss. See the bid-ask spread explained.

A pip count makes a rule's distances explicit and portable between tools. Automation executes those distances as written; it does not create an edge or make a stop certain to fill at its price.

Frequently asked questions

What is pip value?

Pip value is the change in a position's value when price moves by one pip. Per 1.00 lot, it equals pip size × contract size, converted from the symbol's profit currency to the account currency. On a 100,000-unit EURUSD contract in a USD account, one pip of 0.0001 is worth 10 USD per lot, or 1 USD at 0.10 lot.

How do you calculate pip value?

Multiply the pip size by the contract size and the lots, then convert the result to the account currency. For USDJPY with a 100,000 USD contract, 0.01 × 100,000 = 1,000 JPY per lot. At an illustrative USDJPY rate of 160.000, that is 1,000 ÷ 160 = 6.25 USD. Read the contract size from the broker's MT5 Specification.

What is the difference between pips and points?

A pip is a market convention: 0.0001 on most currency pairs and 0.01 on JPY pairs. In MetaTrader 5, a point is the value of the last quoted digit, so on a five-digit EURUSD quote one pip equals 10 points. Some brokers use "point" to mean a pip, so check the unit before copying a number.

How much is one pip on gold (XAUUSD)?

Gold has no universal pip. On a two-decimal XAUUSD quote, the point is 0.01 and a PineConnector pip is 0.10, or ten points. With an illustrative contract of 100 ounces, 0.10 × 100 = 10 USD per lot per PineConnector pip. Contract sizes are broker-specific, so read them from the MT5 Specification.

How accurate is a pip value calculator?

A pip value calculator is only as accurate as its inputs: pip size, contract size, lots and a current conversion rate. Take the contract size and profit currency from the broker's MT5 Specification. The result measures price movement only, so spread, commission, swap and slippage are excluded.

Reviewed 25 September 2026. Facts were checked against the linked sources on that date. Nothing in this article was tested on a trading account and no code was compiled.

Related reading

• Trading mechanics: orders, lots, margin and costs
• Lot size, contract size and lot step
• MT5 stops level and freeze level
• The bid-ask spread explained
• Position sizing methods

Sources

1. Wikipedia – Percentage in point, accessed 25 September 2026.
2. IG – Pip definition, accessed 25 September 2026.
3. EarnForex – What Is PIP (and PIPETTE) in Forex Trading?, accessed 25 September 2026.
4. MetaQuotes – Market Watch (MetaTrader 5 Help), accessed 25 September 2026.
5. MetaQuotes – Symbol Properties (MQL5 Reference), accessed 25 September 2026.
6. TradingView – Chart information (Pine Script v6 User Manual), accessed 25 September 2026.
7. PineConnector – Syntax: PineConnector pip, accessed 25 September 2026.
8. PineConnector – Syntax: look up broker values, accessed 25 September 2026.
9. PineConnector – EA settings reference: Target Type, accessed 25 September 2026.
10. PineConnector – Protect signals with a secret key, accessed 25 September 2026.
11. PineConnector – EA errors: check stops and prices, accessed 25 September 2026.
12. PineConnector – Syntax: loss-based sizing, accessed 25 September 2026.
13. TradingView – Strategies (Pine Script v6 User Manual), accessed 25 September 2026.
14. TradingView – How to use long and short position drawing tools, accessed 25 September 2026.
15. PineConnector – Test your setup: demo account and License ID scope, accessed 25 September 2026.

PineConnector executes the instructions you send it. It does not select trades, manage money, or hold funds. Trading carries risk, and past performance of any strategy does not indicate future results.