Gold Price Calculator
Live Spot Price · Purity · Multi-Currency
Rates are approximate. Enable live FX for real-time conversion.
Gold ended 2025 up 65% for the year, its sharpest annual gain since 1979, and set an all-time high of $5,589.38 per troy ounce on January 28, 2026. Whether you are selling inherited jewelry, valuing a bullion collection, or researching a purchase, knowing the precise melt value of any gold item before you walk into a dealer is the most important number you can bring to the table. The calculator above gives you that number in real time, across any karat, weight unit, and currency.
This guide explains how the calculation works, what every input means, how the gold price is set, and how to use the buy and sell spread figures to negotiate from an informed position.
Table of Contents
- How the Gold Calculator Works
- Understanding the Gold Spot Price
- The Troy Ounce: Why Gold Uses a Different Weight
- Weight Units Explained
- Gold Purity and Karats Explained
- Dealer Spread: Buy Price vs Sell Price
- Gold in 2025 and 2026: Market Context
- How to Use the Calculator When Selling Gold
- Frequently Asked Questions
How the Gold Calculator Works
The gold calculator combines three variables to produce a melt value: the current gold spot price, the weight of your item expressed in troy ounces, and the purity fraction based on the karat or fineness. The core formula is:
Melt Value = Spot Price (USD/oz t) × Weight (oz t) × Purity FractionA worked example: you have 10 grams of 18K gold and the spot price is $3,300 per troy ounce.
- Convert weight to troy ounces: 10 ÷ 31.1035 = 0.3215 oz t
- Determine purity fraction: 18K = 18/24 = 0.75
- Multiply: 0.3215 × $3,300 × 0.75 = $795.71
That $795.71 is the pure gold content value at spot, before any dealer margins. The calculator displays this figure as the purity-adjusted value, alongside the pure 24K value for the same weight, the per-gram price, and both dealer buy and sell prices with your chosen spread applied.
When you toggle on the currency selector, all output values are multiplied by the approximate FX rate for that currency pair. The spot price and all calculations remain anchored to USD per troy ounce, since that is the global standard, and the currency conversion is applied as the final step.
Understanding the Gold Spot Price
The gold spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of 24K (99.9% pure) gold for immediate delivery. It is quoted in US dollars and updates continuously during trading hours, reflecting live buying and selling activity across the global gold market.
Two institutions drive global gold price discovery.
The LBMA Gold Price
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) administers the world’s most referenced gold benchmark. Twice each business day, at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM London time, the LBMA runs an electronic auction among major bullion banks to establish the LBMA Gold Price AM and PM. These benchmarks are used to settle wholesale physical gold transactions, value reserves at central banks, and price commercial contracts worldwide. The modern electronic auction replaced the original “London Gold Fixing,” a telephone conference among five banks that ran from 1919 to 2015.
COMEX
COMEX, part of the CME Group in New York, operates the most liquid gold futures market. Futures contracts represent agreements to buy or sell 100-ounce gold bars at a future date. Daily trading volumes on COMEX regularly exceed 200,000 contracts, and because near-month futures prices track spot closely through arbitrage, COMEX activity has a continuous influence on the real-time spot quote. The spot price you see on any financial website aggregates order flow from both LBMA wholesale trading and COMEX futures into a single per-troy-ounce figure denominated in US dollars.
What the Spot Price Is Not
The spot price is a wholesale benchmark for large-lot institutional transactions. It is not the price a retail dealer buys or sells at. Dealers apply a spread above the spot price when selling to you and a discount below spot when buying from you. The gap reflects their operating costs, storage, insurance, market risk, and profit margin. The calculator’s buy and sell price outputs show you what your gold is worth after dealer spreads are applied.
The Troy Ounce: Why Gold Uses a Different Weight
When you see a gold price quoted anywhere in the world, the “ounce” refers to a troy ounce, not the standard avoirdupois ounce used for food and everyday goods. The two are not the same.
| Unit | Weight in Grams | Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce (oz t) | 31.1035 g | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium — all precious metals |
| Avoirdupois ounce (oz) | 28.3495 g | Groceries, postal weight, everyday commerce |
| Difference | 2.754 g (~9.7%) | A troy ounce contains roughly 10% more gold than a standard ounce |
The troy weight system originated at the medieval trade fairs of Troyes, France, where merchants from across Europe needed a shared standard for high-value goods. Britain formally adopted the troy ounce for gold and silver in 1527. The United States followed in 1828. Today it remains the last surviving troy measure in commercial use, applied exclusively to precious metals.
The practical consequence: if someone tells you the gold price is “$3,300 per ounce” and you use a standard kitchen scale to weigh your gold in avoirdupois ounces, you will underestimate its value by about 9.7%. The calculator handles this conversion automatically for all weight units.
One Troy Pound Is Lighter Than One Avoirdupois Pound
A confusing twist of the troy system: although a troy ounce is heavier than an avoirdupois ounce, a troy pound contains only 12 troy ounces (373.24 grams), which is lighter than an avoirdupois pound of 16 avoirdupois ounces (453.59 grams). This is why the precious metals industry refers to ounces rather than pounds in all pricing and transaction contexts.
Weight Units Explained
Gold is weighed and traded in different units depending on the region and context. The calculator supports all major units used globally.
| Unit | Grams | Troy Ounces | Primary Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce (oz t) | 31.1035 g | 1.000 | Global — all international gold pricing |
| Gram (g) | 1.000 g | 0.03215 | Europe, jewelry, small retail transactions |
| Kilogram (kg) | 1,000 g | 32.1507 | Institutional bars, central bank reserves |
| Tola | 11.6638 g | 0.37500 | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal — the traditional South Asian unit |
| Hong Kong Tael | 37.4290 g | 1.20337 | Hong Kong, Singapore, parts of Southeast Asia |
| Pennyweight (dwt) | 1.5552 g | 0.05000 | US jewelry industry — one troy ounce contains 20 pennyweights |
| Avoirdupois ounce | 28.3495 g | 0.91146 | Non-metric countries for everyday goods — not the precious metals standard |
When buying or weighing gold, always confirm which unit is being used. Misidentifying a tola as a gram understates the weight by a factor of about 11.7. Confusing an avoirdupois ounce with a troy ounce understates value by about 10%.
Gold Purity and Karats Explained
Pure gold is too soft to wear as everyday jewelry. It scratches easily, bends under pressure, and loses its shape. Jewelers and refiners address this by alloying gold with other metals: silver, copper, zinc, or palladium. The karat system measures how much of the resulting alloy is actual gold.
A karat is one twenty-fourth part of the whole. So 24K means 24 parts gold out of 24, which is 100% pure. 18K means 18 parts gold out of 24, or 75% pure. The rest is alloy metals.
Karat Reference Table
| Karat | Fineness (parts per thousand) | Gold Content | Hallmark Stamp | Common Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 999 | 99.9% | 999 or 24K | Bullion bars, coins, investment gold |
| 22K | 916 | 91.6% | 916 or 22K | Fine jewelry (popular in India and Middle East), Krugerrand coins |
| 21K | 875 | 87.5% | 875 or 21K | Traditional jewelry in Gulf countries |
| 18K | 750 | 75.0% | 750 or 18K | Designer jewelry, diamond settings, luxury watches |
| 14K | 583 | 58.3% | 585 or 14K | Everyday rings and bracelets — most common karat in the United States |
| 10K | 417 | 41.7% | 417 or 10K | Budget jewelry — the legal minimum gold content to be sold as gold in the US |
| 9K | 375 | 37.5% | 375 or 9K | UK and Australia — common for everyday wear, lower gold content |
Fineness vs Karat
European and international markets often express purity in fineness, which is parts per thousand rather than parts per 24. A 18K gold ring is stamped 750 in the fineness system (75.0% × 1000 = 750). A 22K piece is stamped 916. When you see a three-digit number stamped inside a ring or on a bar, that is the fineness. The calculator accepts custom fineness values between 0 and 999.9 for items with non-standard alloys.
Higher Karat Does Not Always Mean Better Quality
For investment, 24K gold is ideal because you are paying for maximum gold content and it is easiest to value and resell. For daily wear jewelry, 22K or 18K is more practical because the alloy metals add hardness and scratch resistance. 14K is the most common choice in US retail because it withstands daily friction while keeping the cost accessible. Higher karat gold is worth more per gram, but a piece that scratches or deforms quickly has lost visual value even if its melt value is intact.
Dealer Spread: Buy Price vs Sell Price
The dealer spread is the gap between what a dealer charges you to buy gold and what they pay you when you sell it back. The calculator has two separate spread inputs so you can model both sides of a transaction.
When a dealer sells gold to you, they add a premium above the spot price. When they buy from you, they pay a discount below spot. The difference between the two is how they cover their operating costs and make a profit.
Typical Spread Ranges by Product Type
| Product Type | Typical Dealer Spread | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gold bullion coins (1 oz) | 1% to 3% | High liquidity, standardized purity — tightest spreads in the retail market |
| Gold bullion bars | 0.5% to 2% | Lower premiums on larger bars (100g, 1 kg); higher on small bars (1g, 5g) |
| Scrap gold jewelry | 15% to 30% | Dealers factor in refining costs and uncertainty around exact purity testing |
| Gold jewelry (resale) | 5% to 25% | Varies with design, brand, and whether the piece has craft value above melt |
| Specialist bullion dealers / refineries | 2% to 5% | Higher volume buyers can pay 95-98% of melt for good-quality scrap |
During periods of high market volatility, spreads widen because dealers bear more risk holding inventory when prices are moving sharply. In 2025, gold set 53 all-time highs during the year. That kind of sustained movement typically pushes retail spreads toward the wider end of each range.
How to Use the Spread Inputs
Set the buy spread to the premium a dealer charges above spot to sell you gold. Set the sell spread to the discount a dealer applies below spot when buying from you. If you are evaluating a specific dealer’s quote, enter their figures directly to see how the offer compares to the raw melt value. A pawnshop that offers you 65% of spot on your 18K jewelry is applying an effective sell spread of 35%.
Gold in 2025 and 2026: Market Context
Gold’s performance over the past two years has been without recent precedent. The metal started 2025 at approximately $2,624 per troy ounce and ended the year near $4,310, a gain of 65% for the full year, the strongest annual performance since the 133% jump recorded in 1979.
The World Gold Council reported that total global gold demand, including over-the-counter trading, exceeded 5,000 tonnes in 2025 for the first time on record. Investment demand was the primary driver, with investors purchasing 2,175 tonnes through exchange-traded funds, bars, and coins, an 84% increase from the prior year. US-listed gold ETFs added 437 tonnes of inflows alone, pushing holdings to a record 2,019 tonnes with assets under management reaching $280 billion.
Central banks purchased 863 tonnes of gold in 2025. While that figure was 21% below the record years of 2022 to 2024, it remained 82% above the 2010 to 2021 annual average of 473 tonnes. The National Bank of Poland was the largest single buyer, adding 102 tonnes. Late in 2025, gold overtook US Treasuries as the world’s largest reserve asset by value.
The all-time price high of $5,589.38 per troy ounce was reached on January 28, 2026. JP Morgan Research, in its 2026 outlook, projects gold prices pushing toward $5,000 per ounce by Q4 2026 and identifies $6,000 per ounce as a longer-term possibility, citing continued strong ETF inflows and central bank demand averaging 585 tonnes per quarter.
These conditions make the melt value calculation more important, not less. At higher prices, the dollar difference between spot and the price a low-quality buyer offers widens significantly. A 20% discount off a $3,300 spot price costs you $660 per troy ounce. The same 20% discount off a $5,000 spot costs you $1,000 per troy ounce. Knowing your melt value before every transaction directly translates to money in your pocket.
How to Use the Calculator When Selling Gold
Before you accept any offer for your gold, run through these steps with the calculator.
- Identify the karat. Look for a stamped hallmark inside a ring, on a clasp, or on a bar. Common stamps are 999, 916, 750, 585, 417, 375. If you cannot find a stamp, a local jeweler can test purity with an acid test or XRF analyzer.
- Weigh the item. Use a digital jeweler’s scale that displays grams, and select grams in the unit selector. Kitchen scales are not precise enough for small pieces.
- Enter the current spot price. The calculator fetches live prices automatically. If you want to use a specific price you have sourced elsewhere, use the manual override toggle.
- Read the purity-adjusted value. This is your melt value at spot. No legitimate buyer can pay you more than this; any offer should be a specific percentage of it.
- Enter the dealer’s implied spread. If a buyer offers you $X and the melt value is $Y, the spread is (Y – X) / Y × 100. Enter that as the sell spread to see it displayed clearly.
- Compare multiple offers. Specialized bullion dealers typically pay 75% to 85% of melt value for scrap jewelry. Pawnshops may offer 50% to 70%. Dedicated gold refiners or cash-for-gold dealers with large volume may offer up to 90% to 95%. Always get written quotes on the same day from at least three buyers.
Never sell without a written offer that specifies the weight used, the karat assessed, the spot price referenced, and the payout amount. If the buyer’s written calculation does not match your calculator result, ask them to explain the difference line by line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a gold calculator work?
A gold calculator determines the value of gold by multiplying the current spot price per troy ounce by the weight converted to troy ounces and by the purity fraction based on the karat. For example, 10 grams of 18K gold at a spot price of $3,300 per troy ounce equals: (10 / 31.1035) x 3,300 x 0.75 = $795.71. Dealer buy and sell prices are then calculated by applying a spread percentage above and below that melt value.
What is a troy ounce and why is gold measured in it?
A troy ounce weighs 31.1035 grams, roughly 10% heavier than the avoirdupois ounce (28.35 grams) used for everyday goods. The troy weight system originated at the medieval trade fairs of Troyes, France, and was formally adopted by Britain for gold and silver in 1527. It became the global standard because it provides a consistent benchmark across all markets. Every gold price quote worldwide refers to troy ounces.
What is the difference between 24K, 22K, 18K, and 14K gold?
Karat measures gold purity on a 24-part scale. 24K (99.9% pure) is the most valuable per gram but too soft for most jewelry. 22K (91.7% pure) is popular for fine jewelry in India and the Middle East. 18K (75% pure) balances richness and durability, preferred for designer settings and diamond jewelry. 14K (58.3% pure) is the most common US choice for everyday wear due to its durability and lower cost. 10K (41.7% pure) is the legal minimum in the US.
How is the gold spot price set?
The LBMA runs electronic auctions twice daily at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM London time to produce benchmark prices for wholesale physical gold transactions. COMEX in New York operates the most liquid gold futures market, with futures prices that track spot closely and influence real-time quotes. Data vendors aggregate both sources into the spot price quoted per troy ounce in US dollars that appears in financial data and on calculator tools.
What percentage of gold value will a dealer pay?
Most dealers pay between 70% and 85% of melt value for scrap jewelry. Specialized bullion dealers and refineries can pay up to 95-98% of melt value. The spread on bullion coins and bars is typically 1-5%. Always calculate your melt value first using the current spot price, and compare written quotes from at least three buyers before selling.
What weight units does the gold calculator support?
The calculator supports troy ounces (the global gold pricing standard), grams, kilograms, tola (11.66g, used in South Asia), Hong Kong tael (37.43g, used in Southeast Asia), pennyweight (used in the US jewelry trade), and avoirdupois ounces. All weights are converted to troy ounces internally for the calculation.
