Understanding pips is a vital aspect of forex trading. This article provides a comprehensive guide to pips, including the basic definition, different types of pips, and how to calculate pip values. Learn about using pips in forex trading strategies and tips for accurate pip calculations.

The world of forex trading is awash with technical terms, abbreviations and acronyms. Some are crucial to understanding how forex works, others are glorified means of impressing beginners and outsiders. Forex itself is an abbreviation, short for foreign exchange and is often referred to as FX. If you are new to forex trading, you have a steep learning curve ahead of you; you will be learning the ropes of a new trade and also what seems like an entirely new language.

What are pips in forex trading?

Forex trading means the simultaneous buying and selling of two currencies. A forex transaction always involves a currency pair, never a single currency. When you buy the EUR/USD pair, you will be buying euros and selling dollars in the hope that the exchange rate changes in favor of your trade. And this is where pips come into the picture. Understanding the notion of pips and how they are calculated is crucial to determining the profitability of a forex transaction and for proper risk management.

What is a pip?

A pip, which is an acronym for percentage in point or price interest point, is a unit of measurement used to express the amount of change in the exchange rate of a currency pair. A pip is defined as the smallest whole unit change that can occur in an exchange rate. 

In most cases, currency pairs are quoted to the fourth decimal place so a one pip movement is a change in the fourth decimal of the exchange rate. If the EUR/USD exchange rate moves from 1.1050 to 1.1051, the change is 1 pip. Since most forex pairs go out to the fourth decimal place, a pip is equivalent to 1/100 of 1% or one basis point. 

A notable exception is the Japanese yen, which is quoted to the second decimal. In the case of the EUR/JPY pair, a 1 pip change would mean the exchange rate moving from 140.50 to 140.51.

Fractional pips

Since changes in exchange rates can be infinitesimal, some traders and platforms use smaller units of measurement than a pip. Fractional pips, also called pipettes or points,  represent smaller price increments as they equal 1/10 of a pip. When working with fractional pips, pairs are quoted to the fifth decimal place or the third decimal place in the case of JPY. On certain trading platforms you may see the EUR/USD exchange rate displayed as 1.10502; the last digit here is a fractional pip. If the rate changes from 1.10502 to 1.10504, the difference is 2 fractional pips. On forex platforms, fractional pips are either shown in subscript or superscript. 

The use of fractional pips allows traders to benefit from the smaller price increments and moves in the market. The increasing popularity of fractional pips can also be  attributed to greater competition among brokers and electronic platforms that has brought along fiercer price competition. Even though a pip change – not to mention fractional pip movements – in an exchange rate is rather small, the size of a forex position can easily amplify such small changes. Forex traders who do not have a large capital to trade with or do not wish to risk their own capital, use leverage to be able to open larger positions and profit from slight moves in exchange rates.

Alternatively, you can work with funded forex trading firms, such as True Forex Funds, that invest their corporate capital into talented traders. The upside for you is that you don’t have to risk your own capital while day trading. With True Forex Funds, you can receive up to $400,000 in funding. All you have to do is to pay a small payment fee – starting from €89 -, which is 100% refundable, and pass the two-step evaluation process to enroll in the funded program. At True Forex Funds, currency pairs are quoted to the fifth decimal place (third for JPY pairs), as we seek to provide more accurate price information and allow our clients to make more informed trading decisions.

Are you ready to trade?

Get funded

How to count pips in forex

As explained above, a pip denotes the change in the bid-ask spread of a currency pair. The convention in forex trading is to quote the exchange rate of a currency pair to the fourth decimal, so when counting pips you need to remember that one pip for the major pairs is 0.0001, and for JPY pairs, one pip is equivalent to 0.01. On the MetaTrader 4 platform, you can add a free pip counter indicator to your chart that will count your pips for all open positions.
If you are a TradingView fan, you can count pips on a TradingView chart by using the “Measure” tool. Simply mark two price levels to calculate pip differences.

How to calculate pip values

Forex traders calculate the monetary value of pips, in other words the worth of one pip in any given currency in order to assess the profitability of a currency trade. The actual value of a pip depends on the currency pair, the exchange rate and the size of the position, which is usually expressed in lots.
If your forex account is in US dollars and your trade involves the USD as the quote currency (the second currency of the pair you trade), the pip value is fixed at 0.0001. For an EUR/USD transaction with a trade size of 1 lot (100,000 currency units), you will calculate the value of one pip by multiplying the trade size (100,000) by 0.0001. That results in a pip value of $10. If you bought 100,000 euros against the dollar at 1.0502 and sold at 1.0512, you’d make a profit of 10 pips or $100.

If, however, you want to calculate the pip value for a trade where the USD is the base currency (the first of the pair), you will have to use a different calculation method. In this case, you will need to divide the size of a pip (0.0001) by the exchange rate and then multiply by the trade value. If, for example, you are buying one lot of the USD/CAD pair at an exchange rate of 1.2840, you will need to divide the pip size (0.0001) by 1.2840 and then multiply it by 100,000. The resulting pip value will be $7.78. If you close your trade when the exchange rate reaches 1.2850, you will make a profit of $77.8. 

Remember that pairs with the Japanese yen go out to the second decimal, so here the pip value is 1/100 divided by the exchange rate and multiplied by lot size. For example, if the USD/JPY trades at 130.50, one pip is 1/100 divided by 130.50, which equals 0.0000738. If you trade a standard lot (100,000 dollars), the value of one pip will be $7.38 for that transaction.

If you do not want to calculate pip values for your trades, you can use one of the many online calculators.

How to use pips in forex trading

Pips are key to making profit/loss calculations in forex trading. As shown in the examples above, once you calculate the value of one pip for a trade and multiply it by the trade size, you can predict your potential profit or loss on that particular position using pips.
In addition, pips are used to measure the bid-ask spread, which you need to keep an eye on as it largely determines the cost of your trade. Generally speaking, the wider the spread, the more expensive the trade is for you. Some brokers and trading platforms work with market spreads and add a commission, others offer their own spreads which incorporate their fees. At True Forex Funds, clients can trade with institutional raw spreads and trading conditions, with spreads starting from 0.0 pips.

Forex trading is a high risk business and without proper risk management you can easily wipe out your trading account. Risk management will allow you to contain your losses and one of the cornerstones of a successful risk management strategy is position sizing. To determine the size of your position, you will use the pip value of your trade and you will set your stop-loss level using pips.

Summary

A pip is a unit of measurement for price movements in forex markets. One pip is the smallest whole unit by which the exchange rate of a currency pair can move. Major forex pairs are quoted to the fourth decimal and a pip is the last digit, or 0.0001. Some traders also use fractional pips to more accurately track price movements in the market. Understanding pips is essential in order to keep abreast of price changes in the forex market and to calculate associated risks. Even though forex trading is a complex form of investment, learning the basics and practicing on a demo account will allow you to succeed in the True Forex Funds evaluation process and advance to the funded trader stage.

Put your pips skills to the test!
Trade with up to $400,000

Get funded

FAQ

What is a pip?

A pip is a universally used unit of measurement that expresses the change in the exchange rate of a currency pair. A pip is the last decimal place of a currency quote. Most currency pairs are priced to four decimal places, so a single pip equals one basis point. The Japanese yen (JPY) goes out to two decimal places, so for the USD/JPY, a pip is 0.01. Pips are universally accepted and used in forex trading, making communication easier in the forex universe.

What is a pipette?

A pipette, also known as a fractional pip, equals a tenth of a pip. It is usually the fifth decimal in the price quote, except with JPY pairs, where it is the third. Pipettes are usually displayed in subscript or superscript on trading platforms.

How are pips used in forex trading?

Pips have multiple uses in forex trading: 

  • The bid-ask spread is expressed in pips 
  • Profit and loss on a trade is expressed in pips
  • The distance between the open price and the stop-loss level (or take-profit level) is expressed in pips 
  • Pips are incremental for calculating the size of a forex position.

How much is 1 pip?

In most forex currency pairs, one pip is the fourth decimal place of the price quote (0.0001). Consequently, a single pip is equivalent to 1/100 of 1%.

How much is 50 pips worth in forex trading?

The value of a pip in forex trading depends on the traded currency pair and the exchange rate. For making profit/loss calculations, you will also need to take the size of the trade into account. For example, if you buy one standard lot of (100,000 currency units) of EUR/USD and your account is in USD, the value of a single pip will be $10. In this case, 50 pips will be worth $500. If you go long in EUR/USD with a mini lot (10,000 currency units), 50 pips will equal $50.

Are pips used in the Japanese yen exchange rate?

Yes, the price quotes of currency pairs including the Japanese yen (JPY) use pips. Contrary to other major pairs, JPY pairs are quoted to the second decimal place, so the USD/JPY exchange rate is quoted as 130.50 whereas most other majors go out to the fourth decimal place.