What a pip is
A pip is the unit a currency price is counted in: 0.0001 on most pairs, and 0.01 on pairs quoted in Japanese yen. When EUR/USD moves from 1.1236 to 1.1237, it has moved one pip.
Most platforms quote one decimal place more than that, a tenth of a pip often called a pipette, so a EUR/USD price usually shows five decimals.
Gold has no single convention. The calculator counts a 0.01 move as a pip on a 100-ounce lot; some brokers define a gold pip or a gold lot differently, so check your broker's contract specification before you rely on a gold figure.
How pip value is worked out
pip value = pip size × units per lot × lots
The answer comes out in the pair's quote currency, the second currency in its name. On EUR/USD that is the US dollar: 0.0001 × 100,000 = US$10.00 a pip on one standard lot.
To put it in your account currency, the calculator converts at the reference rate of 129.9 KES to the US dollar (23 October 2026), so in a KES account a EUR/USD pip on one lot is worth Ksh 1,299.00.
| Lot | Lots | Units | One pip (USD) | One pip (KES) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1 | 100,000 | US$10.00 | Ksh 1,299.00 |
| Mini | 0.1 | 10,000 | US$1.00 | Ksh 129.90 |
| Micro | 0.01 | 1,000 | US$0.10 | Ksh 12.99 |
Why a KES account changes the pip value
On EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD and gold the price is quoted in US dollars, so a pip is worth a fixed number of dollars whatever the price: US$10.00 on a standard lot of a currency pair, US$1.00 on a lot of gold. The account currency decides what happens to it next.
In a US dollar account the pip stays in dollars: US$10.00 on a lot of EUR/USD, every time. The exchange rate does not touch the trade; it meets you when you deposit or withdraw Kenyan shillings.
In a KES account the broker converts each pip into Kenyan shillings at its own rate. The Kenyan shilling floats against the US dollar, so the same one-pip move is worth more Kenyan shillings when the dollar strengthens and fewer when it weakens: at 123.41 to the dollar a EUR/USD pip on a lot is worth Ksh 1,234.05; at 136.4, it is Ksh 1,363.95.
Neither account takes the currency risk away from a trader who spends Kenyan shillings: a KES account meets it on every trade, a dollar account when the money comes home. The conversion terms differ by broker. Of the ten brokers in our forex broker ranking, FXPesa offers KES accounts and Exness lists KES as an account currency; we held US dollar accounts at all ten. None states a separate conversion fee, but on our M-Pesa round trips between 22 and 29 October 2026 the gap between the deposit and withdrawal rates cost from nothing (AvaTrade, HFM, FP Markets) to about 3.8 percent (IC Markets), and about 6 percent at Admirals.
Yen pairs and gold
On USD/JPY a pip is 0.01 and its value is born in yen: 0.01 × 100,000 = JP¥1,000 on a standard lot. What that is in dollars depends on the USD/JPY price itself: at the reference price of 157.00 it is about US$6.37, which is Ksh 827.39 in a KES account.
On gold, a 0.01 move on a 100-ounce lot is worth US$1.00, or Ksh 129.90 in a KES account.
| Instrument | Pip | In the quote currency | In USD | In KES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.0001 | US$10.00 | US$10.00 | Ksh 1,299.00 |
| GBP/USD | 0.0001 | US$10.00 | US$10.00 | Ksh 1,299.00 |
| USD/JPY | 0.01 | JP¥1,000 | US$6.37 | Ksh 827.39 |
| AUD/USD | 0.0001 | US$10.00 | US$10.00 | Ksh 1,299.00 |
| Gold (XAU/USD) | 0.01 | US$1.00 | US$1.00 | Ksh 129.90 |
Where to take this next
A pip value is the unit every other trading figure is built from.
- Position size calculator, which turns a pip value into a trade size from the loss you accept.
- Profit calculator, for what a move of so many pips makes or loses.
- Margin calculator, for what a position ties up at a given leverage.
- Best forex brokers in Kenya, regulation first, cost second.
- Broker reviews, for the broker behind the account.
This calculator is provided for education. Where a pair is quoted in another currency, pip values are converted at reference rates as of 23 October 2026, not live rates, so they are estimates and not quotes: your broker converts at its own rate. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, most retail accounts lose money trading these products, and nothing here is investment advice.
