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Pip Value vs Point Value: What Is the Difference?

Forex pairs are measured in pips and index CFDs in points. They look similar, but the unit and its cash value are set completely differently.

Written by PipGauge editorial team

Reviewed by PipGauge methodology review

Last updated 2026-07-06

Short answer. A pip is a fixed decimal step in a forex price — usually 0.0001 — and on a USD-quoted pair one pip on a standard lot is worth about $10 in quote-currency terms. A point is one whole unit of an index level, and its cash value is whatever your broker's contract says, commonly about $1 per point per lot on US30 or NAS100. Different units, different values: a 100-pip forex move and a 100-point index move are not the same amount of money, so you can never compare the two counts directly.

What this page is for

Traders who run both forex and index CFDs often carry one risk habit across both and misjudge the size. This page sets pips and points side by side so you can see why “I risked 100 of them” means very different money in each. For the actual position sizing, use the pip value calculator for forex and the US30 or NAS100 point value calculators for indices. Educational only, not advice.

How it works

Both units turn a price move into money the same way — count the units, multiply by the value of one unit per lot, multiply by lots — but the unit itself is defined differently.

Forex (pips): P&L = pips × pip value per lot × lots. A pip is 0.0001 of price (0.01 on yen pairs). On a standard lot of a USD-quoted pair, pip value is 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10.

Index CFDs (points): P&L = points × value per point per lot × lots. A point is a one-unit change in the index level. The value per point is not universal — it comes from your broker's contract specification.

The reason forex uses pips at all is that its prices sit far to the right of the decimal, so a whole-number “point” would be far too large a step; an index quoted in whole numbers does not need a smaller unit.

Inputs and assumptions

Standard forex lot = 100,000 units; pip = 0.0001 (0.01 on yen pairs).
Index value per point is broker-specific; the examples below use a common $1 per point per lot for US30, which you must confirm against your own contract.
Figures are gross of spread, commission and swap.
Index point values can differ by 100× between brokers, so never assume a default.

Worked example 1 — a 100-unit move in each

Compare a 100-pip move on EUR/USD with a 100-point move on US30, each on one standard lot:

EUR/USD, 100 pips: 100 × $10 × 1 = $1,000.
US30, 100 points (at $1 per point): 100 × $1 × 1 = $100.

Same count of “units,” ten times the money on the forex side. The mis-sizing runs both ways. Assume a US30 point is worth what a pip is ($10 instead of $1) and you overestimate the index trade's risk ten-fold, so you size it at a tenth of what your budget allowed. Carry the index habit the other way — treating 100 forex pips as casually as 100 index points — and the forex trade risks ten times what you intended.

Worked example 2 — matching the risk, not the count

Say you want to risk about $200 on a trade. On EUR/USD with a 20-pip stop, pip value $10, the loss is 20 × $10 = $200 on one standard lot. On US30 with a 200-point stop at $1 per point, the loss is 200 × $1 = $200 on one lot. The counts (20 versus 200) look nothing alike, yet the dollar risk is the same — because each was multiplied by its own value per unit. That is the whole point of keeping pips and points separate: match the money, never the unit count.

Common mistakes — why the number misleads you

Carrying a pip habit onto an index. “I always risk 30 of them” means $300 on a forex standard lot but roughly $30 on a US30 lot at $1 per point. The habit does not transfer.
Trusting the platform's “pip” label on an index. A cosmetic label does not change the contract. Size from the point value in the specification.
Assuming a default point value. $1 per point is common but not guaranteed; $0.10 and $10 both exist. The value per point is the single number people most often get wrong.
Comparing counts across instruments. A move measured in pips and one measured in points are not comparable until each is converted to money.

Methodology and limitations

The forex pip value here follows the standard convention used by our pip value calculator. Index examples use a common $1-per-point contract, but the correct value for your account is whatever your broker publishes, and it can differ substantially. All figures are gross of spread, commission and swap. This is educational information for non-US retail traders, not investment, trading or financial advice. Confirm every contract value against your own broker before sizing a trade. Last updated 2026-07-06.

Frequently asked questions

Is a point the same as a pip?

No. A pip is a fixed decimal step in a forex price — 0.0001 on most pairs. A point is one whole unit of an index level, such as US30 going from 44,250 to 44,251. They are different-sized units, and their cash value is set differently, so they are not interchangeable.

Why do brokers sometimes call an index step a pip?

Some platforms cosmetically label a 0.1-point index move a “pip.” It is just a display label. What actually drives your profit and loss is the point and its value per lot from the contract specification, so size from the point, not the platform's wording.

How do I find my value per point?

It is in your broker's contract specification for the instrument, not a universal constant. A common retail setup is $1 per point per lot on US30 and NAS100, but some brokers use $0.10 or $10. Confirm it with the US30 point value calculator or NAS100 point value calculator before sizing.

Does one pip and one point ever cost the same?

Only by coincidence. On a standard lot of a USD-quoted forex pair one pip is about $10 in quote-currency terms, while one US30 point at a common spec is about $1. Because the units and their values differ, comparing “how many pips” to “how many points” tells you nothing about risk until you multiply each by its own value per unit.

Which one applies to gold?

Gold (XAUUSD) is usually described in pips, but with its own contract size — commonly 100 ounces, though broker-dependent (some use 10 oz) — and two competing pip definitions. It behaves more like the forex side of this comparison than the index side; see the gold pip value calculator.