GBPUSD pip value, lot size and commission
British pound / US dollar on MetaTrader 5: what one pip is worth, how many lots to trade for the risk you choose, the commission on each plan and the rules that apply.
- $10.00one pip on 1.00 lot
- 100,000GBP in one lot
- $5commission, Edge · $4 Prime
- Symbol
- GBPUSD on MetaTrader 5
- Market
- Forex, major
- Contract size
- 100,000 GBP per lot
- Price step (point)
- 0.00001
- Pip
- 0.0001 (fourth decimal)
- Commission
- $5 Edge and Instant, $4 Prime, per lot round turn
- Margin, 1.00 lot
- $1,270 at 1:100, $5,080 at 1:25, at the example price 1.2700
Standard across MetaTrader 5 servers. The terminal's Specification (right-click the symbol in Market Watch) shows the exact figures for your account.
What GBPUSD is
British pound / US dollar
GBPUSD is the British pound priced in US dollars: a price of 1.2700 means one British pound costs 1.2700 US dollars. It is one of the seven major pairs, every one of them against the US dollar, and among the most traded markets there are.
When it trades
Forex trades around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday evening, New York time. GBPUSD is busiest when London and New York are open, and most of all where two sessions overlap.
GBPUSD pip value, step by step
Find the pip
A pip on GBPUSD is 0.0001, the fourth decimal place. MetaTrader 5 quotes one more digit, so a point is a tenth of a pip (0.00001).
Multiply by the lot
One standard lot is 100,000 British pounds, so a pip is 0.0001 × 100,000 = 10 USD per lot; 0.10 lot is a tenth of that, 0.01 lot a hundredth.
Convert to dollars
The quote currency is the dollar, so nothing to convert: $10 a pip on 1.00 lot at any price.
GBPUSD: one pip and common moves, by lot size
Risking 1% of $100,000 with a 20-pip stop
One lot loses $200.00 if a stop 20 pips away is hit (20 pips × $10.00 a pip). Risking 1% of a $100,000 account, $1,000, buys $1,000 ÷ $200.00 = 5.00 lots, rounded down to the 0.01 lot step.
The $1,000 is a quarter of the $4,000 Max Daily Loss on a $100K Edge 1 Step, so four such losses in one day would reach it. Example price 1.2700: a round figure for the arithmetic, not a quote.
Commission, leverage and margin on every CFD plan
Commission is round turn: half when the trade opens, half when it closes, the same in the evaluation and once funded. Margin is the position value divided by the plan's leverage ceiling, for 1.00 lot at the example price of 1.2700 ($127,000 of GBP); the margin MetaTrader 5 shows when you place the order is the one that applies.
| Plan | Commission | Per side | Leverage | Margin, 1.00 lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge 1 Step | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:100 | $1,270 |
| Edge 2 Step | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:100 | $1,270 |
| Instant Pro | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:33 | $3,848 |
| Instant Go | $5 per lot | $2.50 | 1:25 | $5,080 |
| Prime 1 Step | $4 per lot | $2.00 | 1:50 | $2,540 |
| Prime 2 Step | $4 per lot | $2.00 | 1:100 | $1,270 |
For education. Figures are arithmetic on the contract specification and an example price; the specification, price, spread and commission on your platform decide real results. Nothing here is financial advice, and trading leveraged products can lose money.
Rules that apply when you trade GBPUSD
Max. Exposure
Every open position counts at its full value against a cap set by account size: $1,250,000 on $100K. At the example price one lot of GBPUSD is $127,000, so about 9.84 lots fill the whole cap with nothing else open. Going over is a warning, and resets any profit to the starting balance; a second closes the account.
The ruleNews trading
Allowed on every CFD plan. Not allowed: straddling, opening both directions (or offsetting positions on correlated instruments) within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike. It is reviewed by the risk desk, never penalised automatically.
BoE rate decisionFOMC rate decisionUK CPINon-Farm Payrolls (NFP)US CPIPCE inflationEconomic calendarWeekend holding
With the Weekend Holding add-on, keep GBPUSD open over the weekend. Without it, positions still open at 4:45 PM New York time on Friday are closed by the system: the first time is a warning, the second closes the account.
The ruleThe thin-liquidity window
At most 20% of your profit may come from trades opened and closed between 21:00:00 and 22:59:59 UTC, every night, on every instrument. While it is over, payouts on that account are paused; once profit from outside the window brings the share back inside the limit, they open again by themselves. Overnight holding is allowed; swaps count like any other cost.
The ruleGBPUSD: questions
What is the pip value of GBPUSD?
$10.00 per pip on 1.00 lot, $1.00 on 0.10 lot and $0.10 on 0.01 lot. A pip on GBPUSD is 0.0001.
What lot size should I trade on GBPUSD with a $100K account?
Risking 1% ($1,000) with a stop of 20 pips: $1,000 ÷ $200.00 per lot = 5.00 lots. Halve the risk and the lots halve with it. The stop decides the size, not the account.
What is the commission on GBPUSD at WhitePips?
$5 per lot, round turn, on Edge and Instant, and $4 on Prime: $2.50 when the trade opens and $2.50 when it closes on Edge. The same in the evaluation and once funded.
What leverage can I use on GBPUSD?
The plan's leverage ceiling: 1:100 on Edge 1 Step, 1:100 on Edge 2 Step, 1:33 on Instant Pro, 1:25 on Instant Go, 1:50 on Prime 1 Step, 1:100 on Prime 2 Step. One lot at 1.2700 is $127,000, so it holds $1,270 of margin at 1:100 and $5,080 at 1:25. In practice Max. Exposure sizes positions first: about 9.84 lots of GBPUSD on a $100K account.
Can I trade GBPUSD around news at WhitePips?
Yes, on every CFD plan. What is not allowed is straddling: positions in both directions, or offsetting positions on correlated instruments, within 15 minutes either side of a Red or Amber release to catch the spike. The risk desk reviews it; it is never penalised automatically.
Put the numbers to work
Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. No time limit on any evaluation.