Gold price per gram, by karat
A gram of pure gold is worth the spot price per troy ounce divided by 31.1034768. Karat gold is worth that times karat ÷ 24. At the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce, that is $141.82 a gram for 24K and $82.73 for 14K. Enter a current spot price below to reprice every grade and any piece you hold.
Price every karat from one quote
The box starts at the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce. Replace it with a current spot quote and the table and your item recompute. Metal value only; no buyer's margin or seller's premium is included.
10 grams of 14K gold holds 5.83 grams of pure gold, a melt value of $827.
| Grade | Stamp | Gold | Per gram | Per dwt | Per troy oz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 999, 999.9 | 100.0% | $141.82 | $220.55 | $4,411 |
| 990 | 990 | 99.0% | $140.40 | $218.34 | $4,367 |
| 22K | 916 | 91.7% | $130.00 | $202.17 | $4,043 |
| 18K | 750 | 75.0% | $106.36 | $165.41 | $3,308 |
| 14K | 14K | 58.3% | $82.73 | $128.65 | $2,573 |
| 585 | 585 | 58.5% | $82.96 | $129.02 | $2,580 |
| 10K | 10K | 41.7% | $59.09 | $91.90 | $1,838 |
| 9K | 375 | 37.5% | $53.18 | $82.71 | $1,654 |
"Per troy oz" is the gold in one troy ounce of the item's own weight, not the spot price. A piece stamped with a karat may assay slightly below its mark within the legal tolerance described below.
The formula
Value = weight in grams × (karat ÷ 24) × (spot price ÷ 31.1034768).
Spot is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce of pure gold. Dividing by 31.1034768 turns it into a price per gram of pure gold. Multiplying by karat ÷ 24 scales it to the gold share of an alloy. Multiplying by the item's weight gives its gold, priced at spot. That result is the melt value: the metal alone, with nothing added for design, stones, or brand, and nothing taken off for the buyer.
Worked example, at the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce: a 7-gram 18K ring holds 7 × 0.75 = 5.25 grams of gold, a melt value of $745. The same ring in 10K holds 2.92 grams, $414.
Karat, fineness, and the stamp on the piece
Karat counts parts of gold in 24. 24K is pure gold, 18K is 18 parts gold and 6 parts other metal, and 14K is 14 parts gold and 10 parts other metal. The Federal Trade Commission's Jewelry Guides treat the word "gold" without a karat as deceptive on anything not made throughout of fine, 24 karat gold. Anything less must carry its karat next to the word, as in "14K Gold". The guides list "9 Karat Gold" as an acceptable US marking.
Many pieces made outside the US carry a three-digit fineness stamp instead: parts of gold per 1,000. The UK Hallmarking Act 1973 sets the standards for gold at 375, 585, 750, 916.6, 990, and 999. Most match a karat: 375 is 9K, 750 is 18K, and 916 is 22K. The exception is 585, which is 58.5% gold, slightly above 14/24 (58.3%). Price a piece by the figure actually stamped on it.
What the stamp guarantees
Less than the label suggests. The National Gold and Silver Stamping Act allows a marked gold article to assay below its mark: by no more than 3 parts per 1,000 if the article has no solder, and by up to 7 parts per 1,000 for most soldered articles, counting the solder. A 14K ring is 583.3 parts per 1,000 on its label and can lawfully test as low as about 576 if soldered. A buyer who tests the piece pays on the tested figure. The difference is small, but it is why two buyers can weigh the same chain and disagree slightly on its gold.
An unmarked piece carries no claim at all. A plated or gold-filled piece carries a karat on its surface layer only; the gold in it is a small fraction of its weight, and the per-gram table above does not apply to it.
Grams, pennyweights, and the ounce trap
One troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams. One pennyweight (dwt), a unit many scrap buyers still quote, is one-twentieth of a troy ounce, 1.555 grams. The ounce on a kitchen or postal scale is a different unit, 28.35 grams. Weighing gold in kitchen ounces and multiplying by the spot price understates the metal by about 9%. Weigh in grams, then convert.
Why the price you are paid, or charged, is not this number
The per-gram figure is the metal at spot. Nobody trades at exactly that figure. A buyer of scrap or jewelry pays below it, because the buyer tests, refines or resells, and keeps a margin; this site knows of no regulator that publishes a typical payout. A seller of small bars charges above it, because the premium is a per-item cost spread over very little metal. The comparison that protects a seller is each written offer as a percentage of melt value. The calculator prints that percentage when you enter an offer. How to sell gold covers the buyer types and the steps. What a gold bar or coin is worth covers premiums on the buy side.
Frequently asked
- How much is 1 gram of gold worth?
- One gram of pure gold is worth the spot price per troy ounce divided by 31.1034768. At the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce, that is $141.82 a gram. Karat gold is worth that figure times karat ÷ 24: $106.36 for 18K, $82.73 for 14K, and $59.09 for 10K. These are metal values, before any buyer's margin or seller's premium.
- What is the price of 24K gold per gram?
- 24 karat is pure gold. At the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce, a gram of 24K gold holds $141.82 of metal. Investment bars are usually stamped 999.9, meaning 99.99% gold, so their gram weight and gold weight are effectively the same. A one-gram bar costs more than this at retail, because the seller's premium is spread over very little metal.
- How much is 14K gold worth per gram?
- 14K gold is 14 parts gold in 24, or 58.3%. At the World Bank monthly average for August 2026, $4,411 per troy ounce, a gram of 14K holds $82.73 of gold, so a 10-gram 14K chain holds about $827. A buyer pays a percentage of that figure, not all of it.
- What do 585, 750, and 916 mean on gold jewelry?
- They are fineness in parts per 1,000, the standard marks under the UK Hallmarking Act 1973 and common on imported pieces. 750 is 75% gold, the same as 18K. 916 is 22K. 585 is 58.5% gold, slightly above 14K (58.3%). 375 is 9K. Price the piece at the stamped figure.
- Why does a gold buyer pay less than the price per gram?
- A buyer tests the metal, refines it or resells it, and keeps a margin. There is no standard payout percentage published by any regulator. Work out the melt value first, get several written offers, and compare each as a percentage of melt value. How to sell gold covers the steps.
- How many grams are in an ounce of gold?
- Gold is priced per troy ounce, which is 31.1034768 grams. A kitchen-scale ounce is 28.35 grams, so weighing gold in ordinary ounces and multiplying by spot understates the grams by about 9%. Scrap buyers often quote per pennyweight, which is one-twentieth of a troy ounce, 1.555 grams.
Related research
- How to sell gold — buyer types, written offers, and tax on the sale.
- What a gold bar or coin is worth — fine weight, premium, and every standard size.
- Silver coin melt value — the same arithmetic for US silver coins and sterling.
- Gold to silver ratio — how the two metals price against each other.
- Is gold a good investment? — the record after inflation, and what comes off the top.
- Gold IRA glossary — the terms used across this research.
Sources
- World Bank Commodity Price Data — monthly average gold price, downloaded September 22, 2026.
- 16 CFR 23.3, FTC Jewelry Guides — karat marking, unqualified "gold", and the tolerance note.
- 15 U.S.C. 295, National Gold and Silver Stamping Act — permitted deviation below a gold mark.
- Hallmarking Act 1973, Schedule 2 — standards of fineness for gold.
- FTC, buying platinum, gold, and silver jewelry — karat, plated, and gold-filled marks explained for buyers.