Gold price today, in plain terms
The UK gold price today is the live wholesale rate for fine 24ct gold, quoted per gram in pounds. It is the starting figure every carat is scaled down from. GoldPaid does not pay a headline rate: it builds a firm offer from the XRF-confirmed purity and exact weight of your specific items, then prints the rate used in your written breakdown.
Indicative gold rates by carat
| Metal | Fineness | Indicative per gram |
|---|---|---|
| 9ct gold | 375 | £37.05 |
| 14ct gold | 585 | £57.79 |
| 18ct gold | 750 | £74.09 |
| 22ct gold | 916 | £90.49 |
| 24ct gold | 999 | £98.69 |
How to read these figures
Gold is priced by its purity. 9ct gold is 37.5% pure, 14ct is 58.5%, 18ct is 75%, 22ct is 91.6% and 24ct is 99.9%. A gram of 18ct is worth roughly twice a gram of 9ct in pure-gold content. The figures above are indicative per-gram rates for each carat. They move continuously with the live precious-metal market. For a quick estimate on your own items, use the gold & silver calculator, and see how we value gold for the full method.
9ct gold price per gram, the most common British carat
Nine carat gold carries the mark 375, and GoldPaid reads that purity by XRF rather than taking the stamp on trust. That number is parts per thousand: 375 parts of every 1,000 by weight are fine gold, and the remaining 625 are copper, silver, zinc or palladium. One gram of 9ct therefore contains 0.375g of gold. Nine carat has been a legal British standard since 1854 and it dominates twentieth-century UK chains, wedding bands, signet rings, charm bracelets and lockets, which is why the per-gram question is asked about 9ct more than any other carat.
The arithmetic between carats is simpler than it looks. 9ct is 375 and 18ct is 750, so a gram of 18ct holds exactly twice the fine gold of a gram of 9ct, and the per-gram rates track that ratio closely. 22ct (916) holds roughly two and a half times, 24ct (999) close to three times. None of which makes 9ct a poor thing to sell, because weight does at least as much work as purity. A 30g 9ct curb chain carries 11.25g of fine gold; a 5g 18ct ring carries 3.75g. The chain is worth roughly three times the ring despite the lower carat.
Marks to look for: 375 inside a shield punch, or “9ct” and “9c” on older stamping, usually beside an assay-office mark (leopard’s head, anchor, rose or castle). Worn or missing marks are not a problem, and nothing needs testing at home. An XRF assay reads the actual alloy, and the offer is built on that reading rather than on the stamp. The gold hallmark guide shows the marks in detail.
What the indicative rates come to at common weights
The table below applies the same indicative per-gram rates to weights people actually have in a drawer: a slim chain, a wedding band, a heavier curb chain, a small parcel of mixed pieces. It is arithmetic rather than an offer. Weigh your items on any kitchen or letter scale that reads to 0.1g, keep each carat separate, and read across the nearest row.
| Weight | 9ct (375) | 18ct (750) | 22ct (916) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 g | £37.05 | £74.09 | £90.49 |
| 5 g | £185.25 | £370.45 | £452.45 |
| 10 g | £370.50 | £740.90 | £904.90 |
| 20 g | £741.00 | £1,481.80 | £1,809.80 |
| 50 g | £1,852.50 | £3,704.50 | £4,524.50 |
From the market price to a per-gram buyer rate
Headline gold prices are quoted per troy ounce, and for gold that is 99.9% fine. Jewellery is bought and sold per gram at a lower purity. Two conversions and one deduction sit between the headline figure and the rate a buyer can pay.
- Take the market price of gold in pounds per troy ounce.
- Divide by 31.1035, the number of grams in a troy ounce. That gives the market price of one gram of fine gold.
- Multiply by the purity decimal of your item: 0.375 for 9ct, 0.585 for 14ct, 0.750 for 18ct, 0.916 for 22ct, 0.999 for 24ct. That is the fine gold held in one gram of your alloy, valued at the market rate.
- Deduct the cost of turning jewellery into refined metal: assay, refining loss, sorting, carriage to the refiner and the buyer’s margin. What remains is the per-gram rate a buyer can pay.
No buyer pays the full market rate, and it is worth understanding why rather than treating the gap as a trick. Scrap jewellery is not refined metal. It has to be assayed, sorted, melted and refined before it can re-enter the bullion market, and there is a real cost and a small loss at every stage. A buyer who quotes the ounce price as though it were the payout per gram is quoting the wrong number entirely.
The rates in the table further up have step four already applied, so a weight can be multiplied by the rate for its carat directly. There is also a check worth running on any published rate table, including this one: divide each row by its purity decimal. If the table is consistent, every row returns close to the same implied rate per gram of fine gold, which shows that no carat is being quietly priced worse than the others. The rows here land within a few pence of one another, and the 24ct row (£98.69 per gram, reviewed 2026-08-16) is the closest published figure to a rate for pure gold. For the market figure the whole chain starts from, and a decade of price history behind it, see the gold price hub.
What actually moves the gold price
Two things set the gold price in pounds. The first is the global gold price in US dollars, known as the spot price, set on international wholesale markets that trade around the clock five days a week. The second is the GBP/USD exchange rate. A weaker pound pushes the gold price in pounds up even when the dollar price is flat. That is why UK rates can move on a currency day as well as a commodity day.
- Global supply and demand, central-bank buying, jewellery demand in Asia, investment demand, and recycled-scrap flow.
- Interest rates and the dollar, gold is priced in dollars internationally, so a weaker dollar or lower real rates tend to push the price up.
- Risk sentiment, geopolitical events, market stress and inflation expectations all move gold as a perceived safe haven.
- GBP/USD, the rate you receive in pounds depends as much on sterling as on gold itself.
None of that means you should wait for a better day before posting. Gold moves both ways and timing the market is a separate skill to selling jewellery you no longer want. GoldPaid prices on the day we assess your items, with the rate shown in your written breakdown, so you see the figure before you decide.
Indicative versus firm, why GoldPaid will not quote a price sight-unseen
A published rate is a starting point, not an offer. Real items differ from their hallmarks: solder at clasp joints, repairs done over the years, replacement parts, mixed alloys and weighted bases all change the true metal content. That is why every firm GoldPaid offer follows an XRF assay of your specific items. Be wary of any buyer who guarantees a figure before seeing what you have, the figure they quote and the figure they pay are rarely the same.
A worked example using these rates
Say you have a 9ct gold chain weighing 12.0g. 9ct gold is 37.5% pure, so the fine-gold content is 4.5g. That 4.5g is valued against the live gold spot rate on the day, with our margin applied, and the result is your written offer. The table above shows the per-gram rate already adjusted for each carat, so an 18ct item weighing 10g uses the 18ct row in the table directly. You see every number in the written breakdown before you are asked to decide anything. The full method is on how we value gold.
Where the live spot price comes from
The benchmark used across the trade is the LBMA Gold Price. It is set twice a day in London, morning and afternoon, by a panel of banks that deal in precious metals. Those two settings are known as the "fixings". Most UK buyers, including GoldPaid, price against that benchmark or the live wholesale rate, converted to pounds at the prevailing GBP/USD rate. You can see the published LBMA fix on the LBMA website and on most major financial data sites. The rate in your written offer is the rate on the day we assess your items, not last week’s or a "headline" number from elsewhere.
Turning a per-gram rate into your figure
A per-gram rate becomes a real figure once it is matched to confirmed purity and weight. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. If you have a rough weight and carat in mind, the gold & silver calculator turns the indicative rates above into an estimate in seconds. If your items are broken or unhallmarked, the scrap gold value page explains how the same maths still applies.
Selling against today’s rate, by post
You do not need to live near a shop to act on the gold price. GoldPaid is a UK-wide postal service: you send a photo on WhatsApp for an indicative figure, request a free tracked label, and post when you are ready. Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. The full route is on sell gold by post UK.
What backs the offer up
- XRF spectrometry on every item, not a counter estimate
- A written, itemised breakdown before you decide anything
- Free tracked postage in, free tracked return out
- No countdowns, no pressure, no fabricated reviews
- An owner-run business whose founder, Rocco Clayfield, answers questions himself
Common questions
What is the gold price per gram in the UK today?
It depends on the carat and moves continuously with the market. The indicative per-gram rates by carat are shown above and were last reviewed on the date noted. Your firm offer is set after an XRF assay of your specific items, with the rate used printed in the written breakdown.
Why is the offer not just the rate times the weight?
Because the rate is for confirmed pure-gold content, and a buyer applies a margin. Real items also differ from their hallmarks. The XRF assay confirms the actual purity and weight, and your written breakdown shows every figure, including the rate used.
How often do GoldPaid rates change?
The live wholesale gold price moves continuously. The indicative rates published here are reviewed regularly and the date shown is when the table was last refreshed. Your firm offer is priced against the rate on the day we assess your items, not the date of this page.
Should I wait for the gold price to be higher before selling?
Honestly, that is impossible to call. Gold moves both ways and timing the market is a separate skill. If you have items you no longer want, the rate today is the rate you can act on. If the market suits a different decision for you, we will say so, for example, if a coin has collector premium that a specialist may pay for, we will tell you and recommend the right route.
Are these rates after the buyer margin or before?
The per-gram rates shown are net of the GoldPaid margin and reflect the typical net rate for that carat at the date last reviewed. Your firm offer follows the same approach and the written breakdown shows the rate used and the calculation against your assayed weight and purity.
How do these rates compare to a high-street pawnbroker?
Pawnbrokers and high-street gold-buyers carry shop rent, staff and rates that come out of what they can pay. GoldPaid is fully postal and that overhead structure is different, which is one reason the postal-first approach can be more competitive. The honest comparison, though, is whatever rate you see in writing in your offer. That is the rate to compare.
How do I work out what my gold is worth from today’s rate?
Multiply the confirmed purity by the weight, then by the per-gram rate for that carat. The gold & silver calculator does this for you if you enter a rough weight and carat. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Does the gold price change during the day?
Yes. The wholesale gold price trades almost around the clock and moves with both the USD gold price and the GBP/USD exchange rate. The indicative table on this page is reviewed periodically; your firm offer uses the rate on the day your items are assessed.
Can I sell at today’s rate without visiting a shop?
Yes. GoldPaid is postal-only. Send a photo on WhatsApp for an indicative figure, request a free tracked label, and post when ready. Your parcel travels on Royal Mail Special Delivery, and Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post.
What is 9ct gold worth per gram in the UK?
The indicative GoldPaid rate for 9ct (375) is £37.05 per gram, last reviewed 2026-08-16. It moves with the precious-metal market, so treat it as a guide rather than a quote. Your firm offer is set after an XRF assay confirms the purity and weight of your specific items, with the rate used printed in your written breakdown.
How much is one gram of pure gold worth?
The 24ct (999) row is the closest published figure on this page, at £98.69 per gram indicative, reviewed 2026-08-16. The wholesale market price for a gram of fine gold sits above any buyer rate, because scrap has to be assayed, melted and refined before it can return to the bullion market. The section above sets out the full conversion from the ounce price to a per-gram rate.
How many grams are in a troy ounce of gold?
31.1034768 grams, rounded to 31.1035 in trade calculations. A troy ounce is heavier than the 28.35g ounce used for food, so the two are not interchangeable. To turn a headline price per troy ounce into a price per gram of fine gold, divide by 31.1035.
Is 18ct gold worth exactly twice as much per gram as 9ct?
By fine-gold content, yes: 750 parts per thousand against 375. In practice the per-gram rates track that ratio very closely, with small differences because refining costs are not identical across carats, as a lower-carat alloy carries more base metal to separate. The table above shows the rate for each carat with those differences already applied.
How should I weigh my gold before sending it?
Any kitchen or letter scale reading to 0.1g gives a workable estimate. Weigh each carat separately, since a single weight covering mixed 9ct and 18ct cannot be multiplied by any one rate. Do not remove stones or break anything up: stones, clasps, spring bars and other non-gold parts are weighed and deducted here. Items are weighed on calibrated scales to the hundredth of a gram, so your figure and ours will differ a little.
Request a free prepaid Royal Mail label
Tell us where to send it. The label arrives by email, usually within about 30 minutes during working hours. Requesting one commits you to nothing: you get a written offer after the XRF assay, and if you decline, your items come back to you free.
Would you rather ask a question first, or send a photo? Message us on WhatsApp . It is the fastest way to get a sense of what something is worth before you post anything.