Reference
Gold Price Per Gram Today: 9ct, 14ct, 18ct & 22ct Compared (UK)
Ask "what's the gold price per gram today?" and you'll get a dozen different answers — all correct. The reason is simple: there's no single gold-per-gram price, because it depends entirely on the carat of your particular piece. A gram of 22ct is worth nearly two and a half times a gram of 9ct, and until you know which you're holding, the headline number is meaningless.
So let's cut through it. Here's how the per-gram price is actually built, what each carat is really worth, and why sorting your gold by carat before you sell can quietly put more money in your pocket.
Carat means purity, nothing else
Carat (written "ct") measures how much of your item is pure gold, out of 24 parts. Pure gold is 24ct. Everything below that is an alloy — gold mixed with metals like copper, silver or zinc to make it harder and, often, cheaper. The carat translates directly into a decimal called fineness, and that's the number all the maths runs on.
| Carat | Fineness | Share of the pure-gold price |
|---|---|---|
| 9ct | 0.375 | 37.5% |
| 14ct | 0.585 | 58.5% |
| 18ct | 0.750 | 75.0% |
| 22ct | 0.9167 | 91.7% |
| 24ct | 0.999 | 99.9% |
That final column is the whole story in one glance. A gram of 9ct gold is worth 37.5% of a gram of pure gold. A gram of 18ct is worth exactly double that, at 75%. The gold price didn't change between the two — the purity did. Every carat you check should be confirmed against the item's hallmark, and our guide to reading hallmarks shows you exactly where to look and what the numbers mean.
How the per-gram figure is worked out
The spot price is quoted per troy ounce of pure gold, and one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. To get from that global benchmark to your piece, the formula is:
Per-gram value = (spot price ÷ 31.1035) × fineness
Say pure gold is trading at a level where one gram works out to £80. Then:
- 9ct = £80 × 0.375 = £30 per gram
- 14ct = £80 × 0.585 = £46.80 per gram
- 18ct = £80 × 0.750 = £60 per gram
- 22ct = £80 × 0.9167 = £73.34 per gram
Those are illustrative figures to show the mechanics — the real spot price moves every day, so always run your actual weight through the live gold calculator for a current estimate. The point is the ratio between carats stays fixed even as the underlying price bounces around.
Melt value versus realistic payout, per gram
Here's the catch that catches people out. Those per-gram numbers above are melt values — the honest worth of the raw gold content. They are not what a dealer hands you. Every buyer takes a margin to cover refining, overheads and profit, so your real payout per gram sits below the melt figure.
So on that £60-per-gram 18ct example, a high-street shop paying 60% of melt is really offering around £36 per gram, while a solid online refiner at 88% would pay closer to £53. Same gram of gold, £17 difference — purely down to who you sell to. Knowing your melt-value-per-gram first is what stops you accepting the £36 offer thinking it's fair.
Why 18ct is worth double 9ct
This surprises people every time, so it's worth stating plainly: gram for gram, 18ct gold is worth exactly twice as much as 9ct. Not a bit more — double. The fineness figures tell you why: 0.750 against 0.375 is a clean 2:1 ratio.
That has a real consequence when you sell. Two identical-looking rings of the same weight can be worth wildly different amounts if one is 9ct and the other 18ct. If you can't tell them apart by eye — and you usually can't — the hallmark is the only reliable guide. Getting this wrong means either underselling your good gold or overvaluing your cheap gold.
Why sorting by carat matters before you sell
This is the single most practical tip in this whole piece. Never hand a dealer a mixed pile of gold and let them weigh it all together, because a less scrupulous buyer will happily pay you the 9ct rate for everything — including your 18ct and 22ct pieces.
Before you sell:
- Check the hallmark on each item and separate them into carat groups — a pile for 9ct, one for 14ct, one for 18ct, and so on.
- Weigh each group separately.
- Get a melt value for each group at its correct fineness.
- Make sure any offer breaks the payment down by carat, not as one lump sum.
A reputable dealer does this as standard. If a buyer resists sorting and wants to weigh everything as one, that's a red flag worth walking away from.
9ct is common, 22ct is nearly bullion
In Britain, 9ct is by far the most common carat for everyday jewellery — chains, cheaper rings, the stuff in most people's drawers. It's durable and affordable, but with only 37.5% gold content, it's also the least valuable per gram. Don't be disheartened if a big-looking box of 9ct doesn't fetch as much as you hoped; that's the fineness, not a con.
At the other end, 22ct and 24ct are a different world. They're close to pure gold, so they trade near bullion rates and command far better payout percentages — buyers barely need to refine them. Much traditional South Asian jewellery is 22ct, which is why it holds its value so well. If you're selling higher-carat or heavier traditional pieces, our guide to selling 22ct and tola gold covers the specifics.
The takeaway is straightforward: there's no one gold-per-gram price, only your gold at your carat. Read the hallmark, sort by carat, work out the melt value for each group, then apply a realistic payout percentage for the buyer you're using. Do that and you'll never again be caught out by a "today's gold price" headline that has nothing to do with what's actually in your jewellery box.
All figures are estimates of melt value, never offers. Not financial or tax advice.