Free gold scrap value calculator. Enter weight and karat to calculate the melt value and estimated dealer buy price based on current gold spot prices.
- Supports 10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, and 24K gold
- Uses live gold spot price updated daily
- Shows both melt value and typical dealer buy price (70-80% of melt)
- Weight input in grams, ounces, pennyweight, or troy ounces
- Free to use, no signup required
Gold Scrap Calculator
Calculate the melt value and estimated dealer buy price for your scrap gold. Enter the weight and karat to see what it's worth at today's spot price.
Today's spot price. Override if needed.
Breakdown
Value
Spot price updated daily from market data. Actual dealer prices vary based on quantity, relationship, and market conditions. This calculator is for estimation purposes only.
How the scrap gold calculator works
The formula is simple. Take the weight of your gold in grams, multiply by the karat purity percentage, then multiply by today's gold spot price per gram. That gives you the melt value.
Melt value = weight (g) × purity % × spot price per gram
For a 10-gram 14K gold chain, that's 10 × 0.583 × spot price. At $60/gram spot, the melt value is $349.80. A dealer paying 80% of melt would offer about $280.
This calculator pulls the gold spot price daily from commodity exchange data (XAU/USD) and does the conversion automatically. You just enter weight, pick your karat, and get the result.
Gold karat purity breakdown
Karat tells you how much of the metal is pure gold. The rest is alloy metals (copper, silver, zinc, nickel) added for strength and color. Here's what each karat means for scrap value:
| Karat | Gold purity | Gold content per gram | Common uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | 0.999g | Bullion, coins, some Asian jewelry |
| 22K | 91.7% | 0.917g | Indian and Middle Eastern jewelry |
| 18K | 75.0% | 0.750g | Fine jewelry, European standard |
| 14K | 58.3% | 0.583g | Most US jewelry, engagement rings |
| 10K | 41.7% | 0.417g | Budget jewelry, class rings |
10K is the minimum karat that can legally be sold as “gold” in the US. Anything lower (like 8K or 9K, common in some European countries) still has scrap value, but US dealers may not accept it without testing.
What dealers pay vs. melt value
Nobody pays full melt value. Dealers need margins for refining costs, assay fees, and profit. But the range is wide, and the difference between a good and bad deal can be 20-30% of your payout.
Pawn shops pay the least: typically 50-65% of melt. They have high overhead and low volume. Local scrap gold buyers usually land at 70-80%. Online refiners like Kitco or Midwest Refineries pay the most, often 85-95% of melt, because they skip the middleman and process metal directly.
We've seen jewelers who routinely sell to the same refiner get 90%+ once they ship consistently. If you're selling less than 10 grams, the convenience of a local buyer probably outweighs the extra 10% from shipping to a refiner. Over 50 grams, ship it. The math works out clearly at that point.
Gold-plated vs. gold-filled vs. solid gold
This is the most common source of confusion when people try to sell jewelry for scrap. Only solid karat gold has real melt value.
Gold-plated jewelry has a layer of gold that's typically 0.5 microns thick. On a 20-gram plated bracelet, the actual gold content might be 0.01 grams. Worth less than a dollar. No dealer will buy it as scrap.
Gold-filled is better. It's required to contain at least 5% gold by weight. A 20-gram gold-filled chain has about 1 gram of pure gold. That's maybe $40-60 at melt, but most scrap buyers won't bother separating the gold from the base metal on individual pieces. You'd need a large batch to make it worth a dealer's time.
Gold vermeil is sterling silver with a gold plating of at least 2.5 microns. More gold than basic plating, but the real value is in the silver underneath, not the gold coating.
If you're not sure what you have, look for a karat stamp (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, 24K). “GP” means gold-plated. “GF” or “1/20” means gold-filled. “925” means sterling silver (which may or may not have gold plating on top).
Tips for getting the best scrap gold price
Sort by karat before you go. Dealers test everything individually, and mixing karats slows the process. Some less scrupulous buyers will “average down” a mixed pile and pay you 10K rates on everything. Don't let them.
Know your weight before you walk in. A kitchen scale accurate to 0.1g is fine. You don't need a jeweler's scale. Remove any non-gold parts (leather straps, steel watch backs, glass beads) since those add dead weight.
Get quotes from at least two or three buyers. Ask each one what percentage of melt they pay. If they won't answer that question directly, move on.
Consider the current spot price, but don't obsess over timing. The difference between a dealer who pays 85% and one who pays 65% will always matter more than a 2% swing in gold prices.
Common questions
Melt value equals pure gold content multiplied by the current spot price per gram. For 14K gold, that's 58.3% pure gold. Multiply weight in grams by 0.583, then by the spot price per gram. This calculator does that math automatically using live spot data from commodity exchanges.
Most dealers pay 70-80% of melt value. Established refiners with lower overhead may pay 85-90%. Pawn shops typically pay 50-65%. The difference between a 65% and 85% payout on 20 grams of 14K gold can be hundreds of dollars. Always get at least three quotes.
Not always. Older jewelry (pre-1980s), pieces from certain regions, and costume jewelry can be mis-stamped or unmarked. If you're selling a significant amount, have it tested with an acid test kit or XRF analyzer first. Most reputable dealers test before quoting anyway, so an unmarked piece that tests as 14K still has full value.
Gold prices fluctuate daily, typically moving 1-2%. If you need cash now, sell now. If you can wait, the dealer's buy rate matters more than spot fluctuations. A dealer paying 85% of melt at a lower spot price will beat a dealer paying 65% at a higher spot. Focus on finding the best payout percentage, not timing the market.
Gold-plated jewelry has virtually no scrap value. The gold layer is typically 0.5 microns thick, which is about 0.05% gold by weight. Gold-filled (marked GF or 1/20) contains more gold (5% by weight) but still has minimal scrap value per piece. Only solid karat gold (10K, 14K, 18K, 22K, 24K) has meaningful melt value.
14K gold is 58.3% pure gold. Take today's spot price per gram (shown in the calculator above), multiply by 0.583, and that's the melt value. Then multiply by your dealer's payout rate (70-85% for most buyers). The result is what you can expect to receive per gram of 14K scrap.
A troy ounce (ozt) weighs 31.1035 grams. A regular ounce weighs 28.3495 grams. Gold is always priced in troy ounces on commodity exchanges. This means a troy ounce of gold is about 10% heavier than a standard ounce. Our calculator accepts both units and converts automatically.
Online precious metal refiners (like Kitco, APMEX, or Midwest Refineries) typically pay the highest rates: 85-95% of melt value. Local dealers pay 70-85%. Pawn shops pay the least, usually 50-65%. For amounts over 50 grams, the higher payout from a refiner is worth the effort of shipping. For smaller amounts, a reputable local dealer saves time.
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