Scrap gold payout calculator
Estimate the fine-metal value and a buyer’s net payout after a percentage allowance and fees.
Quick answer: Scrap value = grams × purity × price per gram, and a buyer pays a share of that minus fees. 10 g of 585 gold at $100 per fine gram contains $585 of gold; an 80% payout is $468.
Explore the numbers.
Calculate to update this worksheet from your inputs.
Scenario chart
Scenarios change one input while holding the others constant. They are calculations, not observed market prices or forecasts.
Detailed calculation table
The table contains the same inputs used for your result. Values are rounded for display; CSV preserves more precision.
| Calculate to load your worksheet. |
Trace the path from gross weight to net payout
How to use this calculator
- Enter gross weight, any non-metal deduction and the fineness established for the metal.
- Enter a fine-metal price per gram, an expected recovery percentage and the buyer payout percentage.
- Subtract the fixed fee and inspect the sensitivity table before comparing with a written buyer offer.
Ten grams at 750 fineness and a reference of 100 per fine gram have a theoretical value of 750. At 100% recovery, 95% payout and a fee of 5, the net estimate is 707.50.
Recovery and payout are different
Recovery models how much fine metal remains after processing losses. Payout models the fraction of that recovered value the buyer offers. They are multiplied, not added. A 95% recovery and 95% payout therefore return 90.25% of the theoretical fine-metal value before fixed fees.
Do not apply deductions twice
A buyer may already incorporate recovery losses in a single quoted payout percentage. In that case set recovery to 100% and use the combined rate as payout. Deduct separately measured stones from gross weight before calculating fine grams.
Read a negative net result
If fixed fees exceed the calculated buyer payment, the arithmetic net becomes negative. That means this combination of weight, price and fees does not produce a positive payout; it is not a claim that a buyer will charge that amount. The table shows how changing only the reference price affects the estimate.
Questions about this calculation
Does this measure the purity of scrap?
No. The calculation depends on your purity input. Plating, solder and mixed components can make a simple gross-weight calculation unsuitable.
Are recovery and payout market quotes?
No. They are assumptions you enter from an offer or scenario. The worksheet does not establish a buyer’s current terms.
Continue your calculation.
All calculators →Explore gold prices, silver prices, the historical gold–silver ratio and our data methodology.