In plain English
What Pipette means
Fractional-pip pricing adds precision to a displayed forex quote. If EUR/USD moves from 1.08431 to 1.08436, it has moved five pipettes, which equals half a pip. A pipette may be the smallest increment shown by a platform, but actual order execution can still depend on the venue’s minimum price increment and available liquidity.
Why it matters
Knowing whether the final digit is a pip or a pipette prevents tenfold errors when reading spreads, setting price levels, or calculating results. A displayed EUR/USD spread of 0.00015 is 15 pipettes but only 1.5 pips. Broker interfaces may label such values differently, so the decimal convention should be checked.
Example
Consider EUR/USD quoted at 1.08421 / 1.08436. The difference is 0.00015. That equals 15 pipettes because each pipette is 0.00001, or 1.5 pips because one standard pip is 0.0001. The arithmetic is simplified and excludes commissions.
Quick answers
Common questions
How many pipettes are in one pip?+
There are 10 pipettes in one standard pip. For a typical non-yen pair, 10 increments of 0.00001 equal 0.0001, which is one pip.
Is a pipette the same as a tick?+
Not necessarily. A pipette is a forex quoting convention equal to one-tenth of a pip. A tick is the minimum permitted price movement for a particular instrument or venue and may be larger, smaller, or equal to a pipette.
Sources