Zakat calculator — zakat on gold, silver and cash
A zakat calculator works out how much zakat you owe: check whether your wealth reaches the nisab threshold, then pay 2.5% of it once a lunar year passes. Carbide's zakat calculator does the whole sum for you — gold, silver and cash together, with today's live nisab and your local currency.
The answer people search for first is the nisab. It is 85 grams of gold or roughly 595 grams of silver; if your total zakatable wealth is worth more than that, zakat is due at 2.5%. Here is how each part works and how to run the numbers.
What is the nisab threshold today?
Nisab is the minimum amount of wealth you must hold before zakat becomes due. Two classical bases exist: the gold nisab (85 grams of pure gold) and the silver nisab (about 595 grams of silver). To turn either into money, you multiply the weight by today's price per gram — which is exactly why a zakat calculator needs live rates rather than a number typed last year.
Because metal prices move daily, the nisab in your currency moves too. Carbide reads live gold and silver rates — the same data behind the gold prices and silver prices pages — and shows today's nisab value in your local currency before you enter anything. Those rates come from a live market source, so a price query is fetched online; your wealth figures stay on your device.
Gold nisab vs silver nisab — which one to use
The two thresholds no longer convert to the same amount of money. When the standards were set, 85g of gold and 595g of silver were worth roughly the same; today gold is far more valuable, so the silver nisab is much lower in cash terms. That difference decides who owes zakat.
Most scholars recommend using the silver nisab when your wealth is a mix of cash and metals, because the lower threshold means more people qualify and more of the poor benefit. If you hold only gold, the gold nisab is commonly applied. Carbide shows both values from the live gold prices and silver prices so you can follow whichever standard you and your local guidance use.
The 2.5% rate and the hawl (lunar year)
Zakat on money and precious metals is 2.5% — one fortieth of the total. That rate only applies once your zakatable wealth has stayed above the nisab for a full hawl, the Islamic lunar year of about 354 days. If your balance dipped below nisab and came back, the count restarts from when it settled back above it.
So the calculation is two checks and one multiplication: does the total clear the nisab, has a lunar year passed, and if yes, take 2.5%. The zakat calculator applies the rate for you once you enter your gold, silver and cash — you supply the hawl judgement, which depends on your own dates.
Zakat on mixed-karat jewellery — unify the karats first
Household gold is rarely one purity: a 21K bracelet, an 18K ring and a 24K coin all count, but each gram is worth a different amount. Zakat is charged on the pure-gold content, so mixed jewellery needs to be brought to a common basis before you value it.
The clean way is to convert everything to a single karat while conserving the actual gold — 100g of 21K holds the same pure gold as about 116.7g of 18K. The karat converter does that conversion, then you value the unified weight against the live gold prices. Purely worn, everyday jewellery is treated differently by some scholars — see the FAQ below.
Worked example: household gold plus savings
Say you hold 120 grams of 21K gold, some silver, and cash savings, and a full lunar year has passed. First, value the gold: convert or price the 120g at today's 21K gram rate. Then add the market value of your silver and the balance of your cash and bank savings — that sum is your zakatable wealth.
Next, compare it to the nisab shown for your chosen standard. If it clears the threshold, multiply the total by 2.5% (divide by 40) and that is your zakat. Follow the steps below to do it in the tool:
- Open the zakat calculator and pick your country and currency so the nisab loads at today's rate.
- Enter your gold — use the karat converter first if you have mixed karats — plus its karat.
- Add your silver weight and all cash, bank balances and money owed to you.
- Read the total against the nisab; if it clears, the tool shows the 2.5% zakat due.
- Expected result: one figure — the exact zakat in your currency, calculated privately on your device.
Neutral math, calculated privately
Most zakat calculators online belong to charities and end with a donation button pre-filled with the amount you just computed. Carbide's is a neutral tool: it gives you the number and nothing else, so you can pay it wherever and however you choose.
Your wealth figures are not sent anywhere — the arithmetic runs in your browser, so what you own stays private. The only thing fetched online is the live gold and silver rate used for the nisab, the same source behind the currency converter and the price pages. For the full background on how gram prices and karats work, the gold and silver prices guide walks through it.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay zakat on gold jewellery I wear?
Scholars differ. Many hold that gold worn regularly as personal adornment is exempt, while others say all gold above nisab is zakatable. The zakat calculator computes the amount on whatever you include — follow your own school or local guidance on what to count.
How do I calculate zakat on gold and cash together?
Value your gold at today's per-gram rate, add your silver and all cash, then compare the total to the nisab. If it clears the threshold and a lunar year has passed, zakat is 2.5% of the whole. The zakat calculator totals gold, silver and cash in one pass.
What is the nisab in my currency right now?
The nisab is 85g of gold or about 595g of silver, so its cash value changes with the market. Carbide shows today's nisab in your local currency using live gold prices and silver prices before you enter anything.
Is my financial information uploaded anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so the amounts you own are never sent to a server. The only network request is fetching the live gold and silver rate used to price the nisab — a market query, not your data.
Is the zakat calculator really free?
Yes — it is free with no sign-up, no limits and no donation funnel attached. It simply gives you the amount owed so you can pay it however you like, using the same live rates as the gold prices page.
Zakat is one rate and one threshold: 2.5% of what clears the nisab after a lunar year. Use the zakat calculator with today's live nisab to get the exact figure, reach for the karat converter if your gold is mixed, and read the gold and silver prices guide if you want the full background — all free and calculated privately.