Gold to Silver Ratio — Live
How many ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys right now, with context for reading high and low levels.
67.04
$4,615.20
$68.84
What the gold/silver ratio means
The ratio is simply the gold price divided by the silver price, both per troy ounce. A ratio of 80 means one ounce of gold costs the same as 80 ounces of silver. Because both metals respond to the same macro forces — real interest rates, the dollar, and safe-haven demand — but silver also carries heavy industrial demand, the ratio drifts in long cycles rather than staying fixed.
How to read it
There is no single 'correct' level, but the modern era has mostly traded between 60 and 80. Readings far outside that band have historically marked stretched valuations of one metal against the other.
Silver expensive relative to gold — the ratio favours gold
Within the typical modern range
Silver cheap relative to gold — the ratio favours silver
Historical extremes
The ratio's long-run swings are large. Three widely cited extremes frame the modern range:
| Year | Ratio | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | ≈ 100 | Gulf War era spike — silver deeply out of favour |
| 2011 | ≈ 31 | Silver's post-crisis peak near $50 compressed the ratio |
| 2020 | ≈ 125 | COVID panic — the highest ratio ever recorded |
Frequently asked questions
How is the gold/silver ratio calculated?
Divide the spot price of gold per troy ounce by the spot price of silver per troy ounce. With gold at $4,000 and silver at $57, the ratio is about 70 — one ounce of gold buys roughly 70 ounces of silver.
What is a normal gold/silver ratio?
In the modern era the ratio has mostly ranged between 60 and 80, though it has swung far outside that band — near 31 in 2011 and above 120 in March 2020. Very long-term historical averages are lower, because governments once fixed the ratio near 15 for coinage.
What does a high ratio mean?
A high ratio (above ~80) means silver is historically cheap relative to gold. Some traders read this as silver being undervalued; others read it as a risk-off signal, since gold typically outruns silver during economic stress.
How do traders use the ratio?
A common approach is ratio switching: holding silver when the ratio is historically high and rotating into gold when it is low, aiming to accumulate more total ounces over full cycles. It is a slow, cyclical strategy and past ranges are no guarantee of future ones.
The ratio is calculated from live spot prices in USD per troy ounce. Informational only — not investment advice.