Two thresholds: gold and silver
Classically, nisab is fixed by weight of metal: 85 grams of gold or 595 grams of silver (some scholars use 87.48 g and 612.36 g, the classical weights; the difference is small). Because gold costs far more per gram than silver, the gold nisab is a much higher bar in money terms than the silver nisab.
Which one should you use? Most scholars say to use whichever threshold your wealth meets. Many contemporary scholars prefer the silver nisab because it is lower, so more people qualify to give — which benefits the poor — and the Hanafi school has traditionally used silver.
Why there is no fixed dollar nisab
Metal prices move every day, so the value of the nisab in dollars, pounds, or euros moves with them. Any cash figure you see published — including figures the calculator shows — is approximate and only valid for that day.
The right way to check nisab today is to value 85 g of gold and 595 g of silver at current prices. The zakat calculator does this with live gold and silver prices and lets you enter your own.
What counts toward nisab
Nisab is measured on your net zakatable wealth: cash and bank balances, gold and silver, investments, business assets, and money owed to you that you expect to receive, minus immediate debts due within the year. Your home, personal clothes, and the car you drive are not counted — zakat falls on wealth held for saving or growth.
If your total sits below nisab on your zakat date, nothing is due that year. Keep tracking: once wealth reaches nisab, the one-year count (the hawl) begins.
A worked example (no metal prices needed)
Suppose your net zakatable wealth — savings plus everything else that counts — comes to $10,000 on your zakat date, comfortably above both thresholds, and a full lunar year has passed above nisab.
Zakat is 2.5% of that wealth: 2.5% × $10,000 = $250. The dollar figure of the nisab itself never enters the maths once you are above it — which is why guides like this one never need to print a dollar nisab.
Frequently asked questions
What is nisab in dollars today?
There is no fixed dollar figure. Nisab is 85 g of gold or 595 g of silver, so its cash value changes with metal prices every day. Treat any published dollar amount as approximate and check the Niyat zakat calculator for live figures.
Should I use the gold nisab or the silver nisab?
Most scholars say use whichever threshold your wealth meets. Many contemporary scholars prefer silver because the lower threshold means more people give zakat, which benefits the poor; the Hanafi school traditionally uses silver. The calculator shows both.
Do I owe zakat if I am below nisab?
No zakat is due while your net zakatable wealth is below nisab on your zakat date. Once it reaches nisab, start counting the lunar year; if it stays above nisab for a full hawl, zakat of 2.5% becomes due.
Does my salary count toward nisab?
Nisab is measured on wealth you hold, not on income. Salary counts only insofar as you still hold it as savings on your zakat date — see the guide to zakat on savings and salary.