Gold Bar Sizes: Which Size Should You Buy in the UAE?

Gold bar sizes range from a 1 g bar that fits on a fingertip to a 400 oz bar that only central banks and big vaults handle. If you are buying gold in Dubai or anywhere else in the UAE, the size you choose changes how much you pay for every gram. It also changes how easy the bar is to sell later.

We looked at real AED prices from UAE dealers tracked by our gold bar price comparison. Below you will find every common size, a weight conversion table, today’s premium for each size and a simple guide to choosing the right bar for your budget.

What Gold Bar Sizes Are There?

A gold bar size is simply the weight of fine gold in the bar. Most retail bars are sold in grams or troy ounces. A troy ounce is the standard unit for precious metals and weighs 31.1035 g, a little more than the ordinary ounce used for food.

Here are the sizes you are most likely to see in a UAE bullion shop or online store:

Gram bars and ounce bars

Why do some bars come in grams and others in ounces? Both systems exist side by side. Swiss refiners such as PAMP and Valcambi make gram bars and 1 oz bars, and UAE dealers sell both. The 1 oz bar is a natural benchmark, because the international gold price is quoted per troy ounce.

For you, the unit does not matter much. What matters is the price per gram, which we compare below.

Tola bars: the 10 tola TT bar

A tola is a traditional weight unit used for gold in South Asia and the Gulf. One tola equals 11.6638 g, so a 10 tola bar, often called a TT bar, holds 116.64 g of gold, or 3.75 troy ounces.

Is the TT bar popular in the UAE? Search data says yes. According to Ahrefs, “10 tola gold bar” gets about 80 searches a month in the UAE, more than “gold bar sizes” itself. None of the UAE dealers in our price data listed a tola bar on 5 November 2026, so we cannot show you a current premium for it. If you are offered one, divide the price by 116.64 and compare the price per gram with a 100 g bar.

The 400 oz Good Delivery bar

At the top of the scale sits the bar used in the London wholesale market. According to the LBMA, a Good Delivery gold bar weighs approximately 400 troy ounces, which is about 12.4 kg. At the spot price on 5 November 2026, the gold in such a bar was worth about AED 6.05 million.

Private buyers almost never own these bars directly. They are traded between banks and stored in professional vaults. Read more in our glossary entry on LBMA Good Delivery.

Gold Bar Prices by Size in the UAE

This is where size starts to cost you money. Every bar is priced as the value of the gold at the spot price plus a premium. The premium covers minting, packaging, shipping, insurance and the dealer’s margin. The formula is:

Premium % = (bar price − value of the gold at spot) ÷ value of the gold at spot × 100

On the morning of 5 November 2026, the gold spot price was AED 15,113.07 per troy ounce, or about AED 485.90 per gram, according to the Metals Radar price service. Here is the cheapest offer for each size from the UAE dealers we track:

The chart shows a clear pattern, with one exception. Let us go through the sizes one group at a time.

Small gold bars: 1 g to 10 g

Small bars are the easiest way to start, but you pay for the convenience. The cheapest 1 g bar cost AED 72.15 more than the value of its gold. At FK Jewellers, the same 1 g PAMP bar cost AED 604.80, a premium of 24.5%.

The 10 g bar is a big step down in cost. At 4.6% over spot, it is the smallest size where the premium falls below 5% in our data. Compare current offers for 1 g gold bars, 5 g gold bars and 10 g gold bars.

Mid-size gold bars: 20 g, 1 oz and 50 g

This group shows why you should never judge by size alone. The only 20 g bar listed by our two main dealers was a Valcambi bar at 13.5% over spot, almost as high as a 1 g bar. Meanwhile, a 1 oz PAMP bar at FK Jewellers cost just 2.5% over spot.

Does that mean 20 g bars are always expensive? No. It means one listing was expensive on one day. The same dealer priced its 1 oz Valcambi bar at 12.5% over spot, while its 1 oz PAMP bar was at 2.5%. Check our 20 g gold bar prices, 1 oz gold bar prices and 50 g gold bar prices before you decide.

Large gold bars: 100 g and 1 kg

Large bars give you the lowest cost per gram. The cheapest 100 g bar cost AED 497.19 per gram, only 2.3% over spot. Two other 100 g bars in our data, from igold.ae, cost 2.7% (Valcambi) and 3.1% (PAMP).

The 1 kg bar is the surprise. At AED 497.74 per gram, it cost slightly more per gram than the cheapest 100 g bar. The difference was small, AED 0.55 per gram, but it breaks the rule that bigger is always cheaper. See today’s offers for 100 g gold bars and 1 kg gold bars.

The same size can cost very different amounts

Our data also includes Al Abyad Jewellers. On 5 November 2026, it listed PAMP bars from 1 g to 50 g at 24.6% to 33.8% over spot, including a 5 g bar at AED 3,090.00 (27.2% over spot). That was the only 5 g bar in our UAE data that morning.

The lesson? The dealer can move your cost as much as the size can. Compare all UAE bullion dealers before you pay.

Why Do Small Gold Bars Cost More Per Gram?

Every bar, big or small, goes through the same steps. It must be refined, cut or cast, stamped, checked, packed, shipped and sold. Many of these costs are almost the same for a 1 g bar as for a 100 g bar. Spread over 1 g, they make a big difference. Spread over 100 g, they almost disappear.

Think of it like buying water. A small bottle at the airport costs far more per litre than a large bottle at the supermarket. The water is the same. The packaging and handling are what you pay for.

Here is what that means in dirhams, using igold.ae prices from 5 November 2026:

So is a 1 g bar a bad buy? Not always. It is a fine gift and a cheap way to hold your first piece of gold. It is simply an expensive way to store larger amounts of wealth.

Read also: What Is the Minimum Amount to Invest in Gold in the UAE?

Which Gold Bar Size Is Best for You?

There is no single best size. The right bar depends on your budget, your goal and how you plan to sell. Start with this simple guide:

Choose small bars if:

• you are buying gold as a gift for a wedding, birth or Eid,
• you want to save a small amount every month,
• you want to sell gold in small pieces later, without selling everything at once.

Choose large bars if:

• you are investing a lump sum and want the lowest cost per gram,
• you plan to hold the gold for years,
• you have safe storage, such as a home safe or a bank safe deposit box.

A mixed approach

Many buyers combine both. For example, you could hold most of your gold in 100 g bars and keep a few 10 g bars for flexibility. If you ever need part of your money back, you sell a small bar and keep the large ones.

When it comes to cost, the rule is simple: buy the largest bar you are happy to sell in one piece.

Minted Bars and Cast Bars

Besides weight, gold bars differ in how they are made. You will see two types in UAE shops:

• Minted bars: cut from a rolled sheet of gold and stamped with a design, like a coin. Many small bars are minted and sold sealed in a card with a serial number.
• Cast bars: made by pouring molten gold into a mould. They have rougher edges and a simpler stamp, and they are common in larger sizes.

Both types hold the same fine gold. Minted bars look more polished, and the sealed card helps when you sell. Cast bars usually need less finishing work. Whichever you choose, compare the price per gram, not the look.

Read also: PAMP vs Valcambi Gold Bars: Which Is the Better Buy in the UAE?

Does Bar Size Affect Resale?

Yes, in two ways. First, small bars give you more liquidity: more buyers can afford them, and you can sell only what you need. Second, large bars usually get a buyback price closer to spot per gram, because the dealer’s handling cost is spread over more gold.

The difference between what a dealer pays you and what they charge you is called the bid-ask spread. Ask your dealer for their buyback price before you buy. A well-known brand, a sealed card and your original invoice will all help when you sell.

VAT on Gold Bars in the UAE

Do you pay VAT on a gold bar in the UAE? No, not on investment gold. Under Article 36 of the UAE VAT Executive Regulation, published by the Federal Tax Authority, the supply of investment precious metals is zero-rated. The gold must meet two conditions:

• a purity of 99% or more,
• a form that is tradable in global bullion markets.

The size of the bar does not change this. A 1 g PAMP bar and a 1 kg PAMP bar are both zero-rated. Gold jewellery is different and carries the standard 5% VAT. Read more in our glossary entry on VAT on gold.

The Gold Price in AED Over the Past Year

The premium is the part of the price you can control by choosing the right size and dealer. The spot price is the part you cannot. Over the past year, gold in dirhams has moved a lot.

According to the Metals Radar price service, gold reached its highest level of the past year on 29 January 2026, at AED 20,049.25 per troy ounce. On 5 November 2026, it stood at AED 15,113.07, about 25% below that peak and 3.6% above its level a year earlier.

What does this mean for your choice of size? When prices swing like this, a few percent of premium can be the difference between a gain and a loss. Follow the latest moves on our gold price chart in AED, or check the gold price per gram to see what a bar of any size is worth at spot.

Summary: Gold Bar Sizes

Compare Gold Bar Prices by Size

The size of your gold bar is one of the biggest decisions you make as a buyer, and it is easy to get right with good data. Metals Radar tracks gold bar prices from UAE dealers every day and shows the price per gram and premium over spot for each offer.

Start with our gold bar price comparison, or browse investment gold in the UAE to see bars and coins side by side.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment or tax advice.