Islamic finance
Nisab Today in KES
The live zakat threshold in Kenyan Shilling, from today's gold and silver prices (2026-09-27).
Gold nisab by karat in KES
Nisab is 85 g of pure gold. Jewellery is alloyed, so the weight you need depends on the karat — the local standard in Kenyan Shilling is 18K.
| Karat | Purity | Per gram today (KES) | Grams for nisab |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | 17,850 | 85.1 g |
| 22K | 91.7% | 16,379 | 92.7 g |
| 21K | 87.5% | 15,634 | 97.1 g |
| 18Klocal standard | 75.0% | 13,401 | 113.3 g |
Spot metal value at 2026-09-27; shop prices add making charges and tax. Zakat itself is 2.5% of the value once you are above nisab.
Nisab in Kenya
Kenyan jewellery is mostly 18K and 21K; convert by purity before comparing with nisab. The shilling floats against the dollar, so the KES nisab moves with both gold and the exchange rate. Nisab is measured in pure gold, and jewellery is never pure: multiply each piece's weight by its karat's purity (0.9167 for 22K, 0.875 for 21K, 0.75 for 18K, 0.585 for 14K) before comparing the total with 85 grams. The karat table above gives today's per-gram value of each karat in your currency for a quick valuation.
The zakat year
The zakat year (hawl) is lunar — about 354 days, not 365. Fixing one Hijri date each year (many people use Ramadan) keeps the calculation consistent; paying on a Gregorian anniversary drifts eleven days later every year.
Common situations for zakat payers in Kenya
Kenyan Muslims hold savings in bank accounts, M-Pesa balances and Sacco deposits — all zakatable at value — and gold as 18K and 21K jewellery to be converted by purity. Sacco shares and deposits are zakatable at their withdrawable value. Livestock and farm produce have their own zakat rules separate from this page.
Where Kenyan Muslims pay zakat
Directly to the poor, through mosques, or via organisations such as Zakat Kenya and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims' programmes.
How to use these numbers
If your zakatable wealth in Kenyan Shilling — cash in KES, gold and silver, money owed to you, and business inventory — stays at or above the nisab for one full lunar year, zakat of 2.5% is due. Most scholars recommend checking against the lower silver figure (159,783 KES today) so that zakat reaches more people.
Calculate exactly what you owe with the zakat calculator, value gold by weight and karat with zakat on gold, or see today's gold price in Kenya.
Nisab in other currencies
Frequently asked questions
What is the nisab in KES today?+
Using the gold standard (85 g of pure gold), today's nisab is about 1,518,768 KES. Using the silver standard (595 g) it is about 159,783 KES. Figures refresh daily with metal prices and the KES exchange rate.
Gold or silver standard — which should I use?+
Most scholars recommend the silver nisab because it is lower — zakat becomes due sooner and more of the poor benefit. The gold standard is also valid.
Why does the nisab in Kenyan Shilling change?+
Two moving parts: the global gold/silver price, and the KES exchange rate. Both update daily, so a nisab figure published months ago can be far off — this page always shows today's value.