Platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) are the two platinum group metals used most in gasoline and diesel catalytic converters, jewelry and investment bars, and their prices have swapped places twice since 2001. Platinum is the more expensive metal today, trading at a 29.2% premium to palladium on 5 August 2026, but palladium held the more expensive spot for roughly six years after 27 September 2017, and the two inverted once before that, in the sharper 2000-2001 palladium squeeze. The sections below compare platinum and palladium on price history, density, hardness, melting point and catalytic use, each figure dated and sourced.
Platinum vs Palladium at a Glance#
Platinum is denser, has a higher melting point and is softer than palladium, and the two metals have traded above and below each other's price at different points since 2001. Both are platinum group metals, alongside rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium, and both sit in the six-metal family the periodic table places in rows five and six of groups 8 to 10. Every property in the table below returns later in the article with its own worked comparison, and a wider set of platinum group metals compared lines platinum and palladium up against gold, silver, rhodium, iridium, ruthenium and osmium on the same measures.
| Property | Platinum (Pt) | Palladium (Pd) |
|---|---|---|
| Atomic number | 78 | 46 |
| CAS number | 7440-06-4 | 7440-05-3 |
| Density at 20 degC | 21.452 g/cm3 | 12.007 g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 1,768.3 degC (2,041.4 K) | 1,554.9 degC (1,828.05 K) |
| Mohs hardness | 3.5 | 4.75 |
Source: PubChem elements 78 and 46 (identity); CRC Handbook-derived element data (density, melting point, hardness).
The two metals are close on one measure the table leaves out: platinum's electrical resistivity of 105 nanohm-meters at 20 degC is almost identical to palladium's 105.4 nanohm-meters, so the pair is effectively tied as conductors even though it ranks apart on density, melting point and hardness.
Platinum vs Palladium Price: Which Metal Costs More?#
Platinum trades at a premium to palladium as of 5 August 2026, at $1,749.00 against $1,354.00 per troy ounce on Kitco's spot series, a 29.2% gap. That premium is recent: palladium cost more than platinum for roughly six years after 2017, and the two metals inverted again, in the opposite direction, during the 2000-2001 palladium squeeze. Today's platinum price today and palladium price today move independently of the dated figures on this page and are tracked separately on their own pages.
Platinum's Premium Over Palladium Today#
Platinum has traded above palladium since at least end-2025, reaching $2,860 against palladium's $2,100-plus at the January 2026 peaks (Johnson Matthey basis), and the platinum-to-palladium ratio stood at 1.28 on metalcharts.org, 6 August 2026. The table below tracks five dated readings across the same run, each on its own series so the two are never mixed in one calculation.
| Date / event | Platinum | Palladium | Pt/Pd ratio | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End-2025 | ~$2,000 | ~$1,600 | ~1.25 | WPIC Platinum Essentials, Sept 2025, carried to year-end |
| Late January 2026 peak | $2,860 | above $2,100 | ~1.36 | Johnson Matthey base price |
| End-March 2026 | $1,908 | $1,448 | 1.32 | Johnson Matthey |
| 5 August 2026 | $1,749.00 | $1,354.00 | 1.29 | Kitco spot |
| 6 August 2026 | $1,768.10 | $1,383.39 | 1.28 | metalcharts.org |
Ratios are DailyPlatinum calculations from the paired price in each row.
The metalcharts.org 52-week range for the ratio runs from 1.04 to 1.56, so even the January 2026 peak reading sits inside the year's own wide band, not outside it. Every row above also reads above 1.0, meaning platinum's premium has held for the better part of a year rather than showing up in a single snapshot.
2017-2025: The Years Palladium Cost More Than Platinum#
Palladium reached parity with platinum on 27 September 2017, the first time since 2001, then traded above it for roughly six years, peaking near $2,400 on an annual-average basis in 2021 before platinum regained the lead. Palladium's annual average price ran:
- 2016: $613 per troy ounce.
- 2017: $869, up 41.8%, the year of the parity crossing.
- 2018: $1,029.
- 2019: $1,537, up 49.4%.
- 2020: $2,193.
- 2021: $2,398, up 9.3%, the top of the run on an annual-average basis.
The crossing mattered to industry, not only to investors: platinum's new discount to palladium after 2017 is what first pulled platinum into gasoline three-way catalysts as a substitute metal, a historical driver the World Platinum Investment Council describes in its January 2024 note on the substitution trend.
The 2000-2001 Palladium Squeeze#
The 2000-2001 palladium squeeze sent the metal from about $350 to over $1,100 per ounce, a spike Russian export delays and rising autocatalyst demand caused, according to Wikipedia's sourced palladium history. The peak print reached $1,090 to $1,094 per ounce on 26 January 2001, and Ford Motor Company, having stockpiled palladium at those peak prices against a feared shortage, booked a loss of nearly US$1 billion when the price collapsed. The unwind was just as steep: the LBMA palladium price fell 58.1% within calendar 2001 alone, and the annual average then dropped from $608 in 2001 to $339 in 2002 and $202 in 2003. The squeeze remains the sharper of palladium's two reversals against platinum, playing out in months rather than the multi-year run of 2017 to 2024.
Platinum vs Palladium: Density, Hardness and Melting Point#
Platinum is 21.452 g/cm3, 78.7% denser than palladium's 12.007 g/cm3, and melts at 1,768.3 degC against palladium's 1,554.9 degC, as the table above sets out. Platinum is also the softer of the two on the Mohs scale, at 3.5 against palladium's 4.75, so the density and hardness rankings run in opposite directions between the pair.
Why a Palladium Ring Feels Lighter Than a Platinum Ring#
A palladium ring feels lighter than an identical platinum ring because palladium is only 56.0% of platinum's density, even though palladium is the harder metal on the Mohs scale. Two rings of the same dimensions therefore carry different weights in the hand despite looking alike, because weight tracks density and not hardness. Neither property determines which metal costs more per ounce; that is a separate, market-driven comparison covered above.
Platinum vs Palladium in Catalytic Converters#
Platinum and palladium substitute for each other at roughly a 1:1 gram ratio in gasoline three-way catalysts, a WPIC-documented interchange that rhodium, the third metal in the same catalyst, cannot make. The World Platinum Investment Council stated on 24 January 2024 that "platinum and palladium can be substituted on an almost 1:1 basis in autocatalysis," while rhodium's job in the same catalyst, reducing NOx, has no commercial substitute.
Thermal durability sets the practical limit on the swap: palladium tolerates the highest temperatures in a catalyst better than platinum, so substitution runs more easily in cooler underfloor bricks than in the hottest close-coupled position nearest the engine. Both metals sit alongside rhodium in the wider platinum group metals market, where supply and demand for all six PGMs are tracked together.
Platinum-for-Palladium Substitution, Explained#
Automakers added an incremental 720,000 ounces of platinum demand in 2024 by substituting it for palladium, Metals Focus estimates, a shift that happens almost only on new vehicle platforms and then holds for that platform's roughly seven-year life. WPIC put the mechanism this way on 24 January 2024: substitution "almost exclusively only occurs on new vehicle models, representing around 15% of the market in any given year," and once built into a platform it is locked in for about seven years because of the cost and risk of changing a catalyst formula already in production. Palladium's own 2025 automotive demand of 255.9 tonnes implies no more than 3.72 grams of palladium per light gasoline vehicle worldwide, on Johnson Matthey's figures.
| Driver | Koz | Horizon | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum-for-palladium substitution, incremental demand added | 720 | 2024 (single year) | Metals Focus, cited in WPIC Platinum Essentials, September 2025 |
| Reverse substitution forecast (palladium for platinum) | 250 | Cumulative by 2029f | WPIC, September 2025 |
WPIC's September 2025 outlook expects the reverse move, palladium substituted back in for platinum, to reach 250,000 ounces cumulatively by 2029, a forecast the same report attributes by name rather than presenting as consensus. Heraeus's December 2025 forecast points the same way, expecting 2026 to bring "some reverse substitution, taking some platinum back out of gasoline autocatalysts in favor of more palladium," alongside a shrinking share of internal-combustion vehicles overall.
Platinum vs Palladium in Jewelry and Investment#
Platinum's 2025 demand of 8,019 thousand ounces (Johnson Matthey basis) spans jewelry, investment and industry, while palladium's jewelry role has shrunk to 0.8% of its total demand after China's palladium jewelry fabrication collapsed from a 2005 peak. Automotive catalysts take 41.5% of that platinum total (3,329 of 8,019 koz, Johnson Matthey basis), and the remainder splits between industrial use (2,627 koz, 32.8%), jewelry (1,507 koz, 18.8%) and investment (556 koz, 6.9%), all on the same Johnson Matthey basis. Chinese palladium jewelry fabrication once ran to 37 tonnes a year, in 2005, and has since fallen to a global 2.5 tonnes (83,000 ounces) in 2025, also on Johnson Matthey's figures, as the fabrication capacity and retail channel that supported it largely disappeared. Platinum jewelry has not followed the same path: it remains a double-digit share of platinum's own demand, so the two metals' jewelry stories have diverged even as their prices have converged and inverted more than once.
Sellers converting either metal to cash can compare recovery routes for scrap platinum, palladium and rhodium before requesting a quote.
Readers weighing either metal as a holding can compare bars, coins, ETFs, stocks and futures on investing in platinum; this page states the demand record and takes no position on which metal to hold.
Compare Platinum and Palladium at Today's Price#
Platinum and palladium buyers check both metals' live prices before comparing them, since the ratio between the two moves daily and the dated figures above will not match today's market. The two live pages below carry the current numbers this page does not, updated continuously rather than as of a single dated snapshot.
Platinum Price Today vs Palladium Price Today#
Today's platinum and palladium prices are tracked separately, in troy ounces, grams and kilograms, on platinum price today and palladium price today. Buyers working in grams can go straight to platinum price per gram today and palladium price per gram today instead of converting from the ounce figure by hand.
More Platinum Group Metal Comparisons#
Platinum and palladium each have comparison pages against gold and against rhodium. The three pages below use the same measures as this one.
- Platinum vs gold: price ratio, rarity and investment differences.
- Palladium vs gold: price and properties.
- Rhodium vs platinum: the third autocatalyst metal against platinum.
Platinum vs Palladium FAQ#
Is Palladium More Valuable Than Platinum?#
Platinum is currently more valuable than palladium, at $1,749.00 against $1,354.00 per troy ounce on Kitco's 5 August 2026 spot series, though palladium traded above platinum from 2017 to roughly 2024.
Is It Better to Invest in Palladium or Platinum?#
Neither metal is inherently the better investment; platinum and palladium have each led the other in price for multi-year stretches since 2001, and this page states the record rather than a recommendation. A holder weighing either metal can review the demand and price history above and reach a conclusion for their own situation.
Why Is Palladium Cheaper Than Platinum Now?#
Palladium is cheaper than its 2021-2022 peak because platinum-for-palladium substitution and softer gasoline-vehicle demand pushed its annual average down from $2,112 in 2022 to $984 in 2024, before a partial 2025 recovery.
What Are Palladium's Downsides Compared With Platinum?#
Palladium's main downside against platinum is concentration: automotive catalysts are its dominant end use, so its price has swung further and faster, including a 58.1% fall within calendar 2001 and a 53% two-year fall from 2022 to 2024. Platinum's demand splits across more uses, which has not stopped it from posting its own sharp moves, including a 67.0% drawdown in 2008.
Are Platinum and Palladium the Same Metal?#
Platinum and palladium are not the same metal: they are separate elements, 78 and 46, with different densities and melting points.
What Are Platinum's and Palladium's Symbols, Atomic Numbers and CAS Numbers?#
Platinum has the symbol Pt, atomic number 78 and CAS number 7440-06-4; palladium has the symbol Pd, atomic number 46 and CAS number 7440-05-3. Their full property and use records are on platinum (Pt), element 78 and palladium (Pd), element 46.