What Is the Osmium Price Today?#
The osmium price today is a dealer quote, not an exchange spot price: osmium trades over the counter, gram by gram, between one buyer and one seller. This page shows the Osmium-Institut's Fine-Osmium price in euros, refreshed daily. Osmium is the only one of the six platinum group metals quoted per gram; all six sit side by side under platinum group metal prices today.
Osmium Price per Gram, Kilogram and Troy Ounce#
One gram of refined osmium (Fine-Osmium) costs €2,341.97, one kilogram €2,341,973.77 and one troy ounce €72,843.53, the ounce figure converted only for comparison, because osmium is not quoted per ounce. Five weights are listed below, live and at the quote of 24 September 2026.
| Weight | Grams | Live Fine-Osmium price (EUR) | Quote of 24 Sep 2026 (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | 1 | €2,341.97 | 54.30 |
| 1 troy ounce (converted) | 31.1034768 | €72,843.53 | 1,688.92 |
| 100 grams | 100 | €234,197.38 | 5,430.00 |
| 1 pound (avoirdupois, converted) | 453.59237 | 453.59237 × gram price | 24,630.07 |
| 1 kilogram | 1,000 | €2,341,973.77 | 54,300.00 |
The ounce and pound rows are DailyPlatinum conversions, not quotes. Osmium weighs 22.587 g/cm³ at 20 °C, the highest density of any element at ambient pressure, so a 1 cm cube weighs 22.587 grams.
Other weights convert with the same factors in the troy ounce converter.
Crystalline Osmium vs Refined Osmium: Two Very Different Prices#
The Osmium-Institut publishes three different osmium prices, not one: crystalline osmium (a certified collector product), HighTech-Ready-Osmium (HTRO) and Fine-Osmium (refined, uncrystallized metal). The three net prices of 24 September 2026 are listed below.
| Product | Price per gram (EUR) | Price per kilogram (EUR) | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crystalline osmium | 2,289.84 | 2,289,840 | Crystallized sheet cut into shapes, 99.9995% purity (vendor figure), each piece registered with an Osmium Identification Code |
| HighTech-Ready-Osmium (HTRO) | 1,144.92 | 1,144,920 | Purified powder, 4N to 7N purity, for technical uses |
| Fine-Osmium | 54.30 | 54,300 | Refined, uncrystallized metal; the price in the panel above |
Crystalline osmium cost 42.2 times the vendor's own Fine-Osmium price on that date (2,289.84 ÷ 54.30), and HTRO was priced at exactly half the crystalline price. The premium pays for crystallization, certification and registration, not for extra metal. A 1-inch cube of osmium (16.387 cm³) holds about 370.1 grams, worth about €20,098 as refined metal at the 24 September 2026 Fine-Osmium price.
How Is the Osmium Price Set?#
Osmium has no exchange, no LBMA benchmark and no Johnson Matthey base price: the Osmium-Institut sets a daily price for its own products, and industrial metal is priced deal by deal. Johnson Matthey, Heraeus and Umicore quote rhodium, iridium and ruthenium, but none of the three quotes osmium (each firm's price pages, checked 6 August 2026).
Industrial osmium is priced "at each transaction between the seller and buyer," including fabrication, storage and transport costs, according to the Osmium Factsheet SFA (Oxford) wrote for the International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA), May 2026.
Why Osmium Has No Exchange, Benchmark or Spot Price#
Osmium has no market price because no exchange lists it and the major refiner price sheets exclude it, so every industrial transaction is negotiated individually. No futures contract or exchange-traded fund exists for osmium.
Trade statistics cannot fill the gap. Customs tariffs group osmium with iridium and ruthenium under HS 7110.41 (unwrought or powder), HS 7110.49 (semi-manufactured) and HS 7112.92 (waste and scrap), and osmium compounds fall under HS 2843.90 (IPA/SFA, May 2026), so no customs series isolates osmium.
The Historical Industrial Osmium Price: $300–400 per Ounce#
The historical industrial osmium price sat in a $300 to $400 per troy ounce range from the 2000s, and no wholesale transaction price has been published since (SFA Oxford, IPA Osmium Factsheet, May 2026). Engelhard, now part of BASF, quoted osmium in its Industrial Bullion price sheet, and the factsheet calls those prices "very stable (due to lack of market liquidity)."
SFA's reconstructed average sponge price for 2019 to 2025 sits in a broad $250 to $500 per ounce band. The panel, by contrast, shows a vendor's price for refined metal: €54.30 per gram on 24 September 2026 equals €1,688.92 per troy ounce.
What Drives the Osmium Price?#
The osmium price is shaped by production of about 500 to 550 kilograms a year, the smallest output of any platinum group metal, and by refiners' reluctance to recover osmium at all. Platinum, by contrast, trades in millions of ounces, and nine factors decide what drives the platinum price, set out under what drives the platinum price.
World Osmium Production: About 500–550 Kilograms a Year#
World osmium production is 500 to 550 kilograms a year for 2024 and 2025, according to SFA (Oxford) for the IPA. That is about 16,100 to 17,700 troy ounces, against 7.1 tonnes of primary iridium (Johnson Matthey, 2025).
The vendor osmium-preis.com states about 1,000 kilograms a year since 2019, roughly double; companies do not report osmium output, so both are estimates (IPA/SFA). At $350 per ounce, the midpoint of the stale historical range, world output would be worth about $5.6 to $6.2 million a year (DailyPlatinum calculation), an order-of-magnitude illustration.
US imports were 1 kilogram in 2021, 2022 and 2024 and none in 2023; the USGS estimate of 57 kilograms for 2025 may be a reporting artifact (February 2026). Johnson Matthey publishes no osmium balance, so osmium sits outside the published balances of the platinum group metals market.
Why So Little Osmium Is Recovered#
Little osmium is recovered because it forms osmium tetroxide (OsO₄), a toxic, volatile compound, during refining, and two of South Africa's four major PGM refineries do not recover osmium at all. During ruthenium purification, osmium leaves as OsO₄ for the vent scrubbers, not for sale (IPA/SFA, May 2026). Four recovery decisions are listed below.
- Valterra Platinum (formerly Anglo American Platinum): recovered osmium until about 1990, then rejected it "due to complexity and hazard."
- Two other major South African producers: lose most osmium in base metal refinery waste.
- Russian producers: stopped osmium recovery by the end of the 2010s.
- Evander Kinross gold plant: osmiridium concentrate ceased in 2020.
OsO₄ carries an OSHA exposure limit of 0.002 mg/m³ and transport class UN 2471, packing group I, the highest hazard group; its chemistry is under osmium tetroxide.
Osmium supply is limited by the refinery flowsheet, not by ore.
Health effects are covered under osmium toxicity.
Osmium Demand: Chemical Catalysis, Alloys and the Collector Market#
Osmium demand is led by chemical catalysis, specifically osmium tetroxide's use in dihydroxylation reactions for fine chemicals and pharmaceutical intermediates, followed by a 90% platinum, 10% osmium medical alloy and wear-resistant alloys. Five ranked segments are listed below; IPA/SFA publish no tonnage split.
- Chemical catalysis: OsO₄ and osmate salts in Upjohn and Sharpless dihydroxylation.
- Microscopy staining: OsO₄ fixes lipid membranes and is consumed in use.
- Medical alloys: Pt/Os 90/10 in pacemaker components and pulmonary valves.
- Wear-resistant alloys: osmiridium in pen nibs, instrument pivots and electrical contacts.
- Jewelry and collectors: "negligible and largely confined to novelty or niche segments."
The crystalline price comes from the smallest segment. Each application is described under osmium uses.
IPA/SFA find no commercial osmium use in low-carbon technologies.
Alloy compositions are covered under osmium alloys.
Osmium Price vs Gold#
Refined osmium is cheaper than gold per gram, and crystalline osmium is far more expensive. Fine-Osmium trades at €2,341.97 per gram today, against gold at $132.96 per gram. On 24 September 2026, Fine-Osmium cost €54.30 and crystalline osmium €2,289.84 per gram, while gold's record of $5,608.35 per troy ounce, reached in January 2026 (Trading Economics), equals about $180.31 per gram.
Scarcity alone does not lift refined osmium, because it has no exchange, benchmark or two-way dealer quote to anchor an investment price.
Buy, Sell and Compare Osmium at Today's Price#
Osmium is bought and sold as a collector or industrial product, not a scrap commodity.
Selling Osmium: Why There Is No Consumer Scrap Market#
Osmium has no consumer scrap market because recovering it risks forming osmium tetroxide, which is why refiners avoid it. Open-loop osmium recycling is "very limited," IPA/SFA write.
Crystalline osmium resells privately, and the vendor states that no buyback guarantee exists. Catalytic converter scrap, by contrast, has a refining route under scrap platinum group metals.
Buying Crystalline or Refined Osmium#
Buyers choose between crystalline osmium, sold as a certified collector product, and Fine-Osmium, the refined metal, at prices 42 times apart per gram. The vendor recommends holding crystalline osmium 10 to 15 years; the case is weighed under crystalline osmium as an investment.
Industrial osmium comes from refiners such as Heraeus and Ames Goldsmith Ceimig, priced per transaction (IPA/SFA).
Platinum trades as bars, coins, ETFs and futures, none of which exists for osmium; the routes for investing in platinum are compared under investing in platinum.
Dealer checks for platinum bullion are explained in how to buy platinum.
Osmium Price per Kilogram, Chart and Other PGM Prices Today#
Osmium price history and the other five platinum group metal prices have dedicated pages, listed below.
- Gram: osmium price per gram today
- Kilogram: osmium price per kilogram today
- History: osmium price chart
| Metal | Symbol | Main price source | Price page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Pt | LBMA Platinum Price, NYMEX futures, Johnson Matthey base price | platinum price today |
| Palladium | Pd | LBMA Palladium Price, NYMEX futures, Johnson Matthey base price | palladium price today |
| Rhodium | Rh | Johnson Matthey base price and dealer quotes; no exchange | rhodium price today |
| Iridium | Ir | Johnson Matthey base price, Umicore and Heraeus quotes; no exchange | iridium price today |
| Ruthenium | Ru | Johnson Matthey base price and refiner quotes; no exchange | ruthenium price today |
Osmium Price FAQ#
How much is 1 gram of osmium worth?#
One gram of refined osmium is worth €2,341.97 at the Osmium-Institut's Fine-Osmium quote of 5 Oct 2026, 15:30 UTC. On 24 September 2026 the same gram cost €54.30, while a gram of crystalline osmium cost €2,289.84.
Is osmium worth more than gold?#
Only crystalline osmium is worth more than gold: at €2,289.84 per gram on 24 September 2026, it retails at roughly 42 times the same vendor's refined Fine-Osmium price, while refined osmium trades well under gold's per-gram record of about $180.31.
Can I touch osmium?#
Solid crystalline osmium can be handled, because in dense form it does not react with air the way osmium powder does. The hazard is fine osmium powder, which slowly forms osmium tetroxide in air, a compound classified as fatal if inhaled.
Is osmium radioactive?#
Osmium is not radioactive for practical purposes: of its seven natural isotopes, five are stable, and osmium-184 and osmium-186 (half-lives of about 10¹³ and 10¹⁵ years) are effectively stable.
Osmium's variable isotope mix makes its atomic weight 16 times less precise than iridium's, which matters in the osmium vs iridium density question.
Rhenium-187 decays to osmium-187, the basis of ore-body dating; decay data are under osmium isotopes and radioactivity.
What are osmium's symbol, atomic number and CAS number?#
Osmium has the symbol Os, atomic number 76 and CAS number 7440-04-2, with an atomic mass of 190.2 (PubChem). It melts at 3,306 K (3,033 °C, handbook value), shows oxidation states +2, +3, +4 and +8, and was discovered in 1803; the element is covered on osmium (Os), element 76.
Is there an osmium price in Indian rupees?#
There is no dedicated osmium price series in Indian rupees; the euro gram price converts at the day's exchange rate. The Osmium-Institut quotes euros, US dollars, Swiss francs and Chinese yuan; this page shows euros only.