Calculating efficiency…
Pick an item from the list above — or switch to Manual Entry — then click Check Efficiency to see the gold breakdown.
What Is Gold Efficiency in League of Legends?
Gold efficiency is a metric that answers one question: how much of this item's cost can be justified by the raw stats it provides? Every stat in League of Legends has a gold value derived from the cheapest base component that provides only that stat. Attack Damage is worth 35 gold per point because the Long Sword costs 350 gold and grants exactly 10 AD. Armor is worth 20 gold per point because the Cloth Armor costs 300 gold and grants 15 armor.
The formula is straightforward:
Gold Efficiency Formula
Stat Gold Value = Σ (stat amount × gold per unit of that stat)
Efficiency (%) = Stat Gold Value ÷ Item Cost × 100
An item at exactly 100% efficiency gives you gold value in stats equal to its purchase price — you are getting exactly what you pay for. Items above 100% are considered "gold efficient" on raw stats alone. Items below 100% rely on passive abilities, active effects, or unique interactions to justify the remaining cost.
It's important to understand that gold efficiency is a floor valuation, not a ceiling. The metric captures only quantifiable stats. A Zhonya's Hourglass with 57% stat efficiency is still one of the strongest purchases in the game because its Stasis active can single-handedly win team fights — that's simply impossible to quantify in gold.
Base Stat Gold Values — Season 2025
The table below lists every stat used in this calculator, the base item it is derived from, and a worked example. These figures come from Riot's in-game item pricing as of Patch 14.x (Season 2025). Small adjustments may occur across patches when base items are re-priced.
| Stat | Gold / Unit | Base Item | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attack Damage | 35g | Long Sword (350g) | 10 AD × 35g = 350g |
| Ability Power | 21.33g | Amplifying Tome (435g) | ~20 AP effective × 21.33g ≈ 435g |
| Health | 2.67g | Ruby Crystal (400g) | 150 HP × 2.67g ≈ 400g |
| Armor | 20g | Cloth Armor (300g) | 15 armor × 20g = 300g |
| Magic Resist | 18g | Null-Magic Mantle (450g) | 25 MR × 18g = 450g |
| Attack Speed | 25g / 1% | Dagger (300g) | 12% AS × 25g = 300g |
| Crit Chance | 40g / 1% | Brawler's Gloves (400g) | 10% crit × 40g = 400g |
| Ability Haste | 26.67g | Kindlegem (900g) | Derived from Kindlegem's AH component |
| Lethality | 31.25g | Serrated Dirk (1,100g) | Residual after 10 AD (350g) is removed |
| Mana | 1.5g | Sapphire Crystal (350g) | 150 mana × ~2.33g; community consensus ≈ 1.5g |
| Omnivamp | 90g / 1% | Community standard | No pure-stat omnivamp component exists |
| Life Steal | 70g / 1% | Vamp Scepter (900g) | 10% LS × 70g = 700g (rest is base stats) |
| Flat Move Speed | 185g / unit | Boots of Speed (300g) | Approximation; few items grant flat MS |
Stat gold values are community-derived approximations based on base item pricing. Riot does not publish official gold-per-stat figures. Values are accurate for Season 2025 and will require updating if Riot changes base component costs in a future patch.
Why Would You Buy an Item Below 100% Gold Efficiency?
Raw stat efficiency tells you the floor value of an item, but it completely ignores passive abilities, active effects, unique mechanics, and teamfight utility. Some of the most impactful items in the game sit below 70% stat efficiency precisely because their value lies entirely in what their passive or active does — not in the numbers on the tooltip.
Zhonya's Hourglass is the canonical example. Its stats (65 AP, 45 Armor, 10 AH) are worth roughly 2,685 gold against a 2,900g price tag — about 93% efficiency before the passive. But the Stasis active (making your champion temporarily invincible) can dodge a Zed ultimate, a Viktor death ray, or a Darius Noxian Guillotine. That active routinely decides games and is impossible to price in gold.
Rabadon's Deathcap is a different case: its 120 AP and the gold value of that AP come to roughly 2,560g — 71% of its 3,600g price. But the passive amplifies your total AP by 35%. If you have 300 AP on a champion before buying it, Rabadon's turns that into 405 AP — effectively adding 105 AP on top of the tooltip value. The further ahead you are, the better Rabadon's becomes.
Rylai's Crystal Scepter grants a 30% slow on every damaging ability you cast. For kite-heavy mages like Cassiopeia, Viktor, or Lissandra, this is worth more than dozens of stat points because it fundamentally changes the balance of power between you and a melee champion trying to reach you.
Use gold efficiency to compare items in the same slot — but always weigh it against the passive value relevant to your champion and the game state you're in.
Gold Efficiency by Role
Approximate average stat efficiency by role (Season 2025)
Tank Items — Highest Raw Efficiency
Tank items tend to score the highest raw stat efficiency because their primary stats (HP, Armor, MR) are cheap on a per-unit basis. Heartsteel at 2,666g stat value for 3,000g cost comes to about 89% before its stacking passive, which rapidly pushes effective efficiency far beyond 100%. Thornmail, with 350 HP and 60 Armor, sits at approximately 115% on stats alone. Tanks buy items for their stat totals more than their passives, making raw efficiency a more reliable guide for this role.
ADC Items — Synergy Multiplied Value
ADC items frequently combine AD, crit chance, and attack speed — all of which have moderate gold rates. Most crit items sit in the 70–90% raw efficiency range. The missing efficiency is paid for by crit synergy: Infinity Edge's passive (235% crit damage at ≥60% crit) is worth nothing with 0% crit but becomes astronomical when you have three crit items. ADC gold efficiency is almost entirely about itemisation order and synergy thresholds, not individual item efficiency in isolation.
Mage Items — Passive-Value Dependent
Mage items are the most passive-dependent in the game. The average mage item sits around 70–80% raw stat efficiency because AP costs 21.33g per point — less than AD at 35g — and mage items are priced accordingly. Void Staff's 40% bonus magic penetration is worth nothing in the stat value formula but is catastrophically strong against stacked MR targets. Rabadon's Deathcap appears "inefficient" at ~71% until you calculate what that 35% AP amplification does to your total AP in practice.
Support Items — Utility Above All
Support items consistently show the lowest raw stat efficiency (55–75%) because their core value is in auras, shields, heals, and actives that benefit allies — none of which appear in the gold formula. Locket of the Iron Solari, Redemption, and Shurelya's Battlesong are purchased for what they do in a team fight, not for the HP or AP numbers on their tooltip. The stat efficiency score is essentially irrelevant when evaluating support items.
Related Gaming Calculators
TTK Calculator
Calculate time-to-kill and DPS for any weapon across Valorant, Warzone, Apex, and more.
eDPI Calculator
Calculate your effective DPI and cm/360° to dial in your mouse sensitivity for competitive play.
Loot Probability
Calculate the exact mathematical odds of getting your rare item drop after N attempts.
FPS Predictor
Predict gaming FPS for your CPU and GPU across 50+ titles at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does gold efficient mean in LoL?
A League of Legends item is "gold efficient" when the combined gold value of its raw stats equals or exceeds the item's purchase cost. The threshold is 100%: at 100% efficiency, you are getting as much stat value as you paid for. Items above 100% give you more in stats than the purchase price — their passive or active is effectively free. Items below 100% require their passive to make up the deficit.
Which item has the highest gold efficiency in LoL?
Among items with a significant passive, Heartsteel and Randuin's Omen frequently top the raw-stat efficiency charts due to cheap HP and Armor stat rates. Among pure-stat items (excluding passives), Thornmail stands out with 350 HP and 60 Armor giving roughly 1,133g + 1,200g = 2,333g in stat value for 2,700g — approximately 115% efficiency. Serpent's Fang is also notably efficient at around 110% before its powerful shield-reaving passive.
Why does Rabadon's Deathcap have low stat efficiency?
Rabadon's Deathcap costs 3,600 gold and provides 120 AP. At 21.33g per AP, that's approximately 2,560g in stat value — giving it a raw efficiency of about 71%. However, this number severely undersells the item because of its Rabadon's Passive: 35% bonus AP. If you have 300 AP before buying Rabadon's, you end up with 540 AP after (300 + 120 = 420, then ×1.35 = 567 accounting for the amp). The amplification is applied to your entire AP pool, making Rabadon's exponentially stronger the more AP you already have. Riot deliberately keeps the raw stats below 100% so the item has a "buy later in the build" profile.
Are tank items more gold efficient than mage items?
Yes, as a general rule. Tank stats like HP and Armor have low-to-moderate gold rates (2.67g and 20g respectively), and tank items tend to stack these stats in large quantities with minimal passive overhead. The result is raw efficiencies that frequently reach or exceed 100%. Mage items invest in AP (21.33g per point) but are priced competitively because their passives — magic penetration, spell amplification, slows, shields — are where the real value lies. Mage items typically sit in the 65–85% raw efficiency range.
Does gold efficiency change between patches?
Yes, gold efficiency values change whenever Riot updates item costs or base component prices. If the Long Sword is repriced, every AD item's efficiency changes accordingly. Season 2025 (Patch 14.x) introduced several base component price adjustments that shifted the efficiency of many items by 3–8 percentage points in either direction. This calculator uses Season 2025 values. Always cross-reference with the League of Legends wiki's gold efficiency page after major patches.
Should I always buy the most gold-efficient item?
No. Gold efficiency is one input, not the only input. The strongest items in any given game depend on your champion's damage type, your team's composition, the enemy's defensive profile, and the game state (ahead or behind). A tank player who is ahead should consider Heartsteel's stacking potential over a technically more efficient armor item because the compound HP growth has higher ceiling value in a winning game. Always prioritise items that synergise with your champion's kit and address the biggest threats on the enemy team. Use gold efficiency to compare options in the same slot when all other factors are equal.
Further Reading
- League of Legends Wiki — Gold Efficiency — The community-maintained reference for all item gold values and methodology.
- Lolalytics — Item Winrate Statistics — Real-game winrate and pickrate data for items across all ranks and champions.