Calculate the exact lot size from your balance, risk percentage, and stop-loss distance. The first calculation on every trade — and the one that decides whether your account survives a losing streak.
Enter your balance, risk percentage, and stop-loss in pips. The lot size updates live.
Less than 30 seconds once you have your trade plan ready. Each step builds on the previous one, and skipping any of them turns the result into a guess.
Input your current trading account balance, not your initial deposit. If you started with $5,000 and now have $4,500, enter $4,500. Position sizing should always reflect your real-time account value.
Choose how much of your account to risk on this trade. Professional traders typically use 1–2% per trade. Beginners should start with 0.5–1%. Never risk more than 5% on a single trade.
Beginners and volatile markets
Standard for experienced traders
Only for proven systems
Enter the distance from your entry price to your stop loss in pips. This should be based on your technical analysis — support/resistance levels, volatility (ATR), or chart patterns.
Common mistake: Don't set the stop loss to fit your desired position size. Set it from technical levels, then let the calculator determine your lot size.
Choose the forex pair or CFD instrument you want to trade. The calculator automatically adjusts pip values based on the instrument and the current market price.
The calculator displays your optimal lot size. Enter this number in your trading platform's Volume or Lot Size field when placing the order.
Position sizing is the single most important factor in determining whether you survive as a forex trader. More accounts are blown by poor position sizing than by bad analysis, poor timing, or unlucky trades.
→ Account crippled
→ Account protected
Professional traders follow the 1% rule: never risk more than 1% of your account on a single trade. It isn't about fear — it's because the math forces this discipline.
| Consecutive losses | 1% risk | 5% risk | 10% risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 losses | -4.9% | -22.6% | -41.0% |
| 10 losses | -9.6% | -40.1% | -65.1% |
| 15 losses | -14.0% | -53.7% | -79.4% |
Risking 10% per trade leaves only 20% of capital after 15 losses. 1% risk keeps you at 86% of starting balance. Survival, not optimization, is the goal.
→ Still trading
→ Account destroyed
Our calculator uses this industry-standard formula. Knowing the math lets you verify the result and trade with confidence.
Formula
Position Size = (Account Balance × Risk %) ÷ (Stop Loss in Pips × Pip Value)
Account balance
$10,000
Risk %
1% ($100)
Stop loss
50 pips
Pip value
$10/pip
Calculation
$100 ÷ (50 × $10) = $100 ÷ $500 = 0.20 lots
Calculate risk amount
Account Balance × Risk %
$10,000 × 1% = $100
Calculate total risk per lot
Stop Loss × Pip Value
50 pips × $10/pip = $500 per lot
Calculate position size
Risk Amount ÷ Total Risk
$100 ÷ $500 = 0.20 lots
For EUR/USD with a USD account, 1 pip on 1 standard lot ≈ $10. JPY pairs use 0.01 as pip size, not 0.0001. For exotic pairs or non-USD accounts, pip values differ significantly. The calculator handles all these variations automatically.
Each of these looks small in isolation. Stack two or three and the math catches up to you fast.
"I'll just trade 0.1 lots on everything" is the fastest path to account destruction. Position size must adapt to stop-loss distance.
Why it fails: a 20-pip stop needs a different position size than a 100-pip stop to maintain the same dollar risk.
"I want to trade 1.0 lot, so I'll put my stop closer." That's backwards and leads to getting stopped out on normal price movement.
Correct approach: place stop loss at a technical level, then calculate the position size from it.
Calculating position size off your starting balance ($10,000) when your current balance is $7,500 over-leverages your actual capital.
Solution: always use current balance for sizing decisions.
Trading EUR/USD and GBP/USD simultaneously with full position sizes. These pairs correlate ~80%, so you're actually risking 1.8× your intended amount.
Solution: reduce position size when holding correlated pairs.
Your calculated stop is 50 pips, but the 2-pip spread means your real risk on entry is 52 pips.
Solution: add spread to your stop-loss distance in the calculator.
Position sizing is the process of determining how many lots or units to trade based on your account balance and risk tolerance. It is the single most important aspect of risk management — without proper position sizing, even the best trading strategy will fail.
Beginners should risk no more than 1% of their account per trade. With a $1,000 account, this means risking $10 per trade. The calculator will determine the exact lot size needed to maintain this risk level based on your stop loss. Most beginners should start with 0.01 micro lots and gradually increase as they prove profitability.
Position Size = (Account Balance × Risk %) ÷ (Stop Loss in Pips × Pip Value). Example: ($5,000 × 1%) ÷ (50 pips × $10/pip) = $50 ÷ $500 = 0.10 lots (1 mini lot). Using a calculator is faster and eliminates math errors.
With a $100 account risking 1% ($1 per trade), use 0.01 micro lots (1,000 units) with a 10-pip stop loss on EUR/USD. Never use standard or mini lots with small accounts — that violates proper risk management. Many brokers don't support proper position sizing for accounts under $500, so we recommend starting with at least $1,000.
Position size should scale with your account balance, not your emotions. If your account grows from $10,000 to $11,000, your position size naturally increases because you're still risking 1% (now $110 instead of $100). Never increase risk percentage after wins — that's how accounts blow up during drawdowns.
In MT4/MT5 the Volume field uses lot notation. If the calculator shows 0.15 lots, enter exactly "0.15". Reference: 0.01 = 1 micro lot (1,000 units), 0.10 = 1 mini lot (10,000 units), 1.00 = 1 standard lot (100,000 units).