Account Equity
The available capital base used to calculate your dollar risk budget.
Single Mathematical Source of Truth · Multi-Asset Sizing
Position Size Calculator
Enter your account equity, risk budget, and stop loss distance to compute exact tradable lot sizes across forex, commodities, indices, and crypto.
Calculations reflect pure contract specifications without spread or slippage.
Single Trade Risk%
Advanced SpecificationsContract size, entry price & leverage
Minimum lot increment0.01 standard lots
Contract specifications may vary by broker. Verify your broker's trading specification window.
What Determines Your Position Size?
Four objective parameters dictate your position size. Changing any parameter shifts the math immediately.
Risk Budget
The maximum dollar amount you are willing to lose if your stop loss is triggered (e.g. 1% of equity).
Stop Loss Distance
The price distance between your execution entry and technical invalidation level.
Contract Specifications
How many units, ounces, or point values a single standard contract represents.
Calculation reference
Calculation Formula
Risk Budget = Account Equity × Risk %
Risk Per Unit = Stop Loss Distance × Price Increment × Contract Size
Position Size (Lots) = Risk Budget ÷ Risk Per Unit
The raw mathematical position is always floored to the platform's minimum step size to ensure the planned loss never exceeds your risk budget.
Worked Example
Account Equity: $10,000 · Single Trade Risk: 1% · EUR/USD Stop Loss: 50 Pips
Risk Budget$100.00$10,000 × 1%
Risk Per Standard Lot$500.0050 pips × $10/pip
Suggested Position0.20 Lots$100 ÷ $500
Verification: 0.20 standard lots equals 20,000 EUR. A 50-pip move (0.0050) equals exactly 20,000 × 0.0050 = $100.00 loss, matching your 1% risk budget perfectly.
Common Position Sizing Mistakes
Trading errors usually happen before order submission, not during market moves.
Fixing lot size before placing the stop loss
Your stop loss must be placed where the chart setup is invalidated. Forcing an arbitrary stop distance to fit a predetermined lot size destroys risk control.
Confusing leverage with risk capacity
Leverage determines your required collateral, not how much you will lose. Position size multiplied by price distance determines actual financial loss.
Ignoring contract unit differences across instruments
A 50-point move on gold or Nasdaq has a vastly different cash impact than a 50-pip move on EUR/USD. Always calibrate by contract specifications.
Position Size Calculators by Instrument
Explore dedicated calculators with asset-specific contract sizes, point increments, and risk rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is position size calculated?
Divide your pre-defined risk budget (in dollars) by the cash loss per standard contract over your stop loss distance. The result is then rounded down to the platform's minimum step size.
How much risk should I take on a single trade?
Most disciplined risk management systems allocate between 0.5% and 2.0% of total equity per setup. This ensures a series of consecutive losses does not jeopardize account solvency.
Does leverage affect suggested lot sizes?
No. Leverage changes the margin required to hold the trade, not your risk per pip or point. Position size is driven exclusively by stop distance and risk budget.
Why might my broker's numbers differ slightly?
Brokers may use different contract multipliers. If your broker uses a different contract size, enter that value in the Advanced section before calculating.