Lot size calculator
Find the position size that makes a stop-out cost exactly the share of your balance you chose. Works for currency pairs, gold, silver, indices, oil and crypto in seven account currencies.
Lot size
0.40
Exact 0.4000 lots, rounded down to the 0.01 step.
- Money at risk
- $100.00
- Actual risk at rounded size
- $100.00
- Pip value per 1.00 lot
- $10.00
- Pip value at this size
- $4.00
- Units
- 40,000 EUR
| 0.5% · $50 | 0.20 lots |
| 1% · $100 | 0.40 lots |
| 2% · $200 | 0.80 lots |
| 3% · $300 | 1.20 lots |
Calculated in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored. Results are estimates; check your broker's symbol specification.
How to use it
- Pick your account currency and enter your balance (or equity, if you size from equity).
- Enter the risk per trade in percent. 0.5–2% is the range most risk guidelines use.
- Choose the instrument and enter the stop loss distance in pips. For gold, choose the pip convention your stop is measured in.
- If the instrument is quoted in another currency than your account, enter the current price of the linking pair.
The result is rounded down to the lot step (0.01 by default), so the actual risk shown is never more than you asked for.
The formula
lots = (balance × risk %) ÷ (stop loss in pips × pip value per lot)
- pip value per lot = contract size × pip size, converted to your account currency
- EURUSD: 100,000 × 0.0001 = $10 per pip per lot
- XAUUSD with a 0.10 pip: 100 oz × 0.10 = $10 per pip per lot
Worked examples
EURUSD, USD account
- Balance $10,000, risk 1% → $100.
- Stop 25 pips × $10 per pip per lot = $250 per lot.
- $100 ÷ $250 = 0.40 lots.
USDJPY, USD account at USDJPY 150.00
- Balance $5,000, risk 2% → $100.
- Pip value: ¥1,000 per lot = $6.67.
- Stop 30 pips → $200 per lot. $100 ÷ $200 = 0.50 lots.
XAUUSD, 0.10 pip
- Balance $17,000, risk 1% → $170.
- Stop 85 pips (8.50 in price) × $10 = $850 per lot.
- $170 ÷ $850 = 0.20 lots.
Things the formula doesn't include
- Spread and commission. Your real loss at the stop includes the spread you paid on entry and any commission.
- Slippage. Stops are filled at the next available price; in fast markets that can be beyond the stop.
- Contract differences. Index and CFD contracts vary by broker. Use the contract size from your symbol specification.
- There is no live price feed on this page. When the instrument's quote currency differs from your account currency, enter today's rate for the linking pair; the default is an example rate.
On a copier, risk percent mode does this calculation for every trade, using your broker's own tick value. See lot sizing modes.
Frequently asked questions
What risk percent should I use?
Many traders use 0.5–2% per trade. The right number depends on how many losses in a row your strategy can produce and how much drawdown you can accept. At 2% risk, ten losses in a row leave you about 18% down.
Why is the result rounded down?
Brokers only accept volumes in steps, usually 0.01 lots. Rounding up would risk more than you chose, so the calculator rounds down and shows the actual risk of the rounded size.
Is a gold pip 0.10 or 0.01?
Both conventions exist. Signal channels usually count 0.10 (so $1 is 10 pips); MetaTrader points on 2-digit gold are 0.01. Pick the one your stop distance is measured in.
Does it work for indices and crypto?
Yes. For those, 1 pip here means 1 index point or a $1 price move. Contract sizes vary by broker, so check and edit the contract size if yours differs.
Copy with risk-based lot sizing, automatically.
Risk percent mode does this calculation on every copied trade, from your broker's own tick value, rounded to its lot step.
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More calculators
Guides
- Sizing and riskHow lot sizing modes work in copy tradingFixed lot, multiplier, balance or equity ratio, and risk percent from the stop: the five ways to size a copied trade, with the arithmetic and when to use each.
- BasicsPips, points and lots: the units behind every tradePip and point conventions across forex, gold, indices, oil and crypto, what a standard, mini and micro lot are, and how to turn a price move into money in your account currency.
- Sizing and riskRisk/reward basics: R multiples, win rate and expectancyWhat a 1:2 risk/reward means, the win rate you need to break even at each ratio, how to compute expectancy, and why the ratio on paper isn't the one you trade.
Copy trading by market
- Gold copy tradingCopy XAUUSD trades from MT4/MT5 accounts and Telegram gold channels. Contract size, pip conventions, GOLD vs XAUUSD.m mapping and sizing for gold.
- Forex copy tradingCopy forex trades between MT4/MT5 accounts, brokers and Telegram channels. How pips, sessions, suffixes and lot sizing work when you copy currency pairs.
- Prop firm copy tradingCopy trades into prop-firm MT4/MT5 accounts without breaking daily loss, drawdown or news rules: equity sizing, lot caps and EquityShield.
Risk warning. Trading forex, CFDs, metals, indices and crypto on margin carries a high risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Copying trades does not reduce market risk: a copied loss is a real loss. Examples on this page are illustrations, not advice or a forecast. CopyTraderTool is software; it does not give investment advice or manage funds. See the Risk Disclosure.