Position size calculator (risk amount)
Size a trade from a fixed amount of money and two prices: where you get in and where you're wrong. Useful when you think in dollars rather than percent, or when the stop is a chart level rather than a pip count.
Position size
0.23 lots
Exact 0.2353, rounded down to the 0.01 step.
- Stop distance (price)
- 8.50
- Loss per 1.00 lot at the stop
- $850.00
- Actual risk at rounded size
- $195.50
- Units
- 23
Calculated in your browser. Nothing is sent or stored. Results are estimates; check your broker's symbol specification.
The formula
lots = risk amount ÷ (|entry − stop| × contract size × conversion)
- |entry − stop| is the stop distance in price.
- contract size × distance is the loss per 1.00 lot in the quote currency.
- conversion turns one unit of quote currency into your account currency (1 when they are the same).
Worked examples
XAUUSD
- Risk $200, entry 2350.00, stop 2341.50 → distance 8.50.
- Loss per lot: 8.50 × 100 oz = $850.
- $200 ÷ $850 = 0.235 → 0.23 lots, actual risk $195.50.
US30 at $1 per point
- Risk $150, entry 39,000, stop 38,950 → 50 points.
- Loss per lot: 50 × $1 = $50.
- $150 ÷ $50 = 3.00 lots. With a $10-per-point contract: 0.30 lots.
Notes
- Units are lots × contract size: ounces for gold, barrels for oil, coins for crypto, base-currency units for forex.
- If your broker's minimum lot is larger than the result, either trade the minimum knowingly (more risk) or skip the trade.
- 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.
For a risk defined in percent and pips, use the lot size calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from the lot size calculator?
Same maths, different inputs. Here you enter a money amount and two prices; the lot size calculator takes a balance, a percent and a stop in pips.
Why does the contract size matter so much on indices?
Brokers define index contracts differently, from $0.10 to $10 or more per point per lot. The same lot size can be ten times more risk at another broker.
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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
- Indices copy tradingCopy US30, NAS100, SPX500 and GER40 trades between MT4/MT5 accounts. Why index contract sizes differ by broker and how to size copied index trades safely.
- 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.
- Crypto copy tradingCopy BTCUSD and ETHUSD CFD trades between MetaTrader accounts: weekend trading, contract sizes, minimum lots, leverage limits and swaps.
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.