Lot Size Calculator
Enter what you're willing to lose and where your stop sits — this tells you the exact position size. Works for forex, gold, indices and crypto.
Your trade
Position size
Round down to your broker's lot step before placing the trade. Contract sizes vary a little between brokers — check yours in the symbol specification if the numbers look off.
How the calculation works
Position sizing has one job: make sure that when a trade goes wrong, it costs you a known amount. The formula is:
Lot size = (balance × risk %) ÷ (stop loss in pips × pip value per lot)
The part most calculators get wrong is pip value. One pip on a standard forex lot is 100,000 × 0.0001 = 10 units of the quote currency — the second currency in the pair. On EUR/USD with a USD account that is simply $10. But on EUR/GBP the pip is worth 10 GBP, and if your account is in USD that has to be converted at the current rate. That is why this tool asks for the rate instead of quietly assuming 1.
Gold, indices and crypto
These do not use the 100,000-unit convention. Gold is normally 100 ounces per lot, so a 0.01 move is worth $1. Index and crypto CFDs are usually 1 unit per lot, so one index point is one unit of the quote currency. The tool applies the right contract size per instrument.
How much to risk
Most professionals stay between 0.5% and 2% per trade. On a prop-firm account, work backwards from the daily loss limit instead — if you can lose 5% in a day, risking 2% per trade means three losses can end your challenge. The prop-firm drawdown calculator does that maths for you.
Lot size questions
How do you calculate lot size from risk percentage?+
Lot size = (account balance × risk %) ÷ (stop loss in pips × pip value per lot). The pip value per lot is the contract size multiplied by the pip size — for a standard forex lot that is 100,000 × 0.0001 = 10 units of the quote currency. If the quote currency is not your account currency, convert it using the current exchange rate.
What is the pip value for one standard lot?+
For most forex pairs one pip on a standard lot (100,000 units) is 10 units of the quote currency. For JPY pairs a pip is 0.01, which also gives about 1,000 JPY per standard lot. For gold (100 oz per lot) a 0.01 move is 1 USD.
How much should I risk per trade?+
Most professional traders risk between 0.5% and 2% of the account on a single trade. Prop-firm accounts usually need less, because a daily loss limit means a few consecutive losses at 2% can breach the rules.
Is this lot size calculator free?+
Yes. It is completely free, needs no sign-up, and runs entirely in your browser — nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The guide behind this tool
The formula, worked examples for EURUSD, gold and indices, and the five sizing mistakes that turn 1% risk into 4%.
Read the guide →Other free tools
What one pip is worth on your position, in your currency.
Daily and maximum loss levels, and safe risk per trade.
Full performance stats from your MetaTrader report.
Your stats, calendar and hourly heatmap on the chart.
More on risk and performance in the CopyConnectFX blog, or see the full feature guide.
Let the copier do the sizing for you
CopyConnectFX copies trades between your MT4 and MT5 accounts locally, and can size every copy by risk percentage automatically — with a daily-loss limit that closes everything before a breach. Free.