Stock & Forex Position Size Calculator
Work out how many shares, coins, or forex lots to trade so a stop-loss loss equals your chosen risk (a percent of the account or a fixed amount). Shows max loss, position value, risk:reward, potential profit, and a forex lot breakdown.
Input
Recommended: 1–2% per trade.
Leave blank to skip risk/reward and profit calc.
Output
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| No data yet | |
Guides
The Stock & Forex Position Size Calculator works out exactly how large a trade should be so that, if your stop-loss is hit, you lose no more than the risk you set. It handles three instruments — stocks, crypto, and forex — and shows the max loss, position value, risk-to-reward ratio, potential profit, and a full forex lot breakdown. Everything runs in your browser; no numbers are sent anywhere.
How position sizing works
Position sizing turns "how much am I willing to lose" into "how many shares/coins/lots do I buy". The tool needs three things: your account balance, the risk per trade, and the distance from entry to stop-loss.
- Risk amount. Choose Risk by % (e.g. 1% of a $10,000 account = $100) or Risk by fixed amount (e.g. $100 flat).
- Risk per unit. The distance between your entry price and your stop-loss price — the loss on a single share, coin, or unit if the stop is hit.
- Position size.
- Stocks / crypto:
units = risk amount ÷ risk per unit. Stocks round down to whole shares; crypto keeps up to six decimals. - Forex: the stop distance is measured in pips (
risk per unit ÷ pip size), thenlots = risk amount ÷ (stop pips × pip value), where pip value is the account-currency value of one pip per standard lot (100,000 units).
- Stocks / crypto:
Worked stock example
$10,000 account, 1% risk ($100), entry $100, stop $95. Risk per share is $5, so $100 ÷ $5 = 20 shares. The position is worth $2,000, and the loss at the stop is exactly $100 — 1% of the account. With a $110 target, the potential profit is $200, a 1:2 risk-to-reward ratio, meaning you only need to win about 33% of similar trades to break even.
Worked forex example
$10,000 account, 1% risk, EUR/USD with a pip size of 0.0001 and pip value of $10 per standard lot. Entry 1.1000, stop 1.0900 — a 100-pip stop. $100 ÷ (100 pips × $10) = 0.10 lots (one mini lot). The breakdown shows standard, mini, and micro lots so you can match your broker's minimum trade size.
Lot sizes explained
- Standard lot = 100,000 units
- Mini lot = 10,000 units (0.1 standard)
- Micro lot = 1,000 units (0.01 standard)
What is pip value?
A pip is the smallest standard price move — 0.0001 for most pairs, 0.01 for JPY pairs. Pip value is what one pip is worth per standard lot in your account currency. For USD-quoted pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD) it's a clean $10; for JPY-quoted and cross pairs it depends on the current rate, so enter your broker's figure for the most accurate result.
How much should I risk per trade?
A common money-management rule is 1–2% of account equity per trade. Risking less keeps a losing streak survivable; the calculator flags when the resulting risk is above 2% or 5% of your balance so oversized trades stand out.
For information only. Always check broker minimum trade sizes, commissions, spread, and slippage before placing a trade. Forex pip values assume the value you enter matches your account currency. Position sizing controls risk per trade — it does not predict whether a trade will be profitable.