Targets at multiples of your risk
How the calculation works
The formula is lots = (balance × risk%) ÷ (stop pips × pip value). You decide the two inputs that are actually yours to control — how much of the account one trade may cost you, and where the trade is wrong (the stop). The lot size is then a calculation, not a feeling. Doubling your stop distance halves your size; it never has to mean doubling your risk.
JPY pairs are the classic trap, twice over. First, they quote to 2–3 decimals, so one pip is 0.01 and not 0.0001 — miss that and a 25-pip stop counts as 2,500 pips and your size comes out 100× too small. Second, the pip value tracks the USD/JPY rate: roughly $6.67 per pip per lot at 150.00, where an older 110.00 rate would have implied $9.10. This calculator uses the same values as the RB Trading journal so the two never disagree. Futures use tick size and tick value; indices convert their home-currency point value to USD. All are approximations — your broker's contract specification is the authority.
Sizing is half the job. Tracking it is the other half.
Knowing your size is worthless if you don't know whether your 1%-risk trades actually perform better than the days you "felt confident" and doubled it. The free RB Trading journal logs risk % on every trade and shows you the win rate at each risk level — most traders find their oversized trades lose more often, not just bigger.
Track your next 50 trades free → By RB Trading · Updated 6 Aug 2026 · Free forever, no signup needed · Pip values, contract sizes and FX conversions are approximations — confirm against your broker's contract specification before trading.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate position size in forex?
Position size (lots) = (account balance × risk %) ÷ (stop-loss in pips × pip value per lot). Example: a $10,000 account risking 1% with a 25-pip stop on EURUSD (pip value $10/lot) = $100 ÷ (25 × $10) = 0.40 lots.
What percentage of my account should I risk per trade?
Most professional and prop-firm traders risk 0.5%–2% per trade, with 1% the most common. At 1% risk it takes 10 consecutive losses to draw down roughly 10% — inside most prop firms' maximum drawdown limit.
Which instruments does this position size calculator support?
The calculator covers 27 forex pairs, 5 metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper), 8 cash indices (NAS100, SPX500, US30, DAX, FRA40, ESP35, UK100, JPN225) and 13 CME futures contracts including ES, NQ, YM, RTY, their micros, crude oil, natural gas and the grains. Forex and metals return lot sizes, futures return whole contracts, and indices convert their home-currency point value into USD.
What is the pip value for gold (XAUUSD)?
For XAUUSD, 1 standard lot is 100 oz, so a $0.10 price move (one pip on most platforms) is worth $10 per lot — the same per-pip value as EURUSD, but gold moves many more pips per day, so stops are wider and sizes smaller.