Free Calculator
Position Size Calculator For Gold, ES, NQ, EURUSD And Bitcoin
Enter your account size, risk and stop. Get the position size in lots, contracts or coins.
Worked Example: EUR/USD
Account size $10,000. Risk 1%, which is $100. Buy EUR/USD with a stop 8 pips from your entry.
One pip on a standard lot of EUR/USD is worth $10, so an 8-pip stop is $80 per lot.
$100 ÷ $80 per lot = 1.25 lots. If the stop is hit, the loss is $100.
Change the stop and the size changes. A wider stop means a smaller position. A tighter stop means a larger one.
Contract Values Used
The method is the same on every market: size = money at risk ÷ loss per unit at your stop. Only the value per unit changes.
XAUUSD (Gold)
1 lot = 100 oz, so a $1 move is $100 per lot. A $5 stop with $100 at risk gives 0.20 lots.
ES (S&P 500 Futures)
$50 per point. MES is $5 per point. A 2-point stop with $100 at risk gives 1 ES or 10 MES.
NQ (Nasdaq-100 Futures)
$20 per point. MNQ is $2 per point. A 10-point stop with $100 at risk gives 5 MNQ.
EURUSD (Forex)
1 standard lot = 100,000 units. 1 pip (0.0001) = $10 per lot. An 8-pip stop with $100 at risk gives 1.25 lots.
BTC (Bitcoin)
Sized in coins: money at risk ÷ stop distance. A $500 stop with $100 at risk gives 0.2 BTC.
How To Use It With A Signal
Every ProvenSignals alert names the market, the direction and the chart timeframe. It does not include an entry, stop or targets. You choose those on your chart, then size from your stop.
- Open the market named in the alert on the chart timeframe named in the alert.
- Pick the same market and direction in the calculator.
- For a buy, place your stop below recent support. For a sell, place it above recent resistance. Enter your entry and stop prices.
- Read the position size. These are quick trades, and many traders look to close after about a 3–5 candle move in the direction of the trade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Position size = money at risk ÷ loss per unit at your stop. Money at risk is your account size times your risk percentage, or a fixed amount. The loss per unit depends on the market, so the calculator applies the right contract value for each one.
Rounding down keeps the loss at your stop at or below the amount you chose. The calculator also shows the loss if the stop is hit at the rounded size.
One ES contract is $50 per point and one NQ contract is $20 per point. On a wider stop that can be more than your risk amount, so the calculator also gives the MES and MNQ micro size, which is one tenth of the value.
Yes. Choose Sell, then enter a stop above your entry. The size depends only on the distance to the stop.
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What Is A Position Size Calculator?
A position size calculator tells you how large a trade should be before you enter it. You give it your account size, how much of the account you are willing to lose on the trade, and where your stop loss sits. It returns the size that keeps the loss at that amount if the stop is hit.
In forex and gold the answer is in lots, so many people call it a lot size calculator. In futures it is a number of contracts, and in crypto it is a number of coins. Position sizing starts with the risk you accept, and the size follows from it, which makes this a simple risk calculator for trading.
The calculator above covers the five markets ProvenSignals posts signals for: XAUUSD gold, ES and NQ futures with their MES and MNQ micro contracts, EURUSD forex and BTC.
How To Use This Position Size Calculator
It takes under a minute.
- Step 1. Choose the market: XAUUSD, ES, NQ, EURUSD or BTC.
- Step 2. Choose Buy or Sell to match your trade.
- Step 3. Enter your account size in USD.
- Step 4. Set your risk per trade, as a percentage of the account or as a fixed dollar amount.
- Step 5. Enter your entry price and stop price. If you only know the gap, switch to Stop Distance and enter it in points or pips.
- Step 6. Read the position size. The result also shows the money at risk, the stop distance, the loss if the stop is hit and the position value.
For ES and NQ the result also gives the micro contract size. For EURUSD it shows standard, mini and micro lots. The size is always rounded down, so the loss at your stop never goes above the risk you chose.
How To Calculate Position Size
To calculate position size you need two numbers: the money you will risk and the loss per lot or contract at your stop.
The risk amount is your account size times your risk percentage. A $10,000 account risking 1% has a risk amount of $100. The stop distance is the gap between entry and stop, in points or pips. Multiply it by the value per point or pip to get the loss per lot or contract. Divide the risk amount by that loss and you have the position size.
Value Per Point Or Pip By Market
| Market | Unit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD (Gold) | $1 move | $100 per 1.00 lot |
| EURUSD | 1 pip (0.0001) | $10 per 1.00 lot |
| ES | 1 point | $50 per contract (MES: $5) |
| NQ | 1 point | $20 per contract (MNQ: $2) |
| BTC | $1 move | $1 per 1 BTC |
These are the values the calculator uses. To see what a single pip or point is worth on other lot sizes, use the Pip and Point Value Calculator.
Position Size Examples By Market
Each example uses a $10,000 account risking 1%, so the risk amount is $100, unless stated. The prices are examples only.
XAUUSD Position Size And Gold Lot Size
Buy gold at 2400.00 with a stop at 2395.00. The stop distance is $5.00. One standard lot is 100 ounces, so a $5 move is $500 per lot. $100 ÷ $500 = 0.20 lots, or 20 ounces, and the loss at the stop is $100.
On a tighter 1-minute stop of $3.00 the loss per lot is $300. $100 ÷ $300 = 0.333, which rounds down to 0.33 lots. The loss at the stop is then $99.
EURUSD Lot Size: Standard, Mini And Micro
Buy EURUSD at 1.0850 with a stop at 1.0842. The stop is 8 pips. A pip is worth $10 on a standard lot, so the loss per lot is $80. $100 ÷ $80 = 1.25 standard lots. That is 12.5 mini lots or 125 micro lots.
On a $1,000 account risking 1% the risk amount is $10. With a 10-pip stop the loss per standard lot is $100, so $10 ÷ $100 = 0.10 lots. That is 1 mini lot or 10 micro lots.
ES And NQ Futures Position Size With Micro Contracts
ES is worth $50 per point and MES $5. Buy ES at 6000.00 with a stop at 5998.00. The stop is 2 points, so one ES risks $100. $100 ÷ $100 = 1 ES, or 10 MES.
With a 3-point stop one ES risks $150, which is above the $100 risk amount. Switch to micros: one MES risks $15, and $100 ÷ $15 = 6.67, which rounds down to 6 MES with a loss of $90 at the stop.
NQ is worth $20 per point and MNQ $2. Buy NQ at 21000.00 with a stop at 20990.00. The stop is 10 points. One NQ risks $200 and one MNQ risks $20, so $100 ÷ $20 = 5 MNQ.
BTC Position Size
Bitcoin is sized in coins. Buy BTC at 100,000 with a stop at 99,000. The stop distance is $1,000 per coin. $100 ÷ $1,000 = 0.1 BTC. The position value is $10,000, which is the figure to compare with the margin your account can carry.
Where To Place The Stop Loss
The calculator takes your stop as given, so place the stop first and size second. For a buy, put the stop below recent support, such as the low of the last few candles or a clear swing low on your chart timeframe. For a sell, put it above recent resistance, such as the recent swing high.
The stop belongs where the trade idea is wrong. It should not be moved to make a bigger size look possible. Measure the distance from your entry to the stop, enter it, and let the size follow.
Related guide: When To Exit A Trade covers stop placement on a buy and a sell, the 3-5 candle exit and a ten second check before you enter.
Position Sizing For Quick Signal Trades
A ProvenSignals signal gives the market, the direction and the chart timeframe, for example XAU/USD Buy Signal, Chart 1-minute. It does not give an entry, stop or targets, so you set those on your chart. The trades are quick and are usually closed after a 3-5 candle move.
On a 1-minute chart that means a stop only a few points or pips away. A tight stop allows a larger position for the same risk. Sizing from the stop on every trade keeps the money at risk the same.
Read How To Read Trading Signals to see how each part of a signal is used. Fast trades also depend on when the market is active, and the Market Sessions Clock shows which sessions are open. For the free alerts and the markets covered, visit ProvenSignals.
Common Position Sizing Mistakes
- Using the same lot size on every trade. The stop distance changes, so the loss changes with it.
- Choosing the size first and the stop second. Set the stop where the idea fails, then size from it.
- Mixing up contract values. ES is $50 per point and MES is $5, so a mix-up changes the risk tenfold.
- Rounding up. Rounding up pushes the loss above the risk you chose. Round down.
- Ignoring the position value. A large size can need more margin than the account holds, even when the risk amount is right.
Position Size Calculator Questions
They do the same job. Lot size is how position size is written in forex and gold, while futures use contracts and crypto uses coins. This calculator gives the right unit for each market.
It depends on your risk amount and stop, not only your account size. With $100 at risk and a $5 stop, the XAUUSD position size is 0.20 lots. A $10 stop gives 0.10 lots.
Many traders keep it between 0.5% and 2% of the account on each trade. The choice is yours, and the calculator works with any percentage or a fixed dollar amount.
Yes. Choose ES or NQ and the result shows the number of full contracts, and the micro contract size when one full contract risks more than your risk amount.
Yes. Choose BTC, enter your entry and stop, and the result is the size in coins, rounded down to five decimal places, with the position value.
The stop is usually close to entry on a 1-minute chart, so the size is larger for the same risk. Enter your stop, read the size, and the dollar loss at the stop stays equal to your risk amount.
More Free Tools
See what one pip or point is worth for each market and lot size.
See which trading sessions are open right now.
Get The Signals, Size The Trade
Join the free Telegram channel for signals on XAUUSD, ES, NQ, EURUSD and BTC. Then size every trade from your stop with this calculator.