Enter your account balance, risk percentage, entry and stop-loss levels below to calculate a position size.
Position Size Calculator
Calculate the position size that matches your chosen account risk.
Gold and Bitcoin contract specifications can vary by broker. Verify your broker’s contract size before placing a trade.
How to use the Position Size & Lot Size Calculator
Use the calculator to work out an appropriate trade size before entering a position. Enter your account balance, the percentage of your account you are prepared to risk, your entry price and stop-loss level. The calculator will estimate the position size required to keep the trade within your chosen risk.
How Position Sizing Works
Position sizing links your account balance, chosen risk and stop-loss distance to the size of the trade. A wider stop generally requires a smaller position, while a tighter stop allows a larger position for the same amount of account risk.
Position Size Example
If you have a £10,000 trading account and choose to risk 1% on a trade, your planned maximum risk is £100. The distance between your entry and stop loss then determines the position size. A wider stop requires a smaller position, while a tighter stop allows a larger position for the same account risk.
Position sizing should be calculated before entering a trade so the amount at risk is based on your trading plan rather than the size of the opportunity.
For more on controlling account risk, see our Risk Management in Trading lesson. You can also use the Pip Value Calculator to understand the value of price movement in your account currency, or the Trading Profit & Loss Calculator to estimate the gross monetary outcome of a planned trade.