PositionSizeTools

Forex Position Size Calculator

Convert account risk and a stop in pips into standard, mini and micro lots, using the pip value for your pair.

Last reviewed

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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Forex sizing has one extra step compared with shares. The risk budget is still the account multiplied by the risk percentage, and the stop is still what divides it - but the stop is measured in pips, so the pip value per lot has to convert it into money before the division works.

This does the conversion and reports the answer in standard, mini and micro lots, which is how the order is actually entered. Sizing in micro lots is what makes precise risk control possible on a smaller account.

Your numbers

Results update as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Result

Standard lots

0.71

Mini lots
7.1
Micro lots
71
Units
71,000
Risk budget
$250
Risk per pip
$7
Stop distance (pips)
35
Risk percentage
1%

This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial or investment advice, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

Pip value depends on the pair, the lot size and the account currency. Take it from your broker rather than assuming the $10 default holds for your pair.

Brokers round lot sizes to their own minimum step, so the executed size may differ slightly from the figure shown.

How to use the forex position size calculator

  1. Enter your account size and risk percentage.
  2. Enter the stop distance in pips.
  3. Enter the pip value per standard lot for the pair, in your account currency.
  4. Use the micro lot figure when the standard lot answer is a fraction.

What people use this for

  • Sizing a trade to a fixed account risk on any currency pair.
  • Converting a chart-based stop in pips into a lot size.
  • Working out whether a stop is too wide for the account at a given risk level.
  • Sizing precisely on a small account using micro lots.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

A pair quoted in your account currency

$25,000 account, 1% risk, 35 pip stop, $10 per pip per standard lot.

Standard lots
0.71
Micro lots
71
Risk budget
$250

A wider stop on a smaller account

$5,000 account, 1% risk, 80 pip stop.

Standard lots
0.06
Micro lots
6
Risk per pip
$1

Pip value is the conversion factor

For a pair whose quote currency is your account currency, the pip value per standard lot is fixed and simple. For every other pair it depends on an exchange rate, which means it drifts while the position is open.

The pip value calculator on the hub site works that figure out. Entering it here is what makes the sizing correct rather than approximate.

Lot sizes and precision

A standard lot is a hundred thousand units, a mini lot ten thousand, a micro lot a thousand. Most brokers accept micro lots, and some accept smaller increments still.

Rounding a fractional lot up rather than down raises the account risk above the level you chose. When the arithmetic gives 0.37 lots, 0.37 is the answer - not 0.4.

What this deliberately leaves out

Spread, commission, swap and slippage all reduce the result and none of them are in the sizing calculation. On short-term strategies with tight stops, spread alone can be a meaningful share of the intended risk.

Leverage is also absent, and correctly so. Leverage changes the margin required, not the risk - the risk is set by the stop and the position size, whatever the margin arrangement.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

  • Results are arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Nothing here predicts prices or connects to an exchange, broker or market data feed.
  • Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This tool is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Nothing on this website is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, currency, derivative or digital asset. No price is predicted and no return is promised or implied.

Trading and investing carry the risk of substantial loss, including the loss of your entire capital. Leveraged products can produce losses that exceed your deposit. Tax treatment depends on your jurisdiction and your circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find the pip value for my pair?

It depends on the pair, the lot size and your account currency. The pip value calculator on the hub site produces it from those three inputs.

Does leverage change my position size?

No. Leverage changes the margin the broker requires. The risk on the trade is the stop distance multiplied by the position size, whatever leverage is available.

Why is the answer a fraction of a lot?

Because correct sizing rarely lands on a round number. Use mini or micro lots to trade the fraction rather than rounding up.

Are yen pairs different?

The pip size convention differs - typically 0.01 rather than 0.0001 - which changes the pip value. Enter the pip value for the pair you are actually trading.

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