Position Size Calculator
Determine the exact number of units to trade based on your account size, risk tolerance, and stop loss placement.
Free — no signup, no ads, instant results
Inputs
Stop below entry is a long, stop above entry is a short. Prices must be quoted in your account currency.
Long position size 20, risking $100.00
Results
LongPosition Size (units, shares, or coins)
20
Risk Amount
$100.00
Distance to Stop
5.00%
Position Value
$2,000.00 (20.0%)
Whole Shares (stocks, rounded down)
20
Risk at Whole Shares
$100.00
Who Is This For?
Any trader who needs to calculate how many shares, lots, or units to trade based on their risk tolerance. Essential for forex, stock, crypto, and futures traders following proper risk management.
Why Position Sizing Matters
Position sizing is one of the most critical aspects of risk management. Trading too large risks blowing your account on a single bad trade, while trading too small leaves potential returns on the table.
Most professional traders risk between 0.5% and 2% of their account per trade. This calculator helps you translate that percentage into an exact position size based on your stop loss distance.
Pair proper position sizing with precise entry signals from GrandAlgo indicators so every entry starts with a defined stop. Learn more in our guide on surviving losing streaks with proper sizing and building a complete trading system.
The Position Sizing Formula
The core position sizing formula is: Position Size = (Account Balance × Risk %) / |Entry Price − Stop Loss Price|
For example, with a $10,000 account risking 1%, your risk budget is $100. If your entry price is $50 and your stop loss is $48, the risk per unit is $2. Your position size would be $100 / $2 = 50 units. The bars mean the distance is always positive, so the same formula sizes shorts, where the stop sits above the entry.
For forex, convert the result to lots. If you're risking 20 pips on EUR/USD with a $100 risk budget and a pip value of $10 per standard lot, the position size is $100 / (20 × $10) = 0.5 lots.
Stocks, Crypto, and Forex: What the Result Means
Stocks: units are shares. If your broker only fills whole shares, use the rounded-down figure. It keeps the loss at or below your risk budget instead of slightly over it.
Crypto: units are coins, and fractions are normal. A 1% risk on a small account is often a fraction of one BTC. On spot or a USDT-margined perpetual, enter the coin amount or its dollar value. Inverse (coin-margined) and contract-sized perpetuals need the exchange's own calculator.
Forex: units are base currency. When the quote currency matches your account currency (EUR/USD on a USD account), divide units by 100,000 to get standard lots. For other pairs the pip value changes, so use the lot size calculator instead.
Position value: the calculator also shows what the position is worth and what share of your balance that is. Above 100% means you need margin or leverage to hold it. Check the margin calculator before you open it.
How to Use This Calculator
1. Enter account balance and risk percentage
Input your total account balance and the percentage you want to risk on this trade. Most professionals recommend 1-2% per trade.
2. Enter entry price and stop loss price
Input the price where you plan to enter the trade and the price where your stop loss will be placed. The distance between these determines your risk per unit.
3. Read the calculated position size and dollar risk
The calculator displays the exact number of units to trade, the whole-share count and its real dollar risk, and the position's value as a share of your balance.
4. Adjust risk percentage if needed
If the position size feels too large or too small, adjust your risk percentage up or down. This lets you find the right balance between capital efficiency and safety.
Worked Examples
Step 1: Account balance $10,000, risk 2% = $200 dollar risk.
Step 2: Entry price $50, stop loss $48. Risk per unit = $2.
Step 3: Position size = $200 / $2.
Result: 100 shares, worth $5,000 (50% of the account).
Crypto short
Account $5,000, risk 1% = $50. Short BTC at 64,000 with the stop at 65,200: risk per coin is 1,200. Size = $50 / 1,200 = 0.041667 BTC, worth about $2,667.
Rounding to whole shares
Account $10,000, risk 1% = $100. Entry 37.50, stop 35.20: exact size is 43.48 shares. Buy 43, and the real risk is $98.90, just under budget.
When leverage enters
Account $1,000, risk 1% = $10. Entry 100, stop 99.50: size is 20 units worth $2,000, or 200% of the account. You need at least 2x leverage to open it, but a stop-out still costs $10 before fees and slippage, provided the liquidation price is beyond the stop. A tight stop makes the position large, not the risk.
Assumptions & Edge Cases
- Assumes a fixed stop loss (no trailing).
- Does not account for slippage or gaps.
- Commission costs not included in the risk calculation.
- Prices and balance must be in the same currency. Forex pairs quoted in another currency need a pip value conversion.
- Exact size can be fractional. Round down when your broker only fills whole shares or fixed lot steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most professional traders risk 0.5% to 2% per trade. Beginners should start at 0.5-1%. The exact percentage depends on your win rate, strategy type, and risk tolerance. Use the risk of ruin calculator to find the maximum safe risk level for your specific strategy.
Divide your dollar risk by the pip value times the number of pips to your stop loss. For example, risking $100 with a 25-pip stop on EUR/USD (where 1 standard lot = $10/pip): position size = $100 / (25 × $10) = 0.4 standard lots, or 4 mini lots. The lot size calculator handles pip values for pairs where the quote currency is not your account currency.
No. Position size comes from your dollar risk and your stop distance. Leverage only changes how much margin you post to hold that position. A 20-unit position stopped out $0.50 away loses $10 whether you use 1x or 10x, as long as your liquidation price sits beyond the stop. Very high leverage can liquidate you before the stop fills, and it makes it easy to open a position far bigger than your risk plan allows.
The same way. Put the stop above your entry and the calculator uses the absolute distance between them. Shorting at $64,000 with a stop at $65,200 is a $1,200 risk per coin, exactly like a long at $64,000 with a stop at $62,800.
Many brokers only fill whole shares. Rounding down keeps your loss at or under the risk budget (before slippage and gaps), so the calculator shows the rounded-down share count and the smaller dollar risk it produces. Crypto and brokers with fractional shares can use the exact figure.
No. Position size should vary based on the distance to your stop loss. A tighter stop allows a larger position while maintaining the same dollar risk. This is why fixed-percentage risk management is better than fixed-lot trading: it automatically adjusts your size to match the setup.
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