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Work out how many lots or futures contracts to trade so a losing trade costs only what you planned. Enter your balance, your risk per trade and your stop in pips, points, ticks or prices. Works for forex pairs, gold and silver, and CME futures including ES, NQ, CL, GC and the micros.
Outcome
Risks US$100.00 of the US$100.00 you planned (1% of the account)
Sizes are rounded down, so a full stop-out never loses more than you planned. Slippage on the stop can still add to it. Contract sizes vary between brokers, especially on metals; check your platform's symbol specification.
Lots = money at risk ÷ (stop in pips × pip value per lot). A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, so a pip is worth 10 units of the quote currency: $10 on EURUSD. With a £10,000 account risking 1% (£100) and a 20-pip stop on EURUSD, at 0.75 pounds to the dollar the $10 pip is £7.50, so the size is £100 ÷ (20 × £7.50) ≈ 0.66 lots. A mini lot is 0.1 and a micro lot 0.01.
Gold (XAUUSD) is quoted in dollars: on most brokers one lot is 100 oz, so a $1 move is $100 a lot, and a $5 stop risks $500 a lot. Silver is usually 5,000 oz a lot. Brokers differ, so the calculator lets you change the contract size.
Contracts = money at risk ÷ (stop in ticks × tick value). On a $50,000 account risking 0.5% ($250), a 25-point MNQ stop is 100 ticks × $0.50 = $50 a contract, so 5 contracts. A stop that falls between ticks fills a whole tick away, so the calculator rounds it up to the next tick.
| Contract | Tick size | Tick value | Per point |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $12.5 | $50 |
| MES Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5 |
| NQ E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $5 | $20 |
| MNQ Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | 0.25 | $0.5 | $2 |
| YM E-mini Dow | 1 | $5 | $5 |
| MYM Micro E-mini Dow | 1 | $0.5 | $0.5 |
| RTY E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $5 |
Lot size = money at risk ÷ (stop in pips × pip value per lot). Risking 1% of a $10,000 account is $100; with a 20-pip stop on EURUSD, where one standard lot is worth $10 a pip, that is $100 ÷ (20 × $10) = 0.5 lots.
On a standard lot (100,000 units) a pip is worth 10 units of the pair's quote currency: $10 on EURUSD, GBPUSD and the other USD-quoted pairs, and ¥1,000 on yen pairs. If your account is in another currency, that amount is converted at the current exchange rate, which the calculator does for you.
Contracts = money at risk ÷ (stop in ticks × tick value). A 25-point stop on MNQ is 100 ticks × $0.50 = $50 a contract, so a $250 risk allows 5 contracts. The same stop on NQ is $500 a contract, so that risk doesn't fit even one; the calculator suggests the micro instead.
A pip is the standard forex unit: 0.0001 on most pairs and 0.01 on yen pairs. MetaTrader's 'points' are the platform's smallest step, a tenth of a pip on a 5-digit quote. Futures move in ticks, each with a fixed dollar value: 0.25 index points on ES and NQ, so four ticks make a point.
Yes, if you enter it. Commission per lot or per contract, round turn, is added to the risk of each lot or contract, so the size comes out a little smaller and a full stop-out still costs no more than you planned.
Rounding up would risk more than you chose. Lots are rounded down to 0.01 and futures to whole contracts, and the calculator shows the exact risk at the rounded size.
Put it into practice: Log each trade's risk and R:R in UNFLD's trading journal →
For education only, not financial advice.
| $50 |
| M2K Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | 0.1 | $0.5 | $5 |
| CL Crude oil | 0.01 | $10 | $1,000 |
| MCL Micro crude oil | 0.01 | $1 | $100 |
| GC Gold | 0.1 | $10 | $100 |
| MGC Micro gold | 0.1 | $1 | $10 |
| SI Silver | 0.005 | $25 | $5,000 |
| 6E Euro FX | 0.00005 | $6.25 | $125,000 |
| ZN 10-year T-note | 1/64 | $15.625 | $1,000 |
| ZB 30-year T-bond | 1/32 | $31.25 | $1,000 |
CME contract specifications. Check cmegroup.com or your broker before relying on them.
Yes. The calculator is free to use without an account, and your account settings are remembered in your browser only.