Lot size calculator for forex, gold, oil and indices

Worked example

Say your account holds $10,000 and you are willing to lose 1% on a EUR/USD trade, so $100. Your stop sits 20 pips away. One pip on a standard lot of 100,000 euros is 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10, so 20 pips cost $200 a lot.

Divide the $100 by the $200 and the lot size is 0.50 lots: 5 mini lots, or 50 micro lots, or 50,000 euros. If the stop fills you lose 20 × $10 × 0.5 = $100, the 1% you planned.

Now USD/JPY with the same $100 and 20 pips. A pip on a yen pair is 0.01, so a lot moves 1,000 yen a pip. At an example rate of 150 yen to the dollar that is $6.67, the 20 pips cost $133.33 a lot, and the size comes to 0.75 lots.

Gold works the same way in ounces. On a 100 ounce lot a $5 stop is 500 pips if your broker counts 0.01 as a pip, or 50 pips if it counts 0.10. Risking $100, both give 0.20 lots, because 500 × $1 and 50 × $10 are the same $500 a lot.

The formula

Money at risk = balance × risk %, or the amount you type. Pip value per lot = pip size × contract size, in the quote currency. Lot size = money at risk ÷ (stop in pips × pip value per lot).

The pip value has to be in dollars before you divide. When the price is quoted in US dollars (EUR/USD, gold, oil, US30) it already is. For USD/JPY, USD/CAD and USD/CHF, divide by the pair's own price. For EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY, divide by USD/JPY. For EUR/GBP and UK100, multiply by GBP/USD, and for GER40 by EUR/USD. That is the rate the conversion box asks for.

Brokers take orders in steps of 0.01 lots, so round down: 0.4387 becomes 0.43, and the loss at the stop stays inside the risk you set.

Pip value per lot by market

Contract sizes are common broker defaults and yours may differ. Markets not quoted in US dollars use example rates, not live ones: USD/JPY 150.00, USD/CAD 1.40, USD/CHF 0.80, GBP/USD 1.30, EUR/USD 1.10.

Pip value calculator · Gold lot size calculator · XAUUSD pip calculator · Position size calculator · Risk reward calculator · All calculators

By market: US30 lot size, NAS100 lot size, US500 lot size, Silver lot size, Oil lot size.

Questions and answers

How do I calculate lot size in forex?

Divide the money you are willing to lose by the stop in pips times the pip value of one lot. $100 at risk with a 20 pip stop on EUR/USD, where a lot pays $10 a pip, is $100 ÷ $200 = 0.50 lots.

What lot size should I use on a $1,000 account?

It depends on your stop. Risking 1%, which is $10, with a 20 pip stop on EUR/USD gives 0.05 lots. With a 50 pip stop it is 0.02 lots. The wider the stop, the smaller the size.

What is the difference between a standard, mini and micro lot?

A standard lot is 100,000 units of the first currency in the pair, a mini lot 10,000 and a micro lot 1,000. On EUR/USD that is $10, $1 and $0.10 a pip.

Is a lot size calculator the same as a forex position size calculator?

Yes. Both turn your risk and your stop into a size, and this one gives it in lots. For crypto sized in coins, with leverage and margin, use our crypto position size calculator.

How many units are in one lot of gold, oil or US30?

Most brokers use 100 ounces for gold, 5,000 ounces for silver, 1,000 barrels for WTI and Brent, and 1 contract for indices such as US30. Check the contract specification on your platform and change the contract size if yours differs.

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