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One position sizing calculator for forex, gold, indices, futures, stocks and crypto. Your risk, your stop and your broker's costs go in; the lot size comes out (whole contracts on futures), rounded down, never up.
1 lot = 100 oz · $100 per 1.00 move
Cent account: 1 cent lot = 0.01 lot ·
= $100
stop below the entry
= $300 on 1 lot
A Buy fills at the Ask, so the spread is added to its stop. A Sell adds nothing.
For planning only. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. Real results can differ because of spreads, slippage, swaps and your broker's contract specs. This isn't financial advice, and every trading decision is your own.
hey trader, Doing this before every trade? SizeOps does it on your chart. Drag your stop and the size follows, commission in. One click and the stop and target go in with the trade. No card. MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and NinjaTrader 8. See it on MetaTraderSee it on NinjaTrader 8
“How much is 1 lot of gold?”
This gold lot size calculator works from the contract: one standard lot of XAUUSD is 100 oz at most brokers, so every $1 gold moves is $100 on 1 lot and $1 on 0.01 lot. The stop is a dollar move: 3.00 away from your entry is a $3.00 stop.
Check your broker's contract size: right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch, then Specification. When does gold trade in your time? Gold trading hours.
XAUUSD (gold)
Planned loss at the stop: 0.32 × $307 = $98.24, under your $100. A 2R target sits 6.21 away and nets $196.48 after commission.
As a forex position size calculator it knows every pair's pip: $10 on 1 standard lot of EUR/USD or GBP/USD; on yen pairs like USD/JPY a pip is 0.01 and its value moves with the rate. Another account currency is converted at the day's reference rate.
EURUSD
Planned loss at the stop: 0.59 × $167 = $98.53, under your $100. A 2R target sits 35.1 pips away and nets $197.06 after commission.
“Mini or micro: how many contracts?”
Futures are exchange contracts (CME Group's specs), the same at every broker, in whole contracts. Each micro is a tenth of its big contract, so your size lands closer to your risk: a $500 risk with a 20-point stop is NQ 1 contract (loss at the stop $404.50), MNQ 12 contracts ($494.40). Pick a family for the best mix, e.g. 1 NQ + 4 MNQ.
| Contract | Tick value | Point value |
|---|---|---|
| E-mini S&P 500 (ES) | 0.25 = $12.50 | $50 per point |
| Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) | 0.25 = $1.25 | $5 per point |
| E-mini Nasdaq-100 (NQ) | 0.25 = $5.00 | $20 per point |
| Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 (MNQ) | 0.25 = $0.50 | $2 per point |
| E-mini Dow ($5) (YM) | 1 = $5.00 | $5 per point |
| Micro E-mini Dow (MYM) | 1 = $0.50 | $0.50 per point |
| Crude Oil (WTI) (CL) | 0.010 = $10.00 | $1,000 per $1 move |
| Micro WTI Crude Oil (MCL) | 0.010 = $1.00 | $100 per $1 move |
| Gold (GC) | 0.10 = $10.00 | $100 per $1 move |
| Micro Gold (MGC) | 0.10 = $1.00 | $10 per $1 move |
$20 a point on NQ, $2 on MNQ.
NQ (Nasdaq futures)
Planned loss at the stop: 2 × $404.50 = $809.00, under your $1,000. A 2R target sits 40.75 points away and nets $1,621.00 after commission.
$50 a point on ES, $5 on MES.
$100 for each $1 gold moves on GC, $10 on MGC.
$1,000 for each $1 oil moves on CL, $100 on MCL.
$5 a point on YM, $0.50 on MYM.
Type the commission as a round turn, both sides: $2.25 a side is $4.50. On NinjaTrader 8, SizeOps sizes contracts right on your chart.
Index CFDs are quoted in points with no standard lot: $1 a point for 1 lot of US30 at one broker, $10 at another. The calculator starts at $1; tap Change under the Market box to type yours. Also named DJ30 or WS30.
US30
Planned loss at the stop: 2.00 × $50 = $100.00, right at your $100. A 2R target sits 100.00 points away and nets $200.00 at the target.
NAS100, US100 or USTEC: the same index, in points, at your broker's value per point. In MetaTrader's Specification, tick value ÷ tick size is the dollars per point for 1 lot.
US100
Planned loss at the stop: 2.50 × $40 = $100.00, right at your $100. A 2R target sits 80.00 points away and nets $200.00 at the target.
WTI crude (USOIL, XTIUSD) is 1,000 barrels a lot at many brokers: each $1 is $1,000 on 1 lot. Check your broker's contract size. The futures, CL and MCL, are in the futures tab.
USOIL
Planned loss at the stop: 0.20 × $500 = $100.00, right at your $100. A 2R target sits 1.00 away and nets $200.00 at the target.
“How many shares should I buy?”
Type the ticker your platform shows (AAPL, NVDA, TSLA …). On MetaTrader a stock's lot is usually 1 share, so your risk ÷ your stop in dollars = shares to buy, rounded down.
AAPL
Planned loss at the stop: 50 × $2 = $100.00, right at your $100. A 2R target sits 4.00 away and nets $200.00 at the target.
Type the symbol your platform shows and pick it: 68 forex pairs, gold, silver and the other metals, oil and gas, 25 index CFDs, 20 cryptos and any stock or ETF on MetaTrader; 77 futures contracts on NinjaTrader 8 from CME Group, Eurex, ICE and Cboe, the minis and micros together (24 families).
Account in euros, pounds or yen? Pick its currency; values convert at the day's reference rate. Rather have the size on your chart? SizeOps does it as you drag your stop.
“How do I calculate lot size?”
Lot size is how big your trade is: on MetaTrader, 1 standard lot of a forex pair is 100,000 units of its first currency. Position size is the same idea in lots, contracts or shares.
The lot size formula in words (the same position size formula works for contracts and shares):
That's how to calculate position size for any market. Here it is on GBP/USD:
$5,000 × 1% = $50. The most you plan to lose on this one.
20 pips × $10 + $7 commission = $207 if the stop gets hit.
$50 ÷ $207 = 0.242, so 0.24 lots. Always rounded down.
Planned loss at the stop: 0.24 × $207 = $49.68, under your $50. A 2R target sits 42.1 pips away and nets $99.36 after commission.
Try it free for 7 days on your own account. No card, nothing to cancel. Each platform gets its own trial: MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and NinjaTrader 8. Questions after your trial? Book a 15-minute call and we'll go through it on your chart.
Questions now? Email support@sizeops.com. We reply within 1 business day.
Position sizing
MetaTrader 4 and 5, NinjaTrader 8: every trade sized from your risk and stop
Position sizing →The room left today and a size that fits.
Drawdown calculator →Which sessions are open now, in your time.
Forex market hours →On forex, a standard lot is 100,000 units (1.00 lot), a mini lot 10,000 (0.10) and a micro lot 1,000 (0.01): about $10, $1 and $0.10 a pip on EUR/USD.
That's your call. Many traders risk a fixed percent of the account on each trade, often 1 or 2 percent (the 1 percent and 2 percent rules); others a fixed amount. The calculator works with either: pick % or $ next to Risk.
Depends on the contract. 0.25 on ES is $12.50, 0.25 on NQ is $5, 1 point on YM is $5, and $0.10 on GC is $10. The micros (MES, MNQ, MYM, MGC) are a tenth of that.
10. MNQ is a tenth of NQ, MES of ES and MYM of YM; MGC is a tenth of the full-size GC and MCL of CL.
Futures, yes: they're exchange contracts. Forex and gold are standard at most brokers. Index CFDs like US30 or NAS100 differ, so check your broker's value per point.
Yes. You pay it even when the stop gets hit, so it counts in the loss per lot. No commission at your broker? Leave it at 0.
Sizes come in steps (0.01 lot, or whole contracts), so we round down: the loss at the stop, commission included, never goes over your risk. Slippage and gaps can still make a live loss bigger.
Yes. Broker endings like .r, m or .pro, names like GOLD, USTEC or DE40 and futures month codes like NQZ6 are understood. Nothing you type leaves the page.
On a Buy, yes: it fills at the Ask, one spread above your chart, so its stop is that much further away. A Sell adds nothing.
2R nets twice your loss at the stop after commission, so the target sits a little past twice your stop distance. SizeOps places targets on your chart the same way. 2R means 2R after fees.
An account that counts in cents, so a cent lot is a hundredth of a standard lot. The answer shows both sizes; balance in cents? Pick USC or EUC.
Yes. It works in your phone's browser: nothing to install.
Pick your account's currency (cent accounts too). SizeOps converts the pip and tick values for you.