PipStart

Position Size Calculator

Find the maximum position size that keeps your risk within your own limit.

Quote currency
USD
Pip size
0.0001
Contract
100,000
Volume step
0.01 lots

Quote-currency pip convention for education. Confirm the symbol specification with your broker before trading.

Retrieving the latest available indicative reference rate…

Maximum position size

4,000 units

Risking USD 10.00 of your USD 1,000 balance, within your USD 10.00 risk limit
Rounded down to the 0.01-lot volume step.
Amount at risk
USD 10.00
Standard lots
0.0400
Mini lots
0.400
Micro lots
4.00

How this calculation works

What is the largest permitted lot step within your planned loss budget?

Formula in plain language

  • Loss budget = account balance × risk percentage ÷ 100.
  • Risk per lot = stop distance in pips × pip size × contract size × conversion rate.
  • Unrounded lots = loss budget ÷ risk per lot.
  • Final lots = round unrounded lots DOWN to a whole volume step; units = final lots × contract size.

What the terms mean

Pip size and contract size
The instrument's price movement per pip and base units per lot. This tool uses EUR/USD pip size 0.0001 and 100,000 units per lot.
Conversion rate
Account-currency units for one quote-currency unit. USD to USD is 1; this is not the pair's entry price.
Volume step and minimum
The allowed lot increments and smallest order. The tool does not round a below-minimum size up.

Worked example

This is a fixed teaching example, separate from your current inputs.

Choose EUR/USD and USD. Enter balance 1,000, risk 1%, stop 20 pips and conversion 1. The educational lot step is 0.01.

  1. Loss budget: USD 1,000 × 1% = USD 10.
  2. Risk per lot: 20 × 0.0001 × 100,000 × 1 = USD 200.
  3. Lots: 10 ÷ 200 = 0.05; it already fits a 0.01 step.
  4. Units: 0.05 × 100,000 = 5,000. Modeled stop-distance risk: 0.05 × 200 = USD 10.

Example result: 5,000 units / 0.0500 lots, with USD 10.00 modeled risk.

What the result means

A loss budget is like a separate envelope: the price distance determines how much can fit inside it. A wider stop means fewer units for the same budget. Rounding down can leave some of that budget unused.

What this does not tell you

The percentage is an input, not a recommended risk level. Confirm your broker's contract, pip convention, minimum and step, especially for metals and nonstandard pairs. Costs and worse fills can exceed modeled stop-distance risk.

This is an educational estimate only, not a guarantee of outcome. Actual broker execution, spreads and slippage will affect real results.