Skip to content
GetProfitable
Search

Position Size Calculator

Decide how much to risk first, then let the stop distance tell you how many shares, contracts, lots or units that buys. Sizes always round down so the real risk never exceeds the plan.

Inputs

Results

Position size results
Position size (shares)
Rounded down so risk is never exceeded.
50
Dollars at risk
Planned $100.00 (1.00% of account).
$100.00
1R
One R is the dollars lost if the stop is hit at this size.
$100.00
Stop distance
$2.00 per share.
2
Notional at entry$5,000.00
% of account used at entry50.00%

Sizes at 0.5%, 1% and 2% risk

Position size at three risk levels
RiskDollarsSize (shares)
0.5%$50.0025
1.0%$100.0050
2.0%$200.00100
Every input is in the URL, so anyone opening this link sees the same numbers.
How a position size is worked outAccount size, risk per trade and stop distance feed into one box giving the number of shares.ACCOUNT SIZE$25,000your capitalRISK PER TRADE1%of the accountSTOP DISTANCE$0.50entry to stopPOSITION SIZE500 sharesrisk budget: $25,000 × 1% = $250position size: $250 ÷ $0.50 = 500 shares
Working out a position size. Three numbers decide how big a trade is: the account, the share of it put at risk, and the distance from entry to stop. One percent of $25,000 is a $250 budget, and a $0.50 stop divides into that 500 times.
How it's calculated
Futures need the contract tick size and tick value; forex needs the pip size and the pip value per lot (use the pip value tool if unsure).
Formulas used by this tool
Risk in dollarsaccount × risk% / 100, or the fixed dollar amount
Risk per unit|entry − stop| for shares and crypto; distance / tickSize × tickValue for futures; distance / pipSize × pipValue for forex
Position sizefloor(risk dollars / risk per unit); lots to 0.01, crypto to 0.000001
Dollars at risksize × risk per unit (never more than planned, because size rounds down)
Notionalsize × entry (× point value for futures)

Educational only, not financial advice. The maths is simple arithmetic on the numbers you enter; it knows nothing about your broker, fees, slippage or the market. Questions about the maths? Ask in the forums.