Enter your account balance, risk budget, and stop assumptions to estimate a position size. Results depend on your inputs and exclude costs and execution differences.
Position size changes the modeled loss associated with a price move. This tool converts an entered risk budget and stop distance into an estimated size. It cannot determine suitability or protect an account from losses; actual execution may differ.
“Risk 1%” is the easy part. The hard part is turning that dollar figure into a size, and every market measures the distance to your stop differently. Here’s the formula the calculator uses for each.
Risk depends on the pips between entry and stop and what each pip is worth at your lot size. A 10-pip and a 50-pip stop are completely different sizes for the same dollar risk.
Each contract has a fixed dollar value per tick. An ES point is worth $50, a crude oil point $1,000, so the same 10-point stop risks very different amounts by contract. Contracts trade in whole numbers only.
The cleanest case: risk per share is entry minus stop. Divide your dollar risk by that for your share count, then check the position value doesn’t overexpose the account.
The estimate divides the entered risk budget by the distance between entry and stop. Fractional quantities may require rounding to the platform minimum. This calculation does not assess leverage, liquidation, or suitability.
For a long option, your risk is usually the premium paid. One contract controls 100 shares, so a $2.50 option risks $250. Size by the premium you’re willing to lose, whether the full ticket or a stop on its price.
Each model divides an entered risk budget by an assumed loss per unit. Verify contract specifications, currency conversions, platform minimums, and execution assumptions. The estimate does not set a maximum possible loss.
Position sizing connects an entered risk budget to a quantity. This calculator estimates that relationship using your assumptions. It cannot establish a suitable size for you, prevent losses, or ensure that an account withstands a losing streak.
No percentage is universally safe or suitable. The calculator uses the amount you enter, without assessing your finances, other positions, leverage, or tolerance for loss. Actual losses can exceed the modeled amount.
The account and risk part is identical; the conversion to size is not. Forex measures the stop in pips and multiplies by a pip value that depends on lot size. Futures use a fixed dollar value per tick or point that’s specific to each contract, and only trade in whole contracts. Options size on premium at risk times the contract multiplier, usually 100. Using the wrong market’s math is one of the most common sizing mistakes, and this calculator switches the formula for you.
Yes. Both size on the price distance between your entry and your stop. Stocks return a whole-share count; crypto allows fractional units because you can hold partial coins. In both cases the tool also shows your position’s notional value so you can check a single trade isn’t quietly taking over the account.
For the same entered risk budget, a smaller stop distance produces a larger estimated size. That is a mathematical relationship, not a recommendation to increase exposure. Stops may execute at different prices, and actual losses can exceed the budget.
No. This is a free educational calculator. It doesn’t know your full situation and doesn’t account for slippage, gaps, fees, or how a real fill differs from your intended stop. Treat the output as a starting point and make your own decisions, ideally with a licensed professional.
SMRT Algo displays entry, stop, and target reference levels on TradingView charts for your review. Assess those levels and your own assumptions before using them here. A plotted stop does not guarantee execution or limit actual losses.
Get SMRT AlgoThis position size calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. Outputs are based solely on the figures you enter and do not account for slippage, gaps, spreads, commissions, liquidity, or the difference between an intended and an executed stop.
Trading and investing carry significant risk, and it is possible to lose money. Decisions to buy, sell, or trade any financial instrument should be made with the guidance of a licensed professional. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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