Lot Size Calculator

A lot is a standardised unit of trade size. A standard lot represents 100,000 units of the base currency. A mini lot is 10,000 units, a micro lot is 1,000 units, and a nano lot is 100 units. Smaller lot sizes let you fine-tune your position to match a precise dollar risk.

Lot Size = Money at Risk ÷ (Stop Loss in Pips × Pip Value per Lot). First determine your dollar risk (account balance × risk %), then divide it by the pip risk of your trade. This calculator does all three steps at once after fetching the live exchange rate for your chosen pair.

Risk % ties your position size to your account balance, as your account grows or shrinks, so does the absolute risk per trade, which keeps your exposure proportional. A fixed dollar amount is simpler but does not scale with your account. Most professionals use the percentage method.

Both produce the same result if calculated correctly. Pips mode requires you to know the distance to your stop in pips (common in forex analysis). Dollar amount mode is useful if you already know exactly how much you want to lose if the trade goes against you.

Choose the smallest lot type that your broker supports and that keeps your computed lot size above 0.01. Most retail brokers support micro lots (0.01 minimum). Nano accounts (100 units) are ideal for very small account sizes where micro lots would still risk too much per pip.

Micro lots (0.01 standard lots) or nano lots. The priority is staying in the game long enough to learn, not maximising returns. At micro lot size, each pip on EUR/USD is worth $0.10, which means a 50-pip loss costs $5 rather than $50 on a mini lot. Risk management matters more than lot size.