{"id":13980,"date":"2026-08-28T05:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T05:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/tools-2\/position-size-calculator"},"modified":"2026-08-28T07:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T07:38:12","slug":"position-size-calculator","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/tools\/position-size-calculator","title":{"rendered":"Position Size Calculator \u2014 1% Risk Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"    <div class=\"bc-ls\" id=\"bc-ls\"\n         data-w-bal=\"Enter your account balance.\"\n         data-w-risk=\"Enter a risk above 0.\"\n         data-w-sl=\"Enter your stop distance.\"\n         data-w-rate=\"Enter the current price of\"\n         data-w-min=\"Below 0.01 lot \u2014 the minimum at most brokers. Tighten your stop or increase your balance.\"\n         data-w-high=\"Risking over 2% per trade is high. The 1% rule lets you survive a long losing streak.\">\n      <div class=\"bc-ls-head\">\n        <h2 class=\"bc-ls-title\">Position Size Calculator<\/h2>\n        <p class=\"bc-ls-sub\">Enter your balance and stop loss \u2014 get the exact lot size for the risk you choose.<\/p>\n      <\/div>\n\n      <div class=\"bc-ls-grid\">\n\n        <div class=\"bc-ls-form\">\n\n          <label class=\"bc-ls-field\">\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-lbl\">Account balance<\/span>\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n              <em class=\"bc-ls-pre\">$<\/em>\n              <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-bal\" value=\"10,000\">\n            <\/span>\n          <\/label>\n\n          <div class=\"bc-ls-field\">\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-lbl\">Risk per trade<\/span>\n            <div class=\"bc-ls-risk\">\n              <div class=\"bc-ls-chips\" id=\"bcls-chips\">\n                <button type=\"button\" data-r=\"0.5\">0.5%<\/button>\n                <button type=\"button\" data-r=\"1\" class=\"on\">1%<\/button>\n                <button type=\"button\" data-r=\"2\">2%<\/button>\n                <button type=\"button\" data-r=\"3\">3%<\/button>\n              <\/div>\n              <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap bc-ls-inwrap--sm\">\n                <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-risk\" value=\"1\">\n                <em class=\"bc-ls-suf\">%<\/em>\n              <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n\n          <label class=\"bc-ls-field\">\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-lbl\">Instrument<\/span>\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n              <select id=\"bcls-sym\">\n                                <option value=\"EURUSD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"EUR\"\n                        data-quote=\"USD\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >EURUSD<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"GBPUSD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"GBP\"\n                        data-quote=\"USD\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >GBPUSD<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"AUDUSD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"AUD\"\n                        data-quote=\"USD\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >AUDUSD<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"NZDUSD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"NZD\"\n                        data-quote=\"USD\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >NZDUSD<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"USDJPY\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.01\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"USD\"\n                        data-quote=\"JPY\"\n                        data-dec=\"3\"\n                        >USDJPY<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"USDCHF\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"USD\"\n                        data-quote=\"CHF\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >USDCHF<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"USDCAD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.0001\"\n                        data-contract=\"100000\"\n                        data-base=\"USD\"\n                        data-quote=\"CAD\"\n                        data-dec=\"5\"\n                        >USDCAD<\/option>\n                                <option value=\"XAUUSD\"\n                        data-pip=\"0.1\"\n                        data-contract=\"100\"\n                        data-base=\"XAU\"\n                        data-quote=\"USD\"\n                        data-dec=\"2\"\n                         selected='selected'>XAUUSD<\/option>\n                              <\/select>\n            <\/span>\n          <\/label>\n\n          <div class=\"bc-ls-field\">\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-lbl\">Stop loss<\/span>\n            <div class=\"bc-ls-seg\" id=\"bcls-mode\">\n              <button type=\"button\" data-m=\"pip\" class=\"on\">By pips<\/button>\n              <button type=\"button\" data-m=\"price\">By price<\/button>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"bc-ls-sl\" id=\"bcls-sl-pip\">\n              <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n                <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-pips\" value=\"50\">\n                <em class=\"bc-ls-suf\" id=\"bcls-pipsuf\">pip<\/em>\n              <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n\n            <div class=\"bc-ls-sl bc-ls-sl--two\" id=\"bcls-sl-price\" hidden>\n              <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n                <em class=\"bc-ls-pre bc-ls-pre--txt\">Entry<\/em>\n                <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-entry\" placeholder=\"1.08500\">\n              <\/span>\n              <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n                <em class=\"bc-ls-pre bc-ls-pre--txt\">Stop<\/em>\n                <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-stop\" placeholder=\"1.08300\">\n              <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n          <\/div>\n\n          <label class=\"bc-ls-field\" id=\"bcls-rate-wrap\" hidden>\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-lbl\">\n              Current price              <b class=\"bc-ls-hint\" id=\"bcls-rate-hint\"><\/b>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"bc-ls-inwrap\">\n              <input type=\"text\" inputmode=\"decimal\" id=\"bcls-rate\" value=\"150.00\">\n            <\/span>\n          <\/label>\n\n        <\/div>\n\n        <div class=\"bc-ls-out\" id=\"bcls-out\">\n          <span class=\"bc-ls-out-lbl\">Position size<\/span>\n          <strong class=\"bc-ls-lot\" id=\"bcls-lot\">0.00<\/strong>\n          <span class=\"bc-ls-lotunit\" id=\"bcls-lotunit\">lot<\/span>\n\n          <p class=\"bc-ls-warn\" id=\"bcls-warn\" hidden><\/p>\n\n          <div class=\"bc-ls-rows\">\n            <div><span>Risk amount<\/span><b id=\"bcls-riskamt\">$0<\/b><\/div>\n            <div><span>Pip value<\/span><b id=\"bcls-pipval\">$0<\/b><\/div>\n            <div><span>Stop distance<\/span><b id=\"bcls-dist\">0<\/b><\/div>\n            <div><span>Loss if stopped out<\/span><b id=\"bcls-loss\">$0<\/b><\/div>\n          <\/div>\n\n          <p class=\"bc-ls-note\">Based on a USD account; excludes spread, swap and slippage.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"bc-ls-guide\">\n<h2>What is the 1% rule?<\/h2>\n<p>The 1% rule says that <b>no single trade may cost you more than 1% of your account balance<\/b> if price hits your stop loss. On a $10,000 account, one losing trade must not exceed $100 \u2014 whether you trade EURUSD or gold, whether your stop is 15 pips or 150 pips away.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the part most people get backwards: the rule <b>does not tell you how many lots to trade<\/b>. Lot size is the <em>output<\/em>, calculated from three inputs \u2014 balance, risk percentage, and stop distance. A wider stop produces a smaller position, and vice versa. That relationship is exactly what keeps every trade&#8217;s loss identical across very different setups.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-key\">\n<p><b>Trading a fixed lot size is the single most common mistake.<\/b> If every trade is 0.5 lots, a 20-pip stop loses $100 while a 100-pip stop loses $500. Same account, same &#8220;strategy&#8221;, five times the risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>The position size formula<\/h2>\n<p>The whole calculation is three steps:<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-formula\">\n1. Risk amount     = Balance \u00d7 Risk %<br \/>\n2. Loss per 1 lot  = Stop in pips \u00d7 Pip value<br \/>\n3. Position size   = Risk amount \u00f7 Loss per 1 lot\n<\/div>\n<p>Steps 1 and 3 are simple arithmetic. All the difficulty sits in step 2 \u2014 the <b>pip value<\/b> \u2014 and that is where most calculations go wrong.<\/p>\n<h2>Pip value by instrument<\/h2>\n<p>The pip value of <b>one standard lot<\/b> depends on which side of the pair USD sits on:<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-tblwrap\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Instrument<\/th>\n<th>1 pip<\/th>\n<th>Pip value \/ lot<\/th>\n<th>Fixed?<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD<\/td>\n<td>0.0001<\/td>\n<td><b>$10.00<\/b><\/td>\n<td>Fixed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>USDJPY<\/td>\n<td>0.01<\/td>\n<td><b>$6.67<\/b> (at 150.00)<\/td>\n<td>Moves with price<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>USDCHF<\/td>\n<td>0.0001<\/td>\n<td><b>$11.36<\/b> (at 0.8800)<\/td>\n<td>Moves with price<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>USDCAD<\/td>\n<td>0.0001<\/td>\n<td><b>$7.25<\/b> (at 1.3800)<\/td>\n<td>Moves with price<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>XAUUSD (gold)<\/td>\n<td>0.1<\/td>\n<td><b>$10.00<\/b><\/td>\n<td>Fixed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>Why are some fixed and others not?<\/b> Profit and loss always arise in the <em>quote currency<\/em> \u2014 the one on the right of the pair. For EURUSD the quote currency is already USD, so no conversion is needed: 0.0001 \u00d7 100,000 = exactly $10. For USDJPY, P&#038;L arises in yen (0.01 \u00d7 100,000 = \u00a51,000) and must be divided by the USDJPY rate to reach USD \u2014 and that rate keeps moving.<\/p>\n<p>That is why the calculator above only asks for the <b>current price<\/b> when you select USDJPY, USDCHF or USDCAD. The other four pairs and gold do not need it, because the result does not depend on price.<\/p>\n<h3>Gold is a special case<\/h3>\n<p>Gold causes the most confusion because people define its &#8220;pip&#8221; differently. The reliable approach is to <b>drop pips entirely and work in price distance<\/b>:<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-formula\">\n1 lot of gold = 100 oz<br \/>\nPrice moves $1.00  \u2192  P&amp;L = 100 \u00d7 1 = $100<br \/>\nPrice moves $0.10 (1 pip)  \u2192  P&amp;L = $10\n<\/div>\n<p>So a $5.00 stop on 0.2 lots loses 0.2 \u00d7 100 oz \u00d7 $5.00 = <b>$100<\/b>. The calculator above accepts entry and stop prices directly, so you never have to convert to pips yourself.<\/p>\n<h2>Three worked examples<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-eg\">\n<h3>Example 1 \u2014 EURUSD, $5,000 account<\/h3>\n<p>1% risk, 25-pip stop.<\/p>\n<p>Risk amount = 5,000 \u00d7 1% = <b>$50<\/b><br \/>\nLoss per lot = 25 \u00d7 $10 = <b>$250<\/b><br \/>\nPosition size = 50 \u00f7 250 = <b>0.20 lots<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-eg\">\n<h3>Example 2 \u2014 Gold XAUUSD, $10,000 account<\/h3>\n<p>1% risk, stop $6.00 away from entry (60 pips).<\/p>\n<p>Risk amount = 10,000 \u00d7 1% = <b>$100<\/b><br \/>\nLoss per lot = 60 \u00d7 $10 = <b>$600<\/b><br \/>\nPosition size = 100 \u00f7 600 = 0.1667 \u2192 rounded down to <b>0.16 lots<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Note the rounding direction: 0.1667 must go down to 0.16, not up to 0.17. Trading 0.17 lots would lose $102 \u2014 already past the 1% ceiling you set for yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-eg\">\n<h3>Example 3 \u2014 USDJPY at 149.50, $3,000 account<\/h3>\n<p>1% risk, 30-pip stop.<\/p>\n<p>Risk amount = 3,000 \u00d7 1% = <b>$30<\/b><br \/>\nPip value = 0.01 \u00d7 100,000 \u00f7 149.50 = <b>$6.69<\/b><br \/>\nLoss per lot = 30 \u00d7 6.69 = <b>$200.70<\/b><br \/>\nPosition size = 30 \u00f7 200.70 = 0.1495 \u2192 <b>0.14 lots<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Why 1% and not 5%?<\/h2>\n<p>Because losing streaks are a certainty, not a rare hazard. A system that wins 50% of the time will still string together 8\u201310 losses in a row if you trade it long enough. Here is what remains of the account after a streak:<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-tblwrap\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Risk per trade<\/th>\n<th>After 10 losses<\/th>\n<th>After 20 losses<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>1%<\/b><\/td>\n<td>\u22129.6%<\/td>\n<td>\u221218.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2%<\/td>\n<td>\u221218.3%<\/td>\n<td>\u221233.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<td>\u221240.1%<\/td>\n<td>\u221264.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>10%<\/td>\n<td>\u221265.1%<\/td>\n<td>\u221287.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The more important number runs the other way \u2014 <b>recovering a loss requires a larger gain than the loss itself<\/b>, and the gap widens fast:<\/p>\n<div class=\"bc-ls-tblwrap\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Drawdown<\/th>\n<th>Gain needed to break even<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>10%<\/td>\n<td>11.1%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>20%<\/td>\n<td>25.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>30%<\/td>\n<td>42.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>50%<\/td>\n<td><b>100%<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>70%<\/td>\n<td><b>233%<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>At 1%, the worst case in the first table is \u221218.2%, needing a 22.2% gain to recover \u2014 entirely achievable. At 10%, twenty losses leave you down 87.8% and needing <b>720%<\/b> just to break even. That is the case for 1%: not that it grows the account quickly, but that it keeps you in the game long enough for your edge to show up.<\/p>\n<h2>Four common mistakes<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Choosing lot size before the stop.<\/b> The correct order is the reverse: place the stop where market structure says it belongs, then size the position to fit your risk.<\/li>\n<li><b>Risking a percentage of the starting balance.<\/b> Use the <em>current<\/em> balance. As the account shrinks, position sizes shrink with it \u2014 an automatic brake on losing streaks.<\/li>\n<li><b>Ignoring spread and swap.<\/b> A 20-pip stop with a 2-pip spread is really a 22-pip loss, 110% of your intended risk. Hold overnight and swap adds more.<\/li>\n<li><b>Stacking correlated trades.<\/b> EURUSD, GBPUSD and AUDUSD longs are all short-USD positions. Risking 1% on each simultaneously means roughly 3% riding on a single &#8220;USD strengthens&#8221; scenario.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>How rebates change the maths<\/h2>\n<p>Your position size also determines the rebate you earn, because rebates are paid per lot. Two traders with the same strategy and the same 1% risk will end the month differently if one gets a portion of trading costs back and the other does not.<\/p>\n<p>For an active trader this is not a rounding error: rebates accrue on volume regardless of whether a trade wins or loses. <a href=\"\/en\/broker\">Compare rebate rates by broker<\/a> to see what you may be leaving on the table.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<h3>Does the 1% rule work on small accounts?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, with one constraint: the broker&#8217;s minimum lot. A $200 account at 1% risk can only lose $2 per trade \u2014 on EURUSD with a 20-pip stop that works out to 0.01 lots, exactly the minimum most brokers allow. Below that threshold you must either tighten the stop, accept more than 1% risk, or add funds. The calculator above warns you when you hit this.<\/p>\n<h3>Should I use 1% or 2%?<\/h3>\n<p>1% is the safe default for almost everyone. 2% becomes defensible once you have real statistics from a few hundred of your own trades and know your longest historical losing streak. Above 2%, most traders are gambling rather than managing risk.<\/p>\n<h3>How far should my stop be?<\/h3>\n<p>Wherever market structure puts it \u2014 below the recent swing low, above the recent swing high, or outside the normal range of your timeframe \u2014 not at a round number chosen for easy arithmetic. Tightening a stop purely to justify a bigger position is the fastest route to being stopped out repeatedly.<\/p>\n<h3>Does this calculator include spread?<\/h3>\n<p>No. It returns the theoretical size for the stop distance you enter. To be strict, add your broker&#8217;s average spread to the stop before entering it \u2014 a 20-pip stop with a 1.5-pip spread becomes 21.5.<\/p>\n<h3>What if my account is not in USD?<\/h3>\n<p>The calculator assumes a USD account. If yours is denominated in another currency, convert the balance to USD before entering it; the resulting lot size is still correct, since lots do not depend on your account currency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the 1% rule? The 1% rule says that no single trade may cost you more than 1% of your account balance if price hits your stop loss. On a $10,000 account, one losing trade must not exceed $100 \u2014 whether you trade EURUSD or gold, whether your stop is 15 pips or 150 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":13988,"parent":13979,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13980","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13982,"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13980\/revisions\/13982"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backcom.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}