Position size calculator
Find a volume within your modelled loss budget. Include the volume step, minimum, maximum, commission, slippage and a fixed fee.
Start with an example
30-pip stop, pip value 10 USD per lot, 1 pip slippage, 7 USD round-trip commission per lot and a 2 USD fixed fee. A volume of 0.30 lot gives a modelled loss of 97.10 USD; 0.31 lot would exceed the budget.
Pip value and margin: check the units
The loss budget and required margin are separate checks. The main calculator’s defaults are an example. This helper does not fetch rates or account data.
Calculate a suggested pip value — linear FX model
We use the contract size per lot from the main form. Verify the defined pip size: 0.0001 and 0.01 are different conventions, not a rule for every instrument.
Pip per 1 lot = contract size × defined pip size × quote-to-account conversion.
Add a margin model and available funds
Amounts must use the same account currency as the budget and pip value. Balance is not substituted for free margin.
The FX model uses the main form’s contract size and the currency conversion set above. Margin = lots × contract × price × conversion / leverage.
The result does not confirm order acceptance. Margin tiers, hedging, netting, existing exposure, fees and changing rates require a platform check for the final volume. OrderCalcMargin returns account-currency margin but excludes existing positions and pending orders.
Separate margin calculator · MetaQuotes: OrderCalcMargin · MetaQuotes: OrderCalcProfit
Work through the calculations
Pip value → position size → margin → portfolio risk. Transfer with a button and confirm before applying on the next page.
Data from the previous step
A draft remains usable for 30 minutes and is stored in this browser session on this domain. We do not send it to the server or put amounts in the URL. A browser may retain a restored tab session; use “Clear calculation draft” to remove the data.
How the result is calculated
Budget = capital × loss limit % / 100. Loss per lot = (stop distance + slippage) × pip value per lot + commission per lot. Subtract the fixed fee from the budget, divide by loss per lot, and round down to the minimum + n × step grid, subject to the maximum volume.
Worked example
Example: 10,000 USD × 1% = a 100 USD budget. A 30-pip stop and a pip value of 10 USD per lot give a loss of 300 USD per lot. With no fees, a 0.01-lot minimum and step produce 0.33 lot: a modelled loss of 99 USD. A volume of 0.34 lot would produce 102 USD and exceed the budget.
Specifications and conventions: MetaQuotes: instrument specification
← Return to the article exerciseInputs before results
Where do I find this calculator’s inputs?
Gather the instrument specification, account settings and your own assumptions. Do not treat default values as your broker’s settings.
Conclusion: a 1 USD tick value does not mean a 1 USD pip per lot. Here a pip per lot is 10 USD; minimum, step and maximum are separate settings.
Contract and volume specification
Open the specification for the exact symbol and account type you will use. In MT5: Market Watch → symbol context menu → Specification. Read the contract size per 1 lot and the minimum, maximum and volume step.
100,000 base-currency units per lot is our example assumption. A position of 0.10 lot then represents 10,000 units. A 0.01 step does not establish the minimum or maximum; check all three settings.
Return to the form ↑Pip, point and value per 1 lot
First establish the pip size in price units. Separately check the quoted point and the minimum price increment (tick size). The number of decimal places alone does not give a pip’s cash value.
For our fictional EUR/USD, a 0.0001 pip is ten times the 0.00001 tick. With a 100,000 EUR contract and a USD account, a tick of 1 lot is worth 1 USD and a pip 10 USD. Enter 10 in a per-lot pip field, although a pip of a 0.10-lot position is worth 1 USD. Platform tick values can differ for a profit and a loss; check the direction, currency and current conditions.
Return to the form ↑Execution prices, distances and spread
For position P/L, use actual prices from execution history; for a plan, use your assumptions for the appropriate quote side. A buy opens at ask and closes at bid. A sell opens at bid and closes at ask.
A distance in pips is the price difference divided by pip size. When execution prices already include spread, do not subtract it again. The separate spread in the cost comparison is one modelled cost. Enter slippage as additional adverse execution for the whole trade only when it is not already included in prices or distances.
Return to the form ↑Round-trip commission per 1 lot
Check your account’s fee schedule and actual charges: rate unit, currency, separate opening and closing charges, and any minimum fee.
Fictional 3.50 USD per lot for opening and the same for closing makes 7 USD per lot round trip. For 0.10 lot that is 0.70 USD if the rate is linear with no minimum. Enter 7 in a per-lot field. Enter a separate volume-independent charge in “fixed fee” where the form provides that field.
Return to the form ↑Balance, equity and used margin
Read current account amounts in the same currency. Balance, equity including open P/L, and free margin describe different quantities.
For the loss budget, deliberately choose balance or equity and keep that definition throughout the plan. In the margin calculator, enter current equity and margin already used by other positions. Do not substitute free margin for equity or count the new position’s margin twice.
Return to the form ↑Your modelled loss limit
The risk percentage is your own assumption relative to the entered capital. Take it from your plan; an instrument specification cannot select it for you.
The example 1% or 3% is for practice and is not a recommendation. A cash budget does not guarantee the closing result: a gap, conversion-rate change or worse execution can increase the loss.
Return to the form ↑Check field meanings in the platform documentation: MetaQuotes: symbol properties · MetaQuotes: opening symbol specification