How many pips should my stop be?

As many as the setup needs. Place the stop beyond the structure that invalidates the trade, then let the calculator shrink the lot size to keep the money at risk unchanged.

How do I size a JPY pair correctly?

Switch the pip-size selector to 0.01. A 50-pip stop on USD/JPY is a 0.50 price move, not 0.0050, and using the standard pip size would overstate your lot size a hundredfold.

Is the calculated lot size exact for every broker?

The unit count is exact given your prices. Margin can differ because brokers apply their own leverage tiers, weekend margin and swap charges, so confirm against your platform for large positions.

What is a safe lot size for a small account?

With a $1,000 account risking 1% and a 50-pip stop on a dollar-quoted pair, the maths lands near 0.02 standard lots — two micro lots. Micro lots exist precisely so small accounts can keep risk proportionate.

Currency pairs

Forex Position Size Calculator

Convert a pip-based stop-loss into a precise lot size. Enter your account balance, risk percentage, entry and stop as prices — the calculator returns units, standard lots, mini lots, pip distance and the margin your broker will require.

Preset: Forex, 30× leverage
Pip sizes: 0.0001 & 0.01
Lot output: Standard & mini
Pairs: Any major or cross

Your position

Suggested position size

20,000 units

0.2 standard lots · 2 mini lots

Position value

$22,000.00

2.2x account exposure

Required margin (30x)

$733.33

Max loss at stop

-$100.00

1% of account

Profit at target

+$300.00

3% of account

Risk / reward

1 : 3

Break-even win rate 25%

Stop distance

50 pips

0.005 per unit

Risk vs reward

-$100.00+$300.00

size = (balance x risk% ÷ 100) ÷ |entry − stop| · margin = size x entry ÷ leverage

Pips, lots and units

A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, a mini lot 10,000 and a micro lot 1,000. A pip is 0.0001 of quoted price for most pairs and 0.01 for pairs quoted in Japanese yen, which is why the pip-size selector matters — using the wrong one misprices the stop by a factor of one hundred.

Enter your entry and stop as prices and the calculator derives pip distance for you, then converts the resulting unit count into lots you can type into the order ticket.

Stop in pips = |entry − stop| ÷ pip size
Units = risk amount ÷ |entry − stop|
Standard lots = units ÷ 100,000
Margin = units × entry ÷ leverage

When the quote currency is not your account currency

Pip value is denominated in the quote currency of the pair. If your account is in US dollars and you trade EUR/USD, the quote currency already matches and the calculator's figures are exact. For a pair like EUR/GBP on a dollar account, convert the resulting risk with the GBP/USD rate at the time of the trade — or switch the account-currency selector to match the quote currency to see the sizing in that currency first.

This is the single most common source of forex sizing error, and it is worth checking your broker's own margin figure before sending a large order.

Leverage limits and margin

Retail leverage is capped in many jurisdictions — commonly 30:1 on major pairs and 20:1 on minors and gold. The default preset here uses 30×. Raising leverage frees margin but does not reduce the loss at your stop; it only means a larger share of the account can be committed at once.

Pip value by pair and rounded lot steps

The position-sizing formula never needs pip value explicitly — it sizes straight from the price distance you enter. Pip value becomes relevant when you check the dollar result of a stop in your own currency on a pair whose quote currency differs from your account, and when you translate units back into an order ticket.

A standard lot on a dollar-quoted pair is worth $10 per pip, a mini lot $1 and a micro lot $0.10. On a EUR/USD stop of 50 pips that is $500, $50 and $5 per position respectively. Convert the pip value with the current rate when the quote currency differs from your account currency.

Correlation and multi-pair exposure

Sizing each pair independently from the same account does not mean your account risk is the sum — pairs move together. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are heavily correlated, so two full-size positions are closer to a double-sized dollar risk than two independent ones.

Count correlated pairs as one risk bucket: reduce the risk percentage applied to each or size them as a group, and keep a running total of open risk across the account.

Account risk across correlated pairs is close to one larger position, not N independent ones
Track open risk — current equity with all open positions counted
Reserve margin capacity for correlated moves to protect against margin calls

Session liquidity, spreads and stop slippage

Liquidity varies sharply with the trading session. The London and New York overlap carries the tightest spreads on majors, while Friday afternoon, holidays and major news releases widen spreads and thin fills. A stop-loss is never a guarantee of price.

In thin liquidity, assume slippage: treat the calculator's maximum loss as the best case and consider widening the risk buffer or reducing size ahead of scheduled news.