How do I calculate forex position size from my risk?

Choose your account currency and balance, set the percentage you are willing to risk on the trade, enter your entry price and stop-loss price, then select the pair and leverage. The calculator divides the money at risk by the value per pip to return the optimal position size in units and lots.

What is pip value and why does it matter?

Pip value is how much one pip of price movement is worth in your account currency for a given position size. It depends on the pair, the quote currency and the trade size. Knowing pip value lets you translate a stop-loss distance in pips into a monetary risk and size your position correctly.

How is required margin calculated in forex?

Required margin is the portion of your account balance that is locked to open a position. It is calculated as notional value of the trade divided by leverage. For example, a 100,000 EURUSD position at 30:1 leverage requires roughly 100,000 ÷ 30 = 3,333.33 EUR of margin.

Does this forex calculator use live market prices?

No. For reliability and privacy, the calculator works entirely in your browser and uses the prices you type in. You can copy prices from your broker or trading platform to simulate real-time scenarios.

Forex Position Size & P/L Calculator

Calculate forex position size, pip value, profit/loss and required margin for any FX pair based on your account size and risk per trade.

Forex calculator

Account currency

Account balance

Risk per trade (%)

Forex pair

Entry price

Stop-loss price

Take-profit price (optional)

Direction

Leverage

Pip size (optional)

Position size Risk-based

Recommended trade size to match your risk settings.

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Risk on trade

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Pip value

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Per pip, for this position

Required margin

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Notional value

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Approximate trade value

Profit / Loss at take-profit

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Enter a take-profit price to see potential P/L.

All calculations are estimates for educational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Always check exact values with your broker.

How this forex calculator works

This tool focuses on what most traders actually need from a forex calculator: correct position sizing, pip value, risk in money and required margin for any FX pair.

1. Position size from risk

You define how much of your account you are willing to risk on a trade (for example 1% of a 10,000 USD account = 100 USD). The calculator then:

Computes the distance between entry and stop-loss in pips.
Determines the pip value for the selected pair.
Divides money at risk by money per pip to get the optimal position size.

Money at risk

\(\text{Risk} = \text{Account balance} \times \dfrac{\text{Risk %}}{100}\)

Stop distance in pips

\(\text{Pips} = \dfrac{|\text{Entry} - \text{Stop}|}{\text{Pip size}}\)

Position size (units)

\(\text{Units} = \dfrac{\text{Risk}}{\text{Pips} \times \text{Pip value per unit}}\)

2. Pip size and pip value

For most pairs quoted to 4 decimal places (e.g. EURUSD 1.1050), one pip is 0.0001. For JPY pairs quoted to 2 decimal places (e.g. USDJPY 145.20), one pip is 0.01. You can override this in the “Pip size” field if needed.

Pip value depends on the pair and the trade size. For a pair where the quote currency equals your account currency (e.g. EURUSD with a USD account):

Pip value (per unit)

\(\text{Pip value per unit} = \text{Pip size}\)

For 1 standard lot (100,000 units):

\(\text{Pip value} = 100{,}000 \times \text{Pip size}\)

For cross pairs or when your account currency differs from the quote currency, the calculator uses the entry price as an approximation to convert values into your account currency.

3. Margin requirement

Margin is the capital your broker locks to open a position. It depends on the notional value of the trade and the leverage:

Notional value

\(\text{Notional} \approx \text{Units} \times \text{Entry price}\)

Required margin

\(\text{Margin} = \dfrac{\text{Notional}}{\text{Leverage}}\)

For example, a 100,000 EURUSD position at 1.1000 with 30:1 leverage has a notional of 110,000 USD and requires about 3,666.67 USD of margin.

4. Profit / loss at take-profit

If you enter a take-profit price, the calculator estimates:

Take-profit distance in pips.
Potential profit or loss in your account currency.
Reward-to-risk ratio (R:R).

Practical tips for using the forex calculator

Keep risk small: many traders risk 0.5–2% of their account per trade.
Always set a stop-loss: the tool assumes you have a clear exit level.
Check margin: avoid using so much leverage that a small move triggers a margin call.
Use live prices: copy the latest bid/ask from your broker into the entry field for realistic results.

Limitations and disclaimer

This calculator is for education and planning only. It does not place trades and does not fetch live prices. Forex trading involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. Always verify calculations with your broker and consider seeking independent financial advice.