Lot size calculator
A number of lots means little until you know how many units it is, what each pip pays and how much margin it locks up. Choose a pair, type the price, the lots and your leverage, and the calculator translates it all into US dollars for a dollar account. Further down, the same trade is shown in standard, mini, micro and nano lots.
What common moves are worth
Profit or loss on your position for typical price moves.
Every lot type compared
The same pair and price in each standard lot size, alongside yours.
| Lot size | Units | Pip value | Position value | Margin at your leverage |
|---|
How a lot size is converted
All figures are in US dollars. How a pip converts depends on where the dollar sits in the pair: as the quote currency, as the base currency, or absent, in which case you supply the quote currency's dollar rate.
Units
Lots times the contract size: 100,000 for currencies and 100 ounces for gold.
units = lots × contract size
Pip value in the quote currency
Units times the pip size: 0.0001, or 0.01 for yen pairs and 0.1 for gold.
pip value = units × pip size
Into dollars
Dollar-quoted pairs stay as they are, dollar-based pairs are divided by the price, and crosses are multiplied by the quote currency's dollar rate.
USD/JPY pip value = units × 0.01 ÷ price
Position value
What the whole position is worth in dollars.
value = units × base currency in USD
Margin
Position value divided by leverage.
margin = value ÷ leverage
Forex lot FAQ
How many units does a forex lot hold?
A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, a mini lot 10,000, a micro lot 1,000 and a nano lot 100, so 0.25 lots of EUR/USD is 25,000 euros. Gold is often traded in 100-ounce lots, but brokers vary, so check the contract details.
How much is one pip worth?
On pairs priced in US dollars, like EUR/USD, a pip is $10 on a standard lot, $1 on a mini and $0.10 on a micro. When the dollar is the base, as in USD/JPY, the value moves with the price, and on crosses it depends on the quote currency's dollar rate.
What exactly is a pip?
The standard price step: 0.0001 on most pairs and 0.01 on yen pairs. Many brokers show an extra fifth decimal, a pipette or point, worth a tenth of a pip.
How is forex margin worked out?
Position value divided by leverage. One standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0850 is worth $108,500, so at 30:1 the broker sets aside about $3,617. Margin is not a charge, but if the account drops below the requirement, positions can be closed.
What leverage is sensible?
Leverage only changes how much margin a trade locks up, not what you lose per pip. Risk comes from lot size against your stop. Retail leverage on major pairs is often capped by regulators at 30:1 or 50:1.
How should I pick a lot size?
Start from the amount you are prepared to lose and the distance to your stop, then work out the lots, which is what our forex position size calculator does. This page then explains what that lot size means in units, pip value and margin.