Position size calculator

This turns an account, a risk percent, and a stop into a whole-share count. The stop can be a price, a percent below the entry, or dollars per share. The dollar risk is the scenario from those prices. A stop order can fill somewhere else. The position size guide uses the same example.

Shares = (account size × risk percent) ÷ (entry price − stop price), rounded down to a whole share.

Enter the account, risk percent, entry, and stop.

How to size a position from a stop

Enter the account and the risk percent. Risk percent is the fraction of the account you are measuring this scenario against. 2 means 2% of the account.
Enter the entry and the stop. Type a stop price, a percent below the entry, or dollars per share below the entry. The stop has to sit below the entry.
Read the share count and the scenario loss. Shares round down so the scenario loss stays inside the budget. An optional target shows planned profit divided by that loss.

Frequently asked questions

How do you size a position from a risk limit?: Multiply the account by the risk percent to get a dollar budget. Divide that budget by the gap between the entry and the stop. A $25,000 account risking 2% has a $500 budget. A $50 entry and a $47 stop is $3 a share, so the share count rounds down to 166. Those 166 shares risk $498 if the sale fills at $47.
Does this limit the loss if the price gaps through the stop?: No. The dollar risk uses the stop price you type. A stop order can fill at a different price, and a halt or a gap can skip the stop. The share count is the size that fits the scenario, not a cap on the loss.
Is this investment advice?: No. The calculator is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not recommend a risk percent, a stop, or a trade.

Related guides

How to size a position from a stop

Enter the account and the risk percent. Risk percent is the fraction of the account you are measuring this scenario against. 2 means 2% of the account.

Enter the entry and the stop. Type a stop price, a percent below the entry, or dollars per share below the entry. The stop has to sit below the entry.

Read the share count and the scenario loss. Shares round down so the scenario loss stays inside the budget. An optional target shows planned profit divided by that loss.

Frequently asked questions

How do you size a position from a risk limit?

Multiply the account by the risk percent to get a dollar budget. Divide that budget by the gap between the entry and the stop. A $25,000 account risking 2% has a $500 budget. A $50 entry and a $47 stop is $3 a share, so the share count rounds down to 166. Those 166 shares risk $498 if the sale fills at $47.

Does this limit the loss if the price gaps through the stop?

No. The dollar risk uses the stop price you type. A stop order can fill at a different price, and a halt or a gap can skip the stop. The share count is the size that fits the scenario, not a cap on the loss.

Is this investment advice?

No. The calculator is for general informational and educational purposes only. It does not recommend a risk percent, a stop, or a trade.

Shares

How to size a position from a stop

Frequently asked questions

Related tools

Related guides

Shares

How to size a position from a stop

Frequently asked questions

Related tools

Related guides