How much should I risk on one trade?
This little calculator turns your safety rules into a number. You type in your deposit, how much of it you're willing to risk, and where your stop-loss will be — it shows a trade size that fits.
A common beginner rule is to risk no more than 1% of your money on any single trade. With a $100 deposit, that means one trade should never be able to lose more than $1. The trade size that matches depends on where your stop-loss is — and that's exactly what this calculator works out.
The math assumes a pair quoted in US dollars, such as EUR/USD, where one pip on one full lot is worth $10 (that's arithmetic: 100,000 units × 0.0001). For other instruments the pip value differs, and the trading platform shows the exact numbers before you confirm any order. This tool is for learning and planning only — it is not financial advice.
How the math works
Three small steps — you can check them on paper:
- Money at risk = deposit × risk percent. Example: $100 × 1% = $1.
- Cost of one pip for your trade = trade size in lots × $10. A stop-loss 20 pips away on a 0.01-lot trade can lose 20 × $0.10 = $2.
- Trade size = money at risk ÷ (stop-loss pips × $10). Example: $1 ÷ (20 × $10) = 0.005 lots — smaller than the smallest Standard trade (0.01), which is exactly why the Standard Cent account exists: there the same trade is simply 0.5 cent-lots.
If the suggested size looks tiny — good. Tiny is what the learning phase is supposed to look like. You can practice the same numbers with virtual money on a free demo account first, and read how the stop-loss itself works in the safety rules.
What this calculator doesn't know
It doesn't know which instrument you'll trade, today's prices, or the spread. It only does the risk arithmetic. Before any real trade, the Exness platform shows the exact pip value, margin and costs for your order — always check those numbers there.
Two common questions
Why risk only 1% per trade?
Because losing streaks happen to everyone, especially at the start. Risking 1% means even ten losing trades in a row cost about 10% of your money — annoying, but survivable and recoverable. Risking 10% per trade, the same streak would wipe most of the account.
What if I don't know where to put the stop-loss?
That's normal on day one. Start on a demo account and try the common beginner habit: place the stop-loss at a price level where your trade idea would clearly be wrong, then let this calculator size the trade to match. Your first trade, step by step walks through it.
Keep going
The safety rules
The three rules that protect beginners better than anything else — this calculator is rule number three in action.
Read the safety rulesYour first trade
A step-by-step walkthrough of placing one small practice trade, with a stop-loss, on virtual money.
Make a practice tradeAccount types in plain words
Why the Standard Cent account makes beginner-sized trades possible, and what the other accounts are for.
Compare the accountsTry these numbers with virtual money first.
A free demo account lets you place this exact trade without risking anything — the demo has no time limit.
Open a free demo at Exness