Calculate the exact number of shares or units to buy based on your account size and maximum risk per trade.
The calculator divides your dollar risk by the price distance to your stop loss, giving you the exact number of shares to buy.
Dollar Risk = Account Balance × (Risk % ÷ 100)
Price Risk = |Entry Price − Stop Loss Price|
Position Size = Dollar Risk ÷ Price Risk
For example: $10,000 account, 1% risk, entry at $150, stop at $147.50 → $100 risk ÷ $2.50 = 40 shares.
Most professional traders risk 0.5% to 2% per trade. Beginners should start at 0.5–1%. Risking more than 2% per trade significantly increases the chance of account blowout.
Yes. For short trades, your stop loss will be above your entry price. The calculator uses the absolute difference, so direction doesn't matter.
For futures, use the Futures Tick Value Calculator instead, which accounts for contract multipliers and tick sizes.
Proper position sizing ensures that no single losing trade damages your account significantly. Even a strategy with a 40% win rate can be highly profitable with correct position sizing and a good risk/reward ratio.