Risk Warning: CFDs and forex trading involve significant risk of loss. Leveraged products can result in losses exceeding your deposit. This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
CFD Position Size Calculator
Calculate how many CFD contracts to trade based on your account balance, risk percentage, stop-loss distance, and contract size.
Formula
CFD position-size formula
Risk Amount
Account Balance × Risk% ÷ 100
Point Value
Contract Size × Quote→Account Rate
Contracts
Risk Amount ÷ (Stop Distance × Point Value)
Worked Example
Given
$10,000 account · 1% risk · 50-point stop · Contract size = 1 · USD account
- Risk Amount
- $10,000 × 1% = $100
- Point Value
- 1 × 1.0 = $1 per point
- Contracts
- $100 ÷ (50 × $1) = 2 contracts
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I size a CFD position by risk?
- Divide your risk amount (account balance × risk%) by the dollar value of hitting your stop loss. The dollar stop value = stop distance × contract size × quote-to-account rate. The result is the number of contracts to trade. Floor to the nearest tradeable increment since you cannot trade partial contracts at most brokers.
- What is the stop-loss distance in CFD trading?
- Stop distance is the number of price points between your entry price and your stop-loss level. For an index CFD entry at 5,000 with a stop at 4,950, the stop distance is 50 points. Do not confuse this with pips — index CFDs move in points, not pips.
- What is the point value?
- Point value is the profit or loss per 1-point price move per contract, expressed in your account currency. It equals contract size × quote-to-account rate. For a CFD with contract size 1 priced in USD with a USD account, each point is worth $1. At contract size 50, each point is worth $50.
- Why is my contract count very low?
- Wide stop-losses or small account balances reduce the allowable position size. A 100-point stop on a contract size of 50 means each contract risks $5,000 per point move — at 1% of a $10,000 account ($100 risk), you can only trade 0.002 contracts. Consider tightening the stop or using a CFD with a smaller contract size.