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.
Futures Position Size Calculator
Calculate the number of futures contracts to trade based on account balance, risk percentage, stop-loss in ticks, and tick value. Works for ES, NQ, CL, GC, and any contract.
Formula
Futures position size formula
Risk Amount
Account Balance × Risk% ÷ 100
$ Risk / Contract
Stop Ticks × Tick Value × USD→Account Rate
Contracts
Risk Amount ÷ ($ Risk per Contract)
Floor the result to the nearest whole contract — never round up. Rounding up would exceed your stated risk budget.
Worked Example
Given
$50,000 account · 1% risk · 4-tick stop · ES (tick value $12.50) · USD account
- Risk Amount
- $50,000 × 1% = $500
- $ Risk / Contract
- 4 × $12.50 = $50
- Contracts
- $500 ÷ $50 = 10 contracts
Frequently Asked Questions
- How does tick-based position sizing work?
- Risk Amount = Account Balance × Risk%. Dollar Risk per Contract = Stop Ticks × Tick Value × USD→Account Rate. Contracts = Risk Amount ÷ Dollar Risk per Contract. Because futures trade in whole contracts, floor the result to the nearest integer (never round up — that exceeds your risk budget). If the result is below 1, your account or risk budget is too small for this contract at this stop.
- What tick value should I enter for common contracts?
- Reference the Tick Value Calculator for exact values. Common USD tick values: ES (E-mini S&P 500) = $12.50/tick. NQ (E-mini Nasdaq-100) = $5.00/tick. CL (WTI Crude Oil) = $10.00/tick. GC (Gold) = $10.00/tick. These are per-contract values — multiply by contracts to get total exposure.
- Why does the calculator return fractional contracts?
- The engine returns the mathematically precise number. In practice, you must trade whole contracts — floor to the nearest integer. For example, 2.5 contracts → trade 2. The fractional value is shown so you can judge whether you are significantly under-sizing (e.g. 0.2 contracts means the minimum contract size is too large for this stop and account).
- Is 1–2% risk per trade appropriate for futures?
- Futures are leveraged instruments with significant intraday volatility. Many professional traders use 0.5%–1% risk per trade for futures, which is lower than the 1–2% typical for stocks or forex. The calculator issues a warning when risk exceeds 2% for futures, reflecting the additional risk from leverage in these markets.