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Position size calculator: shares from account risk and stop

Decide what you are willing to lose first. Enter the account size, the percent you risk, your entry and your stop to see how many shares fit.

How to use it

  1. Enter your account size and the percent of it you risk per trade.
  2. Enter your entry and stop prices.
  3. Read the dollar risk, the whole number of shares and the position value.
Shares = floor( account × risk% ÷ |entry − stop| )
Example. Account $25,000, risk 1% ($250), entry 550, stop 547.50 (2.50): 100 shares, position value $55,000.

About this calculator

Position sizing ties the stop distance to a fixed dollar risk, so a wider stop means fewer shares rather than a larger loss. For futures use the ES/MES and NQ/MNQ calculators, which account for the dollar value per point. This tool ignores fees, slippage and gaps through the stop, and it does not choose your stop or risk percent.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate position size?
Dollar risk (account times risk percent) divided by the distance between entry and stop, rounded down to whole shares.
What percent of my account should I risk per trade?
That is a personal risk decision. Many traders keep it to a small single-digit percent or less; this calculator just does the arithmetic.
Can I use it for futures?
Use the ES/MES or NQ/MNQ risk calculators, which include the dollar value per point.

Sizing a SPY or QQQ trade?

See SPY premarket levels: structure, key levels and catalysts in futures and SPY/QQQ terms, before the 9:30 ET open.

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ES / MES Risk CalculatorNQ / MNQ Risk CalculatorRisk / Reward CalculatorAll tools

Related market pages

SPY premarket levelsToday’s levelMarket Structure Academy
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Informational calculator for reference only. Outputs are arithmetic, not quotes, recommendations or trade signals. LiquidityLevels provides educational market commentary, not financial advice.