Calculate your position size
Not financial advice. Always check the firm's current rules: they change and differ by plan. Your numbers stay in your browser: nothing you type is saved or sent.
How the position size is calculated
- Stop in ticks = stop in points ÷ tick size, rounded up to a whole tick.
- Risk per contract = stop in ticks × tick value.
- Risk budget = your dollar risk, or drawdown × your percentage.
- Contracts = risk budget ÷ risk per contract, rounded down.
- Losses to the limit = drawdown ÷ actual risk, rounded up: the full-stop loss that uses up the drawdown (touching the limit counts as a breach).
The result leaves out commissions, fees and slippage, which add to every losing trade. It also assumes the drawdown limit stays where it is: with a trailing drawdown, profits can pull the limit up, so the room you have left can be smaller than the starting drawdown. See how drawdown rules compare across firms and which firms use an EOD drawdown.
Worked example
You trade ES with an 8-tick stop (2 points), want to risk $250 per trade, and your drawdown is $2,500.
- Risk per contract: 8 × $12.50 = $100
- Contracts: $250 ÷ $100 = 2.5 → 2 contracts
- Actual risk: 2 × $100 = $200, 8% of the drawdown
- Losses to the limit: $2,500 ÷ $200 = 12.5 → loss number 13 reaches the limit
The same stop on MES ($1.25 a tick) risks $10 per contract, so $250 allows 25 MES contracts.
Tick values used
| Symbol | Contract | Exchange | Tick size | Tick value | Point value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES | E-mini S&P 500 | CME | 0.25 | $12.50 | $50 | CME specs |
| MES | Micro E-mini S&P 500 | CME | 0.25 | $1.25 | $5 | CME specs |
| NQ | E-mini Nasdaq-100 | CME | 0.25 | $5 | $20 | CME specs |
| MNQ | Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | CME | 0.25 | $0.50 | $2 | CME specs |
| YM | E-mini Dow | CBOT | 1.00 | $5 | $5 | CME specs |
| MYM | Micro E-mini Dow | CBOT | 1.00 | $0.50 | $0.50 | CME specs |
| RTY | E-mini Russell 2000 | CME | 0.10 | $5 | $50 | CME specs |
| M2K | Micro E-mini Russell 2000 | CME | 0.10 | $0.50 | $5 | CME specs |
| CL | Crude Oil (WTI) | NYMEX | 0.01 | $10 | $1,000 | CME specs |
| MCL | Micro WTI Crude Oil | NYMEX | 0.01 | $1 | $100 | CME specs |
| GC | Gold | COMEX | 0.10 | $10 | $100 | CME specs |
| MGC | Micro Gold | COMEX | 0.10 | $1 | $10 | CME specs |
Common mistakes
- Mixing up ticks and points. On ES a point is 4 ticks; on crude oil a point is 100 ticks.
- Sizing from the account size. A 50K account does not mean $50,000 of risk; the drawdown is what you can actually lose.
- Forgetting the trailing drawdown. After a winning run, an intraday or EOD trailing limit can sit closer than the starting drawdown.
- Ignoring the daily loss limit. Some plans also cap the loss in one day. Size so that a few losses in a row do not reach it.
- Leaving out costs. Commissions add to every trade, and in fast markets a stop can fill worse than its price.
Position size questions
How do I calculate position size for futures?
Divide the amount you are willing to lose on the trade by the dollar risk of one contract (stop in ticks × tick value), then round down. An 8-tick stop on ES risks 8 × $12.50 = $100 per contract, so $250 of risk allows 2 contracts.
What is the difference between a tick and a point?
A tick is the smallest price move a contract can make; a point is a full 1.00 move in price. ES moves in 0.25 ticks, so one point is 4 ticks; crude oil (CL) moves in 0.01 ticks, so one point is 100 ticks.
Should I use micro contracts in a prop firm account?
Micro contracts (MES, MNQ, MYM, M2K, MCL, MGC) are one tenth the size of the full contracts, so you can keep the same stop with a smaller dollar risk. Also check how your plan's maximum position size counts micros.
How many losing trades can my drawdown take?
Divide the drawdown by your actual risk per trade and round up: that is the losing trade that reaches the limit. With $200 of risk and a $2,500 drawdown, loss number 13 hits it. Commissions, slippage and a trailing drawdown can make it sooner.
Check your firm's rules
Drawdown size, daily loss limits and contract limits differ by firm and by plan. Use the numbers from your plan:
- Alpha Futures rules
- Apex Trader Funding rules
- Funded Futures Family rules
- FundedNext Futures rules
- Lucid Trading rules
- My Funded Futures rules
- Take Profit Trader rules
- Top One Futures rules
- Topstep rules
Coupon codes before you buy: Alpha Futures · FundedNext Futures · Lucid Trading · Top One Futures.
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