Forex Lot Sizes

A lot is the size of your trade. It decides how much money each pip is worth, and so how much you win or lose. Choosing the right lot size is one of the most important decisions in every trade.

What is a Lot?

Forex is traded in standard amounts of the base currency (the first currency in the pair). One standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency.

Most retail traders trade smaller pieces: mini, micro and sometimes nano lots. On a platform you type the size as a decimal, such as 0.10 or 0.01.

Lot type	Platform size	Units of base currency	Pip value (xxx/USD)
Standard	1.00	100,000	$10.00
Mini	0.10	10,000	$1.00
Micro	0.01	1,000	$0.10
Nano	0.001	100	$0.01

Note: Not every broker offers nano lots. Many have a minimum of 0.01 (one micro lot). Some "cent accounts" show balances in cents to make micro trading look bigger. The real money risk is the same.

Example: What you actually control

Buy 0.10 lot EUR/USD at 1.0850
= 10,000 euros
= 10,000 × 1.0850 = $10,850 worth of currency

This full value is called the notional value or position size. With leverage you only put up a small part of it as margin (see Leverage & Margin).

Pip Value Per Lot

The pip value is how much money you make or lose when price moves one pip. It is always calculated first in the quote currency:

Pip value (quote currency) = Pip size × Units

When the quote currency is your account currency (for a USD account: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD), that is the final answer: $10 per pip per standard lot.

When it is not, convert the result into your account currency.

Example: USD/CAD, 1 standard lot, USD account

Pip value in CAD = 0.0001 × 100,000 = C$10
USD/CAD = 1.3600, so C$10 ÷ 1.3600 = $7.35 per pip

Example: EUR/GBP, 1 standard lot, USD account

Pip value in GBP = 0.0001 × 100,000 = £10
GBP/USD = 1.2700, so £10 × 1.2700 = $12.70 per pip

Pair (USD account)	Price used	Standard lot	Mini lot	Micro lot
EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD	—	$10.00	$1.00	$0.10
USD/JPY	150.00	$6.67	$0.67	$0.07
USD/CAD	1.3600	$7.35	$0.74	$0.07
USD/CHF	0.8800	$11.36	$1.14	$0.11
EUR/GBP	GBP/USD 1.2700	$12.70	$1.27	$0.13
GBP/JPY	USD/JPY 150.00	$6.67	$0.67	$0.07

Tip: Pip values change a little as prices change. Use the calculator below or your platform instead of memorizing them. Only the xxx/USD values stay fixed for a USD account.

Calculating Profit and Loss

Profit or loss = Pips gained or lost × Pip value × Number of lots

Example: A winning trade

Buy 0.25 lot GBP/USD at 1.2700, close at 1.2740
Pips:       1.2740 − 1.2700 = 0.0040 = 40 pips
Pip value:  $10 × 0.25 = $2.50 per pip
Profit:     40 × $2.50 = +$100

Example: A losing trade (JPY pair)

Sell 0.50 lot USD/JPY at 150.00, close at 150.30
Pips:       150.30 − 150.00 = 0.30 = 30 pips against you
Pip value:  $6.67 × 0.50 = $3.33 per pip (approx.)
Loss:       30 × ¥500 = ¥15,000 ÷ 150.30 ≈ −$99.80

Using the rounded $3.33 gives about $100. The exact figure uses the closing price for the conversion.

How Lot Size Changes Your Risk

The same price move can be a small loss or a disaster. Only the lot size changes.

Example: A 30-pip loss on EUR/USD with a $2,000 account

Lot size	Pip value	Loss (30 pips)	% of account
0.01 (micro)	$0.10	$3	0.15%
0.10 (mini)	$1.00	$30	1.5%
0.50	$5.00	$150	7.5%
1.00 (standard)	$10.00	$300	15%

Warning: Losing 15% on one ordinary trade means a few bad trades can wipe out half your account. Many professionals risk only 0.5–2% of their account per trade.

Choosing a Lot Size

Work backwards from how much you are willing to lose, not from how much you hope to win.

Decide your risk in money: account × risk %.
Find your stop-loss distance in pips.
Divide: money at risk ÷ stop pips = pip value you can afford.
Convert that pip value into lots.

Example: 1% risk on a $1,000 account

Risk:          $1,000 × 1% = $10
Stop-loss:     25 pips (EUR/USD)
Pip value:     $10 ÷ 25 = $0.40 per pip
Lots:          $0.40 ÷ $10 (per standard lot) = 0.04 lots
               = 4 micro lots

Info: This is called position sizing. It is covered fully, with its own calculator, in Position Sizing.

Common Lot Size Mistakes

Typing 1.0 instead of 0.10. One extra digit makes the trade ten times bigger. Double-check the size box before you click.
Using the same lot size for every trade. A 15-pip stop and a 60-pip stop need different sizes to risk the same money.
Forgetting about JPY and cross pairs. Their pip values are not $10 per lot, so the same size risks a different amount.
Doubling up after a loss. Increasing size to "win it back" is how small losses become big ones.
Sizing by free margin. Having enough margin to open a trade does not mean the trade is a safe size.

Example: The extra-zero mistake

Planned: 0.10 lot EUR/USD, 30-pip stop → 30 × $1  = $30 risk
Typed:   1.00 lot EUR/USD, 30-pip stop → 30 × $10 = $300 risk

On a $2,000 account that is the difference between losing 1.5% and losing 15%.

Tip: Start live trading with micro lots (0.01). The money is small, but the emotions are real, and that is the best way to learn. Practice the whole process first in Your First Trade.

Test Yourself With Exercises

How many units of the base currency are in one mini lot?

100
1,000
10,000
100,000

A mini lot (0.10) is 10,000 units. A standard lot is 100,000 and a micro lot is 1,000.

You buy 0.30 lots of EUR/USD and it rises 20 pips. What is your profit?

$60
$6
$200

0.30 lots × $10 = $3 per pip. 20 pips × $3 = $60.

With a USD account, what is the pip value of 1 standard lot of USD/JPY when the price is 150.00?

$10.00
$6.67
$15.00
$1,000

0.01 × 100,000 = ¥1,000 per pip. ¥1,000 ÷ 150.00 = $6.67.

You want to risk $20 with a 40-pip stop on GBP/USD. Which lot size fits?

0.50 lots
0.02 lots
0.05 lots

$20 ÷ 40 pips = $0.50 per pip. $0.50 ÷ $10 = 0.05 lots (5 micro lots).

What does "0.01" mean when you enter it as the trade size?

One standard lot
One micro lot (1,000 units)
1% of your account

On most platforms 0.01 is one micro lot, or 1,000 units of the base currency.