Stop Loss Calculator

A stop loss is an order that closes your position at a price you set in advance, so a losing trade costs a known amount. Three numbers describe it — the money at risk, the stop distance in pips and the stop price — and given your position size, any one of them fixes the other two. This calculator converts between them for forex pairs, gold, silver, indices, oil and crypto, in your account currency.

Stop distance (pips) = Risk amount ÷ (Pip value per lot × Lots)
Stop price = Entry − Distance × Pip size (long) or Entry + Distance × Pip size (short)
Amount at risk = Stop distance × Pip value per lot × Lots

With a $10,000 account and 1% risk, the most you want to lose is $100. On 0.50 lots of EUR/USD a pip is worth $5, so the stop goes $100 ÷ $5 = 20 pips from entry: at 1.09800 for a long from 1.10000, or at 1.10200 for a short.

Brokers quote EUR/USD to five decimals, so a stop can only sit on a price such as 1.09667, not 1.0966667. The calculator rounds the stop toward the entry, so the loss at the stop never exceeds your limit: risking $100 on 0.30 lots gives 33.33 pips, placed at 1.09667 — 33.3 pips and $99.90 at risk.

The usual order is to choose the stop first and the size second. A stop belongs where the trade idea is proven wrong — beyond the last swing low for a long or swing high for a short, on the far side of a support or resistance level, or a multiple of the Average True Range away — and the position size calculator then sets the lots so that stop costs your chosen amount. Work backwards from the money, as this calculator does in its first mode, when the size is already fixed: an open position, a fixed lot size, or the 0.01-lot minimum on a small account. Then compare the answer with the chart. If $100 on 0.50 lots allows only a 20-pip stop where the market routinely moves 40 pips against you, the position is too large for the risk, not the stop too wide.

A stop loss caps the planned loss but does not guarantee the exit price. Spread, commission and slippage add to the loss, and after a weekend gap or a sharp news move the order fills at the next available price, which can be well beyond the stop. Some brokers offer guaranteed stops for a fee.

1. Calculate the stop — From risk amount finds the stop for a loss you choose; From pips gives the stop price and the cost of a stop distance you already have in mind.
2. Instrument and account currency — pip value is converted into your account currency. A rate field appears when a conversion is needed, pre-filled with a reference rate.
3. Entry price — a reference price is filled in; type your own entry. For indices and oil the value shown is only an example.
4. Direction — long stops sit below the entry, short stops above it.
5. Position size (lots).
6. From risk amount: enter your account balance and the risk per trade as a % of balance or a fixed amount. From pips: enter the stop loss in pips (points for indices, oil and crypto) and, optionally, your balance to see the risk as a percentage.

The result shows the stop-loss price at your instrument's quoted precision, the stop distance in pips and in price, the amount at risk if the stop is hit and the value of one pip for your position. Show the math lists each step with your numbers. For gold, indices and oil, check Contract specs against your broker, since contract sizes differ.