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FREE FUTURES POSITION SIZING TOOL

Contract Quantity Calculator

Calculate a conservative whole-contract futures quantity from account balance, risk percentage, stop distance, tick value, and per-contract fees.

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CALCULATOR INPUTS

Enter your planning values

CALCULATED OUTPUT

Your planning estimate

Enter or adjust the values, then select Calculate results.

STEP-BY-STEP

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the current account balance and written maximum risk percentage.
  2. Measure the technical stop distance in ticks without moving the stop to force size.
  3. Copy the exact tick value for the selected full-size or micro contract.
  4. Add realistic round-turn fees per contract.
  5. Enter the lower of your platform, firm, or personal maximum contract limit.
  6. Use the rounded-down whole-contract result and verify margin, liquidity, slippage, and firm rules.
WORKED EXAMPLE

See the calculation in context

A $50,000 account risking 0.5% has a $250 budget. With a 20-tick stop, $5 tick value, and $4 fees, one contract risks about $104; the conservative result is two contracts and about $208 planned loss.

Calculation method

Risk budget = balance × risk percentage. Risk per contract = stop ticks × tick value + estimated fees. Contract quantity = whole number obtained by rounding risk budget ÷ risk per contract down, then applying the entered maximum.

AVOID THESE ERRORS

Common mistakes

  1. Using points when the field expects ticks
  2. Using a full-size tick value for a micro contract
  3. Rounding contract quantity upward
  4. Tightening the stop only to make one contract fit
  5. Ignoring per-contract fees and slippage
  6. Treating available margin as the risk budget
FREQUENTLY ASKED

Questions and answers

Why can the result be zero contracts?

One contract may risk more than the selected dollar budget. A smaller contract or no trade is safer than exceeding the limit.

Does this calculate margin?

No. Margin is a separate collateral requirement and must be verified with the broker or firm.

Can futures quantity be fractional?

Exchange-traded futures contracts generally use whole-contract quantities; this tool rounds down accordingly.

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USEFUL NEXT TOOLS

Continue the workflow

FREE TOOLFutures Point Value CalculatorConvert a futures contract’s tick size and tick value into dollar value per point and total position sensitivity.FREE TOOLPosition Size CalculatorCalculate an estimated forex position size from account balance, chosen risk, stop distance, and pip value.FREE TOOLRisk Amount CalculatorConvert an account balance and selected risk percentage into a clear maximum dollar amount for one planned trade.
Educational-use notice.

Outputs are planning estimates, not investment advice or guarantees. Verify instrument specifications, fees, prices and binding prop-firm rules with the relevant official source before relying on any result.