Easily calculate how many futures contracts to trade based on your account size, risk percentage, and stop distance. This position size calculator helps you manage risk, plan entries and exits, and trade with precision with many of the futures contracts prop firms allow us to trade.
Calculate how many contracts to trade based on your risk and stop distance. No live data used.
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How To Use The Futures Position Size Calculator
This position size calculator is built for futures traders who want clear risk per trade, not random contract sizing. Start by selecting your contract preset, or manually entering the dollar per point value for the market you trade, such as ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, CL, or GC.
Next, add your account balance and choose whether you want to risk a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of your account, for example one percent per trade. Enter your stop in points or in ticks with tick size, and the calculator will automatically translate that into a stop distance in points and show you how many contracts you can trade while staying inside your risk.
Why Position Sizing Matters For Futures Traders
Most traders blow up not because their strategy is terrible, but because their size is completely disconnected from their risk tolerance. This tool forces you to define risk per trade first, then calculate contracts from that. You see the risk per contract, total approximate risk for the position, and how your stop distance and dollar per point combine into real dollars on the line.
Used correctly, this calculator helps you:
- Lock in a consistent risk percentage per trade instead of guessing size
- Avoid oversizing on volatile markets like NQ and crude oil
- Spot when your stop is too wide for your account and needs to be tightened or skipped
- Keep your drawdown controlled so your strategy has time to play out
How Position Sizing Connects To Futures Prop Firms
If you trade with futures prop firms, position sizing is one of the biggest factors that decides whether you pass an evaluation or blow the account. Every firm has specific rules for trailing drawdown, daily loss limits, and consistency across your trading days. Bad sizing turns those rules into landmines.
By using this calculator, you can align your size with the prop firm rules you are trading under. When you know your maximum risk per trade and your stop distance, you can keep your daily loss well inside the limit, respect the trailing drawdown level, and avoid revenge trades that break the account. The goal is simple. Survive long enough with disciplined risk so your edge actually shows up in your stats.
Before you place your next trade on any futures prop firm account, run the numbers here. If the calculator shows that your planned stop and risk would put you close to the daily loss or trailing drawdown, size down or skip the trade. That is how you stay funded, grow your payout history, and turn prop firm capital into a real income stream instead of just another reset fee.
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