Futures Position Size Calculator
Calculate whole futures-contract capacity by dividing an entered fixed or percentage risk budget by entered stop-movement risk plus round-turn cost per contract.
Enter the risk budget and contract specification
Use the same price unit for tick size, stop distance and optional entry. The output is an arithmetic capacity, not an order recommendation or proof that margin is available.
Entered futures risk capacity
Entered Metals Futures Contract Math 1.0.0
| Calculation step | Entered arithmetic | Derived result |
|---|
How futures position size is calculated
Tick value = minimum price increment × units per contract
Movement risk per contract = stop distance × units per contract
Modeled risk per contract = movement risk + entered round-turn cost
Whole-contract capacity = floor(risk budget ÷ modeled risk per contract)
The calculator starts with either a percentage of entered account balance or a fixed USD risk amount. It does not label a percentage conservative, normal or aggressive. The user remains responsible for deciding whether the input is eligible under personal, broker, exchange or prop-firm rules.
Stop distance is a price-unit distance, not a stop order or fill guarantee. Multiplying it by units per contract converts the entered movement into a monetary loss per contract. The entered round-turn cost is then added so that the contract count does not ignore a known nonnegative cost.
Futures contracts are whole standardized units in this model. Raw capacity is rounded down. A result of zero means the entered budget is smaller than one modeled contract risk; the calculator does not round up, suggest a smaller stop or substitute a different contract.
Use futures risk capacity without confusing risk, notional and margin
Keep three separate questions visible: modeled stop loss, contract notional and broker/exchange margin.
- Choose percentage or fixed-risk mode and document why that budget applies to this account and rule set.
- Verify exact contract units and price increment from the current specification for the selected symbol.
- Enter a stop distance supported by your trade plan without assuming the stop must fill at that price.
- Add a verified round-turn cost per contract or use zero and keep the omission visible.
- Review the whole-contract floor and unused budget; do not round a fractional result up.
- Check broker permissions, initial and maintenance margin, daily loss rules and total portfolio exposure separately.
Audited worked example
An entered USD 25,000 balance and 1% risk create a USD 250 budget. With 10-ounce Micro Gold, a USD 0.10 tick, USD 5.00 stop distance and USD 5 entered round-turn cost, movement risk is USD 50 and modeled risk is USD 55 per contract. USD 250 ÷ USD 55 = 4.545455 raw contracts, rounded down to 4. Modeled risk is USD 220 and unused budget is USD 30.
How to interpret it
Four whole contracts fit the entered equation; this is not a recommendation to trade four. At an optional USD 2,400 entry the position has USD 96,000 of entered notional, which is different from both the USD 220 modeled stop loss and whatever initial or maintenance margin the broker requires.
Futures contracts, spot CFDs and physical bullion use different units
These three product types can reference the same metal price while producing different monetary arithmetic. An exchange futures contract uses a standardized contract quantity and minimum price increment. An XAUUSD or XAGUSD CFD uses the broker’s lot and contract specification. Physical bullion uses owned fine-metal quantity plus premiums and sale costs.
| Product type | Sizing unit | Primary multiplier | Separate evidence needed | Use this family? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exchange futures | Whole contracts | Exchange units per contract | Symbol, month, tick, fees, margin and delivery/settlement | Yes |
| Spot or CFD metal | Broker lots | Broker ounces per lot | Server symbol, lot step, margin mode, spread and financing | No—use XAUUSD/XAGUSD tools |
| Physical bullion | Fine troy ounces | Owned metal content | Fineness, premium, custody and buy-back terms | No—use bullion tools |
Never copy a 100-ounce futures multiplier into a broker CFD merely because both reference gold. Verify the exact product before using any result.
Assumptions and limits
- No account, exchange, broker, prop firm, price feed or order ticket is connected.
- The calculator does not decide an appropriate risk percentage or stop distance.
- Initial margin, maintenance margin, offsets, buying power and liquidation thresholds are not calculated.
- Gaps, slippage, partial fills, limit moves, mark-to-market and losses beyond the entered stop are not modeled.
- The optional notional is entry price × units × whole contracts; it is not loss or margin.
- The output is arithmetic capacity, not a safe-size label, suitability decision, order instruction, forecast or financial advice.
Where to verify futures inputs
Start with the current exchange product page and rulebook for the exact symbol and contract month. Confirm contract quantity, quotation unit, minimum outright price increment, settlement type and termination date. Then compare the broker’s enabled symbols, commission and fee schedule, margin requirement and account permissions. Exchange margin and broker-required margin can differ and can change.
Record whether prices are actual fills, daily settlements or hypothetical scenario values. Actual account P/L can include daily mark-to-market, spread, slippage, exchange and clearing charges, brokerage commission, market-data costs, currency effects and tax. The single cost field is deliberately visible so omissions are not disguised as a universal net result.
The CFTC describes commodity futures as volatile, complex and risky, and notes that customers can lose all their money and may owe more than their initial investment. That is why these pages keep notional, modeled stop loss, margin and account outcome conceptually separate.
Frequently asked questions
- Divide the entered risk budget by stop distance times units per contract plus entered round-turn cost per contract, then round down to a whole contract.
- Yes. Percentage mode multiplies entered account balance by the entered percentage. Fixed mode uses the positive USD amount entered directly.
- This model uses whole contracts and does not round a fractional capacity upward beyond the entered arithmetic risk budget.
- The entered risk budget is smaller than the modeled risk for one contract. The calculator does not suggest a tighter stop, larger budget or alternate product.
- Yes. The model adds one nonnegative round-turn cost per contract to stop-movement risk before calculating capacity. Every unentered cost remains excluded.
- No. Optional notional equals entry price times units times whole contracts. Modeled risk uses stop distance and entered costs.
- No. Initial margin, maintenance margin, offsets, broker add-ons, buying power and liquidation thresholds require separate current verification.
- No. It is arithmetic capacity under entered assumptions, not a safe-size label, order instruction, suitability decision, stop-fill guarantee or forecast.
Sources and methodology
- CME Group — Calculating Futures Contract Profit or Loss — Explains tick value, tick movement and whole-position P/L arithmetic.
- CME Group — About Contract Notional Value — Defines contract unit × futures price as notional value.
- CME Group — Gold Product Overview — Identifies cited 100-ounce GC and 10-ounce MGC examples and their tick values.
- CME Group — 1-Ounce Gold Futures Fact Card — Identifies the one-troy-ounce quantity and USD 0.25 tick example.
- CME Group — Silver Futures and Options Fact Card — Identifies the cited SI 5,000-ounce contract and USD 0.005 outright increment.
- CFTC — Futures Market Basics — Regulator explanation of futures contracts and retail risk.
The operational contract is Entered Metals Futures Contract Math version 1.0.0. Independent fixtures cover long gold, short silver, fixed and percentage risk, tick identities, whole-contract flooring, below-one-contract capacity and invalid inputs. Sources support method and example specifications; they do not endorse this site, verify user inputs or turn the output into an exchange record.
Continue the contract-planning workflow
Compare broker metal products separately
The brokers below primarily offer leveraged forex or CFD products rather than the COMEX futures examples used in this calculator. If you compare a broker’s XAUUSD or XAGUSD product, use the broker’s own contract size, lot step, tick, margin, spread, commission and financing terms; do not reuse an exchange-futures preset.
Risk and affiliate disclosure: Futures, leveraged forex and CFD trading can result in substantial losses. These are affiliate links, so ForexMT4Indicators.com may receive compensation if you register or trade through them, at no additional cost to you. Availability and terms vary by jurisdiction and entity.