---
title: "Lot Size in Forex: What It Means - Get Funded Now"
description: "What lot size means in forex: standard, mini and micro lots, what 0.01 lot is worth per pip, gold lots, and how to calculate the lot size for a trade."
url: "https://getfundednow.com/learn/lot-size"
language: "en"
last_modified: "2026-09-22"
publisher: "Get Funded Now (getfundednow.com)"
translations:
  es: "https://getfundednow.com/es/learn/lot-size"
  pt-BR: "https://getfundednow.com/pt-br/learn/lot-size"
  fr: "https://getfundednow.com/fr/learn/lot-size"
  it: "https://getfundednow.com/it/learn/lot-size"
  de: "https://getfundednow.com/de/learn/lot-size"
disclosure: "All trading at Get Funded Now is simulated. 'Funded' means a simulated or virtual account; GFN is not a broker and does not hold client funds."
---

Risk and performance

# Lot size: the dial that sets your risk.

Lot size is the size of a trade in standardised units. In forex, one standard lot is conventionally 100,000 units of the base currency, a mini lot 10,000 and a micro lot 1,000, so 0.01 lot is a micro lot. The lot size sets how much each pip is worth, and therefore how much a trade can make or lose.

[All trading lessons](https://getfundednow.com/learn) · [Read the trading rules →](https://getfundednow.com/rules)

## Standard, mini and micro lots

Lot sizes are written as decimals of a standard lot. On a pair quoted in US dollars, such as EUR/USD, one pip is 0.0001, so a pip is worth 100,000 x 0.0001 = $10 on a standard lot.

**Common forex lot conventions, on a USD-quoted pair**

| Lot | Written as | Units of base currency | Value of one pip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Standard | 1.00 | 100,000 | $10 |
| Mini | 0.10 | 10,000 | $1 |
| Micro | 0.01 | 1,000 | $0.10 |

Pip values differ on pairs not quoted in the account currency, and on yen pairs, where a pip is 0.01. Contract sizes are set per instrument; the specification on your account applies.

## Lot size on gold and other instruments

Outside currencies, a lot is defined by the instrument's contract size rather than by 100,000 units. For spot gold (XAU/USD), one lot is commonly 100 troy ounces, which makes 0.01 lot one ounce: a $1 move in the gold price is then worth $100 on one lot and $1 on 0.01 lot.

Index and other instruments have their own contract sizes. Always read the size from the instrument specification on the account before sizing a trade; the convention above is common, not universal.

## How to calculate lot size for a trade

Work backwards from risk. Decide how much money the trade may lose, measure the distance to the stop in pips, and divide: lot size = risk in money / (stop distance in pips x pip value per lot).

The [position size calculator](https://getfundednow.com/tools/position-size-calculator) does this for any pair or instrument. There is no correct lot size in general - only the lot size that matches a stop and a risk amount.

Step by step

## How to identify it

Before every trade, derive the lot size rather than reusing yesterday's.

1. Decide the maximum you will lose on the trade, in account currency.
2. Place the stop where the trade idea is wrong, and measure the distance in pips or points.
3. Look up the pip or point value per lot for the instrument on your account.
4. Divide the risk by stop distance times value per lot, and round down to the nearest size the account allows.

Worked example

## The concept, walked through

### Sizing one trade, described

An illustrative calculation on a $100,000 simulated account, using the conventions above. It is not a recommendation.

1. 1. Risk The trader risks 0.5% of $100,000: $500.
2. 2. Stop The stop is 25 pips away on a USD-quoted pair, where a standard lot is worth $10 a pip.
3. 3. Size $500 / (25 x $10) = 2 standard lots.

Halve the stop and the same risk allows twice the size; double it and the size halves. The lot size follows from the stop, never the other way round.

Common mistakes

## Where traders go wrong

### Choosing a lot size first

A fixed size with a variable stop makes the risk per trade random.

### Assuming every instrument uses 100,000 units

Gold, indices and other instruments have their own contract sizes.

### Forgetting the pip value changes

On pairs not quoted in the account currency, the value per pip moves with the exchange rate.

Limitations

## What it cannot tell you

No chart concept predicts price. These are the limits worth keeping in view.

- Correct sizing controls how much a losing trade costs; it does not make a strategy profitable.
- Stops can fill beyond their level in fast markets, so the realised loss can exceed the planned risk.

In an evaluation

## Using it on a simulated account

There is no single published maximum lot size at GFN. In practice the daily loss limit binds long before margin does: on a $100,000 account it is $3,000 on Instant or $5,000 on 1 Step and 2 Step. Size from the stop so that a string of losses stays well inside it.

Commission is charged per lot, so larger sizes raise costs in proportion.

- [Is there a maximum lot size?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/margin-and-lot-size) - Trading rule - How leverage, margin and the risk limits bound position size.
- [What is the daily loss limit?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/daily-loss-limit) - Trading rule - The ceiling a position size should be measured against - 3% on Instant and 5% on 1 Step and 2 Step.
- [What does trading cost?](https://getfundednow.com/rules/commission) - Trading rule - The per-lot cost that scales with size.

Questions

## Asked about this concept

On a USD-quoted forex pair, 0.01 lot is 1,000 units and each pip is worth about $0.10. On gold with a 100-ounce contract, 0.01 lot is one ounce, so a $1 price move is worth $1.

Commonly 100 troy ounces of gold for spot XAU/USD, but contract sizes vary by provider. Check the instrument specification on your account.

There is no universal maximum. Each account and instrument sets its own limits, and in practice margin and risk limits cap size well before any formal maximum.

Keep learning

## Related lessons

- [What Is PnL? Profit and Loss in Trading](https://getfundednow.com/learn/what-is-pnl) - Risk and performance - What PnL means, the difference between realised and open profit and loss, and how costs turn a gross result into the number that counts.
- [Intraday Trailing Drawdown, Explained](https://getfundednow.com/learn/intraday-trailing-drawdown) - Risk and performance - A trailing loss limit that moves up with your highest equity during the day, including unrealised profit - and why that makes giving back gains costly.
- [Risk On, Risk Off: Meaning in Markets](https://getfundednow.com/learn/risk-on-risk-off) - Risk and performance - The shorthand for markets moving together as investors seek or shed risk - which assets usually go which way, and why the pattern breaks.
- [Notional Value in Trading, Explained](https://getfundednow.com/learn/notional-value) - Risk and performance - The full market value behind a leveraged position - how it is calculated, how it differs from margin, and what notional volume and notional limits measure.
- [Revenge Trading and Going Full Port](https://getfundednow.com/learn/revenge-trading) - Risk and performance - Trading to win back a loss immediately - often by going full port, all in on one position - why losses trigger it, and the rules that interrupt it.

Sources

## What this page relied on

1. [Foreign exchange market](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_exchange_market) - Wikipedia. Retrieved 23 September 2026. The standard lot of 100,000 units of the base currency and the worked pip example.

Educational content only, not investment advice or a recommendation to trade. Chart concepts describe what price has done; none of them predicts what it will do, and trading any strategy can lose money. Get Funded Now accounts are simulated and trade virtual funds. Last reviewed 22 September 2026.

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