Crypto Position Size Calculator: Size Trades by Risk
Size a crypto trade from your account balance, risk per trade and stop-loss distance, fees included, and see units, position value, margin and risk-reward.
How to use this calculator
Enter your account size and the share of it you accept losing on this trade if the stop-loss is hit. The widely cited 1% risk rule caps that share at 1%. Then enter the entry price and the stop-loss price. A stop below the entry means a long position; a stop above it means a short.
The take-profit is optional and only feeds the risk-reward ratio and a direction check. Leverage changes the margin shown, not the risk. The round-trip fee is your entry fee plus your exit fee, as a percentage.
The tiles show the maximum loss in dollars, the position size in units, the position value, the margin required and the risk-reward ratio. Warnings appear if the position is larger than your account, which means it needs leverage to open, or if the stop and target sit on the same side of the entry.
How it’s calculated
Risk $ = Account × Risk % Risk per unit = |Entry − Stop| + Entry × Fee% ÷ 2 + Stop × Fee% ÷ 2 Units = Risk $ ÷ Risk per unit Position value = Units × Entry Margin = Position value ÷ Leverage R:R = |Take-profit − Entry| ÷ |Entry − Stop|
Account is your balance, Risk % the share you accept losing, Entry and Stop the entry and stop-loss prices, Fee% the round-trip fee split evenly between entry and exit, Leverage the multiple used for margin, and Take-profit your target price. The vertical bars mean distance regardless of direction, so the same formulas work for longs and shorts. Because the fee is charged at both prices, a stop filled exactly at your price loses Risk $ including fees.
Worked example
Suppose a $10,000 account risks 1% on a hypothetical BTC long: entry $60,000, stop $57,000, target $66,000, fees 0.1% round trip and no leverage.
- Risk $ = $10,000 × 1% = $100
- Risk per unit = $3,000 + $30 + $28.50 = $3,058.50
- Units = $100 ÷ $3,058.50 = 0.03269577 BTC
- Position value = 0.03269577 × $60,000 = $1,961.75, the same as the margin at 1x
- R:R = $6,000 ÷ $3,000 = 1:2
A 5% stop distance keeps the position small. Now tighten the stop to $59,400, 1% below entry, raise the risk to 2% and move the target to $63,000. The risk per unit falls to $659.70, the size jumps to 0.30316811 BTC and the position is worth $18,190.09, more than the whole account, so the calculator flags that it needs leverage. At 5x the margin is $3,638.02, and R:R becomes 1:5. The loss at the stop is still capped at $200, which is why stop placement, covered in stop-loss placement and risk per trade, drives the size.
Limitations
- Stops are not guaranteed. Once the stop price is reached, a stop order becomes a market order, and the fill can be significantly worse in fast or thin markets, so the real loss can exceed the maximum shown.
- The tool does not calculate liquidation prices or funding payments. With leverage, a liquidation can arrive before your stop; see leverage and liquidation.
- Fees are an estimate. Maker and taker rates differ, and leveraged positions can carry funding or borrowing costs.
- A favorable risk-reward ratio does not make a trade likely to succeed. The risk-reward guide explains how it interacts with win rate.
- The calculator sizes one trade at a time. Several open positions that fall together add up to more risk than any one of them shows.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate position size in crypto?
Divide the dollars you are willing to lose by the loss per coin if the stop is hit. With a $10,000 account and 1% risk, you risk $100. An entry at $60,000 and a stop at $57,000 lose $3,000 per coin, plus $58.50 in fees at 0.1% round trip, so the position is 100 ÷ 3,058.50 = 0.03269577 coins, worth about $1,961.75.
What is the 1% rule in trading?
It is a common guideline that caps the loss on any single trade at about 1% of the account, measured at the stop-loss. It limits how much a losing streak can hurt: ten 1% losses in a row, each sized on the current balance, leave about 90.4% of the account. The rule controls risk per trade; it does not make any trade more likely to win.
Does leverage change my risk per trade?
Not if the stop fills where you set it. Position size comes from the stop distance and your risk budget, and leverage only changes how much margin you post to open it. Leverage brings other dangers, though: a liquidation can hit before your stop, and the CFTC warns that traders in leveraged positions may lose more than their initial investment.
What does the risk-reward ratio tell me?
It compares the distance to your take-profit with the distance to your stop. An entry at $60,000 with a stop at $57,000 and a target at $66,000 gives 1:2, meaning the target is twice as far away as the stop. The ratio says nothing about how likely either price is to be reached, so it is one input, not a verdict on a trade.
Related guides
Sources
- Stop, Stop-Limit, and Trailing Stop Orders – Investor Bulletin — U.S. SEC — Investor.gov
- Stop Orders: Factors to Consider During Volatile Markets — FINRA
- Customer Advisory: Understand the Risks of Virtual Currency Trading — U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
This content is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Examples use hypothetical numbers. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.