Crypto Position Size Calculator (Risk 1% Per Trade the Right Way)
The fastest way to blow up a trading account isn’t picking the wrong coin — it’s putting on a position that’s too big for your stop-loss. Professional traders size every trade off a fixed risk per trade, usually 1–2% of the account, and let the math decide how many units to buy. This guide shows how that works, with a calculator that turns your entry, stop, and risk tolerance into an exact position size. It’s an educational tool, not financial advice.
Decide the dollar amount you’ll risk if the stop hits (e.g. 1% of your account). Divide it by the distance from your entry to your stop. That’s your position size — the number of units that keeps your loss capped no matter how large the trade looks.
Position size & risk calculator
Enter your account size, how much you’ll risk per trade, and your entry and stop-loss. You’ll get the exact position size and dollar risk.
Keeping risk to 1–2% per trade means a losing streak can’t wipe you out. Leverage changes the margin you post, not the risk math above — your stop distance is what caps the loss.
Why sizing beats predicting
You can’t control whether a trade wins. You can control exactly how much you lose when it doesn’t. Fixed-fractional sizing — risking the same small percentage every time — means ten losses in a row still leaves most of your account intact, while a single oversized trade can end the game. The entry and stop define your risk; the position size just enforces it.
- Sizing by “gut feel” or all-in
- Moving the stop to avoid a loss
- Risking 10%+ on one idea
- Fixed 1–2% risk every trade
- Stop set before entering
- Position size from the math, not emotion
Frequently asked questions
What risk % per trade is safe?
Most professionals risk 1–2% of the account per trade. Beyond that, a normal losing streak can do serious, hard-to-recover damage.
Does leverage change my risk?
No. Your stop-loss distance defines the dollar loss. Leverage only changes the margin you post to open the trade — the risk math stays the same.
What if my stop-loss is very tight?
A tighter stop lets you size a larger position for the same dollar risk — but tight stops get hit more often by ordinary market noise, so balance the two.
Set your risk per trade first, then let the calculator size the position. It’s the one habit that separates traders who last from those who don’t. This is educational only — not financial advice, and never risk money you can’t afford to lose.