CruxleeCrypto position size calculator
How much to buy (or short) so that hitting your stop-loss costs exactly what you planned to risk. Free, no sign-up, and nothing is stored: the numbers stay in your browser.
Recommended position size
10.00 units ($1,000)
Stop distance
-$5.00
Gain distance
+$10.00
Account balance
$10,000
How the position size is calculated
Three numbers decide it: how much of your account you're willing to lose on this trade, where you'll get out if you're wrong, and where you get in.
- Risk amount = account balance × risk per trade. $10,000 × 1% = $100.
- Stop distance = entry − stop-loss (the other way round for a short). $100 − $95 = $5 per coin.
- Position size = risk amount ÷ stop distance. $100 ÷ $5 = 20 coins, a $2,000 position.
Notice what's missing: your opinion of the trade. The size comes from the stop, not from how confident you feel, which is the whole point.
Worked example: a Bitcoin long
Say your account is $5,000 and you risk 0.5% per trade: $25. You buy BTC at $62,000 with a stop-loss at $60,450, so the stop distance is $1,550. Position size = $25 ÷ $1,550 = 0.0161 BTC, about $1,000 of Bitcoin. If the stop is hit you lose $25 plus fees; if your target is $64,325 (1.5 times the risk away), you make about $37.50.
What about leverage?
Leverage doesn't change the right position size, only the margin you post for it. The $1,000 BTC position above needs $1,000 on spot, $200 at 5x, or $100 at 10x, and it loses the same $25 at the stop either way. What higher leverage does change is the liquidation price: the more leverage, the closer it moves to your entry. Keep it comfortably beyond your stop-loss, or the exchange may close the trade before your stop does.
How much should you risk per trade?
Most traders who last risk between 0.5% and 2% of their account per trade. The reason is losing streaks: even sound rules hit ten losses in a row sooner or later. At 1% risk, ten straight losses cost about 10% of the account. At 5%, the same streak costs about 40%, and you need a 67% gain just to get back to where you were. That's why this calculator starts at 0.5%.
Questions
Does leverage change the position size?
No. The size that makes your stop-loss cost exactly your planned risk is the same on spot and on futures. Leverage only changes the margin you post for it: at 10x, a $1,000 position needs $100 of margin. Make sure the liquidation price sits well beyond your stop, or the exchange can close the trade before your stop does.
What if my stop-loss is very close to the entry?
The position gets large, because a small move then costs the full risk. Check you can actually afford that size (or its margin), and ask whether the stop is beyond real structure or just inside the noise, where ordinary wicks will hit it.
Does it work for shorts?
Yes. For a short, put the stop-loss above the entry and the target below it; the size is calculated the same way, from the distance between entry and stop.
Are fees included?
No. Trading fees and slippage come on top of the loss at the stop, so a trade that hits its stop costs slightly more than the risk shown. On spot, a round trip often costs around 0.1% of the position.