Futures position size calculator.And the rest of the setup, in the same keystrokes.
Most position size calculators hand you a contract count and stop there. This one works out your opening range, 1R in points, your target at the multiple you trade, what the trade risks in money, and the contracts — capped at your limit. For MES and ES, free, without an account, and the same calculation Journare runs while you set up.
Work out your position size
Change any field and the answer updates while you type.
In the app this runs while you set up, already knowing your account size, risk percentage and contract cap — so you type none of it twice.
Start freeHow the calculation works
Three numbers decide it: what you are willing to lose, how far away your stop is, and what a point is worth on the contract you trade.
contracts = (account size × risk %) ÷ (stop distance × point value)
Rounded down. Rounding up would mean risking more than the percentage you chose, which defeats the point of choosing one.
Worked example
A $50,000 account, 0.5% risk per trade, entry at 5300, stop at 5294, trading MES.
- Money at risk0.5% × $50,000 = $250
- Stop distance5300 − 5294 = 6 points
- Risk of one contract6 × $5 = $30
- Contracts$250 ÷ $30 = 8.33 → 8
- Actually at risk8 × $30 = $240
Those are the values the calculator above starts with, so you can check every step of it against the panel.
What a point is worth
The calculator above uses $5 for a micro and $50 for a mini, which are the values for MES and ES. Two other common contracts are listed for comparison — their point values are different, so do not reuse a number from one contract on another.
| Contract | Symbol | One point | Smallest move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro E-mini S&P 500 | MES | $5 | 0.25 pt = $1.25 |
| E-mini S&P 500 | ES | $50 | 0.25 pt = $12.50 |
| Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 | MNQ | $2 | 0.25 pt = $0.50 |
| E-mini Nasdaq-100 | NQ | $20 | 0.25 pt = $5.00 |
Size follows your risk, not your target
A stop you place on the chart is a decision. A target is a hope. If the size follows the hope, the loss becomes whatever is left over — and that is the number that ends accounts.
Why the target is set first too
The calculator fills your target at the multiple you trade, from your entry and your 1R. Deciding it now, while nothing is at stake, is the whole point: once you are in and the price is moving, the level you would accept starts drifting toward whatever the market is doing.
Sizing from the stop
You decide the loss first. Every trade risks the same share of the account, so a run of losers costs a predictable amount and a wider stop simply means fewer contracts.
Questions about position sizing
How do I calculate position size for futures?
Divide the money you are willing to risk by the risk of one contract. The risk of one contract is your stop distance in points multiplied by the point value. So: contracts = (account size × risk %) ÷ (stop distance × point value). Round down, never up — rounding up means risking more than you decided to.
What is one point worth on MES and ES?
One point on the Micro E-mini S&P 500 (MES) is $5. One point on the full E-mini S&P 500 (ES) is $50, exactly ten times as much. The smallest move is a quarter point, which is $1.25 on MES and $12.50 on ES.
Why does position size come from my stop and not from my target?
Because your stop is the part you can decide in advance. What a trade will make is unknown when you size it; what it will cost if you are wrong is not. Sizing from the target means the number changes with your optimism, and your loss becomes whatever is left over. Sizing from the stop fixes your loss first and lets the profit be whatever the market gives.
How much should I risk per trade?
That is your decision and it depends on your account and your rules. What the calculator can tell you is what a given percentage actually costs in contracts and money, so you are choosing with the number in front of you. Traders on a prop firm evaluation generally keep it low, because a daily loss limit means several losers in a row have to still fit inside one session.
Does the calculator work for a prop firm account?
Yes, and in Journare it also respects the contract cap on that account: when your risk percentage would allow more contracts than the account permits, it sizes down to the cap and tells you it did. On this page there is no cap, because there is no account — it is the same calculation without the rules attached.
Does it calculate my target as well as my position size?
Yes. Enter the multiple you trade — 2R, for example — and it works out the target price from your entry and your 1R distance, long or short. It also shows the opening range from the range high and low, and what the trade returns in money if the target hits. That is the difference from a plain contract calculator: you get the setup, not one number.
Is the calculator free?
Yes, and no account is needed to use it here. It is the same calculation the app runs while you set up a trade; the difference there is that it already knows your account size, your risk percentage and your contract cap, so you do not type any of it twice.
Next
- Track a prop firm account's rules — trailing drawdown, daily loss limit and consistency on one scale.
- See what the trading journal keeps — the record behind the number this calculator gives you.
The calculator is the easy half.
The number above is only worth something if you can see, a few hundred trades later, whether you kept to it. That is what the journal is for.