Position size, dollar risk and R-multiple targets for XAU/USD — before you click buy or sell.
| Target | Price | Profit | % of account |
|---|
To calculate your XAUUSD lot size, divide the dollars you're willing to risk by your stop distance multiplied by the contract size. At most brokers one standard lot of gold is 100 troy ounces, so every $1 move in XAU/USD is worth $100 per standard lot, $10 per mini lot (0.10) and $1 per micro lot (0.01).
Lot size = (Account × Risk %) ÷ (|Entry − Stop| × Contract size)
You have a $10,000 account and risk 1% ($100). You buy gold at 4,012.50 with a stop at 3,998.00 — a $14.50 stop. One standard lot would risk $14.50 × 100 = $1,450, so the right size is $100 ÷ $1,450 = 0.069 lots. Rounded down to the 0.01 lot step, that's 0.06 lots, risking $87. At 1:100 leverage the margin needed is about $241, and a 2R target sits at 4,041.50.
| Lot size | Ounces | Per $1 move | Per pip ($0.10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 (standard) | 100 oz | $100 | $10 |
| 0.10 (mini) | 10 oz | $10 | $1 |
| 0.01 (micro) | 1 oz | $1 | $0.10 |
Gold doesn't follow forex pip rules. Most brokers call $0.10 a "pip" on XAU/USD, but some use $0.01, and a few use different contract sizes. That's why the calculator lets you set the contract size and pip definition — check your broker's contract specifications once and the numbers will match your platform exactly. The calculator rounds your lot size down so you never risk more than you planned. It does not include spread, commission or swap.
At most brokers, 1 standard lot of XAUUSD is 100 troy ounces of gold. With gold at $4,000, that's about $400,000 of exposure, and each $1 move in price is a $100 profit or loss.
Most brokers define one XAUUSD pip as $0.10, which is worth $10 per standard lot, $1 per mini lot and $0.10 per micro lot. Some brokers use $0.01 as the pip, so check your platform's specifications.
Risking 1% ($10) with a $5 stop, the calculation is $10 ÷ ($5 × 100) = 0.02 lots. Wider stops need smaller sizes — the calculator does the math for any account and stop.
0.01 lot is 1 ounce. Margin is price × ounces ÷ leverage, so at $4,000 gold and 1:100 leverage, 0.01 lot needs about $40 of margin.
No. It sizes the position from your entry and stop. Add your broker's spread to the stop distance if you want to include it.
See all XAUUSD trading tools or the XAUUSD signals track record.
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