Gold and Index Position Size Calculator
Size a CFD using the exact tick size and loss tick value from your broker. Generic gold and index contract assumptions can produce the wrong volume.
Use the actual symbol specification
Loss per lot = absolute entry-to-stop distance ÷ tick size × loss tick value, plus entered commissions and extra price-tick costs. Risk budget is equity × risk percentage. Volume is rounded down to the lot step and capped by the maximum. The minimum is never forced when it would exceed the budget.
The inputs are an illustrative contract, not a claim about a particular XAUUSD or index CFD. A broker may use a different contract size, lot minimum or point value. Copy tick size, tick value and volume limits from that broker’s exact symbol and verify a one-lot hypothetical loss using the platform.
Limits of the estimate
Tick values may change with currency conversion or instrument price. Use a loss tick value in account currency appropriate to the planned exit. This constant-tick estimate does not model nonlinear products, futures expiry adjustments, guaranteed-stop premiums or a margin close-out. Standard stops can slip.
Frequently asked questions
Why not assume that one gold lot is always 100 ounces?
Brokers and instruments can use different contracts. This calculator uses the loss tick value and tick size from your own symbol specification rather than a fixed gold or index contract.
Where do I find the inputs in MT5?
Open the symbol’s Specification from Market Watch. Check tick size, tick value, minimum volume and volume step. Confirm the loss tick value is expressed in your account currency.
Related tools and guides
Educational research, not personal investment advice. CFDs are leveraged products and can cause rapid losses. A calculation, indicator or stop cannot guarantee an account outcome.
Gold and index lot size: two worked tick-value examples
The same displayed price distance can represent very different monetary exposure on different contracts. Work from the exact symbol's tick size and loss tick value, rather than borrowing a lot definition from another instrument. All figures below are invented for arithmetic. They do not describe a current XAUUSD contract, an index provider or any broker's terms.
Both examples use hypothetical USD equity of 10,000 and an entered budget of 0.5%, giving 50 USD. That percentage is a calculation input, not a risk recommendation. Commission is round trip per lot, and the extra ticks represent an additional cost allowance beyond the executable prices entered.
| Item | Illustrative gold CFD | Illustrative index CFD |
|---|---|---|
| Entry / stop | 2400.00 / 2395.00 | 20000.0 / 19975.0 |
| Tick size | 0.01 | 0.5 |
| Loss tick value per lot | 1.00 USD | 0.50 USD |
| Round-trip commission per lot | 7.00 USD | 2.00 USD |
| Additional allowance | 2 ticks | 2 ticks |
| Lot step / minimum / maximum | 0.01 / 0.01 / 100 | 0.1 / 0.1 / 100 |
| Estimated loss per lot, including costs | 509.00 USD | 28.00 USD |
| Rounded position size | 0.09 lots | 1.7 lots |
| Estimated loss at that size | 45.81 USD | 47.60 USD |
Gold example: a 5.00 price distance is 500 ticks here
The one-lot price loss is 5.00 ÷ 0.01 × 1.00 = 500 USD. Commission and the allowance add 7 + 2 × 1 = 9 USD, making 509 USD per lot. The unrounded size is 50 ÷ 509 = 0.098231… lots. At a 0.01 step, round down to 0.09. The next step, 0.10 lot, would represent 50.90 USD and exceed the budget.
Index example: use ticks rather than assuming one dollar per lot
The 25.0 price distance contains 25.0 ÷ 0.5 = 50 ticks. At 0.50 USD per tick per lot, the price loss is 25 USD per lot. Adding 2 USD commission and a 1 USD allowance gives 28 USD per lot. 50 ÷ 28 = 1.785714… lots rounds down to 1.7 at a 0.1 step. The next step, 1.8 lots, would represent 50.40 USD.
Tick, platform point and index point are different units
A tick size is the symbol's minimum price change. A platform point is a separate symbol property. The informal expression “one index point” often means a 1.0 change in the displayed index level; it does not establish the platform point or monetary value.
For example, if a hypothetical symbol has tick size 0.5 and platform point 0.1, a 1.0 price move equals two ticks and ten platform points. With the illustrative index tick value above, that move represents 1 USD per lot before costs. Do not substitute these illustrative values for your actual symbol.
Before copying the inputs from MT5
- Use the account and exact symbol you intend to inspect, including its broker suffix. Open that symbol's Specification from Market Watch.
- Record tick size, volume minimum, volume step and maximum. Confirm that the loss tick value is expressed in the account currency. If the screen provides only a generic tick value, obtain a confirmed loss-side value from the platform or broker documentation rather than assuming it is interchangeable.
- Separate the price-loss estimate from commission and your additional allowance. Reconcile the price component with a platform calculation for the same hypothetical volume and price pair; no live order is needed.
MetaQuotes lists the distinct symbol properties for tick size, loss tick value and permitted volumes. Its Market Watch guide describes where to inspect symbol specifications.
A tick value may change with conversion rates or price. This constant-value estimate does not check margin or make a standard stop a guaranteed exit. A result below the minimum remains zero; a result above the stated maximum is capped. For forex currency-pair arithmetic, use the forex position size calculator with costs.