Forex Lot Sizes Explained in 2026: How to Calculate Position Size
BY TIOmarkets
|March 10, 2026Understanding forex lot sizes is one of the most practical skills a trader can develop. Every time you place a trade, you choose a lot size.
That choice determines how much each pip movement is worth, how much margin you need to hold the position, and how much commission you pay per trade.
This guide explains how forex lot sizes work, how to calculate position size for any trade, and how lot sizes apply to trading at TIOmarkets.
What Is a Lot in Forex Trading?
In forex trading, a lot is a standardised unit of measurement for trade volume. Rather than specifying how many units of a currency you want to trade, you express your trade size in lots. The lot size determines the number of currency units you are buying or selling.
For most forex pairs, the standard contract size is 100,000 units of the base currency per lot. The TIOmarkets contract specifications confirm a contract size of 100,000 for all forex pairs listed, with contract type Spot.
The base currency is always the first currency in the pair. For EURUSD, the base currency is the Euro, so one standard lot represents EUR 100,000. For GBPUSD, the base currency is the British Pound, so one standard lot represents GBP 100,000. For USDJPY, the base currency is the US Dollar, so one standard lot represents USD 100,000.
Lot Size Types: Standard, Mini, Micro and Nano
Forex lot sizes are commonly grouped into four categories based on how many units of the base currency they represent.
Standard lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency. This is the full contract size for a 1.0 lot trade. A standard lot on EURUSD represents EUR 100,000.
Mini lot equals 10,000 units of the base currency. This corresponds to a 0.10 lot trade. A mini lot on EURUSD represents EUR 10,000.
Micro lot equals 1,000 units of the base currency. This corresponds to a 0.01 lot trade. A micro lot on EURUSD represents EUR 1,000. The minimum trade volume on the Standard, Raw, and VIP Black accounts at TIOmarkets is 0.01 lots, which is one micro lot.
Nano lot is a smaller unit still, typically describing trade sizes in the range of 100 units of the base currency or below. At TIOmarkets, the Nano account supports a minimum trade volume of 0.001 lots, making very small position sizes possible. This is the smallest minimum lot size available across all TIOmarkets account types.
These categories are widely used descriptors in the industry. On the trading platform, you will specify your trade size as a decimal lot figure: 1.0, 0.5, 0.10, 0.01, 0.001, and so on.
Why Lot Size Matters
Lot size directly affects three things: pip value, margin requirement, and commission.
Pip Value
A pip is the smallest standard price movement in a forex pair. For most pairs quoted to four decimal places (such as EURUSD), one pip is a movement of 0.0001. For pairs quoted to two decimal places (such as USDJPY), one pip is a movement of 0.01.
The pip value of a trade depends on the lot size. A larger lot size means each pip movement is worth more. A smaller lot size means each pip movement is worth less.
For a USD-denominated account trading EURUSD, pip value can be calculated as follows. One pip on EURUSD is 0.0001. Multiply that by the contract size: 0.0001 multiplied by 100,000 gives 10. So for a 1.0 standard lot on EURUSD, each pip movement is worth USD 10. For a 0.10 lot trade, each pip is worth USD 1. For a 0.01 lot trade, each pip is worth USD 0.10.
This relationship is consistent across most major pairs where the quote currency is USD. For pairs where the quote currency is not USD, the pip value will need to be converted into your account base currency at the prevailing exchange rate.
Margin Requirement
Margin is the amount of funds required to open and hold a position. It is calculated as a percentage of the full notional value of the trade.
For most major and minor forex pairs at TIOmarkets, the margin requirement is 1%, confirmed from the TIOmarkets contract specifications. At 1% margin, the minimum margin required to hold a 1.0 standard lot EURUSD position is approximately 1% of the notional value, which at a rate of 1.00 EURUSD would be around USD 1,000. At 0.10 lots the required margin would be approximately USD 100, and at 0.01 lots approximately USD 10. In practice, the exact margin required will vary with the exchange rate and your account base currency.
Some pairs carry higher margin requirements. Pairs involving the Swiss Franc, including USDCHF, AUDCHF, CADCHF, CHFJPY, EURCHF, GBPCHF, and NZDCHF, carry a 5% margin requirement, confirmed from the TIOmarkets contract specifications. USDCNH and USDHKD carry a 10% margin requirement, also confirmed from the TIOmarkets contract specifications.
Margin requirements are subject to change depending on market conditions and applicable regulatory requirements.
Commission
On accounts that charge commission, the Raw account and the Nano account both at USD 6 per round turn lot, the commission you pay scales directly with the lot size you trade.
At USD 6 per round turn lot, a 1.0 lot trade costs USD 6 in commission. A 0.10 lot trade costs USD 0.60. A 0.01 lot trade costs USD 0.06. The full commission is charged when you open the position and covers both the opening and closing of the trade.
On Standard and VIP Black accounts, no commission is charged. Trading costs on these accounts are reflected in the spread instead.
Lot Sizes by Account Type at TIOmarkets
TIOmarkets offers four live account types, each with different minimum lot size requirements.
The Nano account supports a minimum trade volume of 0.001 lots. This account is available on MT5 only and accepts USD as the base currency. The minimum deposit is USD 20.
The Standard account has a minimum trade volume of 0.01 lots. It is available on MT4 and MT5, supports multiple base currencies, and carries a minimum deposit of USD 20 or currency equivalent. No commission is charged on this account.
The Raw account also has a minimum trade volume of 0.01 lots. It is available on MT4 and MT5 and carries a minimum deposit of USD 250 or currency equivalent. Commission is USD 6 per round turn lot.
The VIP Black account has a minimum trade volume of 0.01 lots. It is available on MT4 and MT5 and carries a minimum deposit of USD 1,000 or currency equivalent. No commission is charged on this account.
All four accounts share the same maximum of 20 lots per trade and a maximum of 200 open and pending orders per client. Hedging is supported on all accounts.
A Standard account is automatically created when you register, confirmed from the TIOmarkets contract specifications. Raw and VIP Black accounts can be opened separately at any time from within the client area.
How to Calculate Position Size
Position sizing is the process of deciding how many lots to trade based on your account size, the distance of your stop loss, and the amount of capital you are willing to risk on a trade.
A commonly used approach works as follows. First, decide how much of your account balance you are willing to risk on the trade, expressed as a fixed amount. For example, if your account balance is USD 1,000 and you are willing to risk USD 20 on a trade, your risk amount is USD 20.
Second, determine your stop loss in pips. If you are placing a stop loss 20 pips from your entry on EURUSD, your stop loss distance is 20 pips.
Third, calculate the pip value per lot for the pair you are trading. For EURUSD with a USD-denominated account, this is USD 10 per standard lot (1.0 lot), USD 1 per mini lot (0.10 lot), and USD 0.10 per micro lot (0.01 lot).
Fourth, calculate your lot size using the formula: lot size equals risk amount divided by (stop loss in pips multiplied by pip value per lot).
Using the example above: USD 20 divided by (20 pips multiplied by USD 10 per lot) equals 0.10 lots. Trading 0.10 lots with a 20-pip stop loss risks USD 20 if the stop is hit.
This calculation gives you a position size tied to a specific risk amount. Adjusting your stop loss distance or your risk amount will change the resulting lot size.
Lot Sizes and Leverage
Leverage allows you to control a position larger than the margin you commit. At 1% margin, the minimum required margin on a 1.0 standard lot EURUSD position is approximately 1% of the notional value of the trade. Leverage amplifies both potential gains and potential losses in proportion to the position size you hold.
Choosing a smaller lot size reduces the notional exposure and the rate at which adverse price movements affect your account. Orders are executed at the best available market price, which may result in positive or negative slippage.
TIOmarkets offers leverage up to unlimited on the Standard account, with dynamic margin scaling based on account equity. Leverage restrictions apply during high-impact news events and over weekends on the unlimited leverage feature. EA trading is not compatible with unlimited leverage. Raw, VIP Black, and Nano accounts offer leverage up to 1:500 on request. All leverage figures are subject to change depending on market conditions and applicable regulatory requirements.
Lot Sizes for Other Instruments
While forex lot sizes are expressed in units of the base currency, lot sizes for other asset classes are defined differently.
For gold (XAUUSD), one standard lot equals 100 troy ounces. A mini lot (0.10) equals 10 ounces, and a micro lot (0.01) equals 1 ounce.
For crude oil (USOIL and UKOIL), one standard lot equals 1,000 barrels. The minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots, representing 10 barrels.
For stock CFDs such as TSLA and AAPL, one standard lot equals 100 shares and the minimum trade volume is 0.01 lots, which represents 1 share.
For cryptocurrency CFDs, contract sizes vary by instrument. Check the contract specifications inside the MT4 or MT5 platform, or refer to the individual instrument pages, for the exact lot size and minimum volume applicable to each crypto CFD.
Trading Forex Lot Sizes at TIOmarkets
TIOmarkets operates the tiomarkets.com domain under a MISA-regulated entity based in the Seychelles. Forex CFDs are available on MT4 and MT5 across all four account types. The Nano account supports a minimum lot size of 0.001, while Standard, Raw, and VIP Black accounts support a minimum of 0.01 lots. Hedging is available on all accounts. An Islamic (swap-free) account is available for traders who require it; contact TIOmarkets to confirm eligibility and supported instruments. Copy trading is also available.
FAQ
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TIOmarkets offers an exclusively execution-only service. The views expressed are for information purposes only. None of the content provided constitutes any form of investment advice. The comments are made available purely for educational and marketing purposes and do NOT constitute advice or investment recommendation (and should not be considered as such) and do not in any way constitute an invitation to acquire any financial instrument or product. TIOmarkets and its affiliates and consultants are not liable for any damages that may be caused by individual comments or statements by TIOmarkets analysis and assumes no liability with respect to the completeness and correctness of the content presented. The investor is solely responsible for the risk of his/her investment decisions. The analyses and comments presented do not include any consideration of your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances, or needs. The content has not been prepared in accordance with any legal requirements for financial analysis and must, therefore, be viewed by the reader as marketing information. TIOmarkets prohibits duplication or publication without explicit approval.
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