Convert lots into units, with the standard, mini and micro breakdown.
A lot is a fixed unit of trade size, and one standard lot of a currency pair is 100,000 units of the base currency. This converter turns a size in lots into units for 10 forex pairs, gold, silver and bitcoin, and shows the same number of units as standard, mini and micro forex lots.
Units = lots × contract size
The breakdown then divides the units by 100,000 for standard lots, 10,000 for mini lots and 1,000 for micro lots. Those rows always use forex lot sizes, so for gold, silver and bitcoin read the units figure. To go from units back to lots, divide the units by the contract size. Contract sizes can differ between platforms, so check your platform's contract specification.
You plan to trade 0.35 lots of EUR/USD. Units = 0.35 × 100,000 = 35,000, so you are buying or selling 35,000 euros. The breakdown shows 35,000 ÷ 100,000 = 0.3500 standard lots, 35,000 ÷ 10,000 = 3.500 mini lots and 35,000 ÷ 1,000 = 35.00 micro lots. For gold, 0.5 lots of XAU/USD is 0.5 × 100 = 50 ounces.
Knowing your units shows your real exposure. On 35,000 units of EUR/USD, each pip of 0.0001 is worth 35,000 × 0.0001 = 3.50 US dollars. Traders check this before placing an order, especially when switching between currency pairs and metals, where the same lot size means very different amounts.
Read more about lot sizes and order types, position sizing and trading gold. To pick a lot size from your risk and stop-loss, use the position size calculator.
A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, a mini lot is 10,000 and a micro lot is 1,000. For gold, one lot is usually 100 ounces, and this converter uses that figure for XAU/USD.
0.01 lot is a micro lot: 1,000 units of the base currency on a forex pair. On EUR/USD each pip is then worth 0.10 US dollars. On gold, 0.01 lot is usually 1 ounce.
The converter uses 100 ounces per lot for XAU/USD, so 1 lot is 100 ounces and 0.1 lot is 10 ounces. Silver uses 5,000 ounces per lot and bitcoin 1 coin. Contract sizes vary between platforms, so check yours before you trade.
Not quite. Lot size is the unit you enter on your trading platform. Position size is the total amount you trade, which you can express in lots or in units. For example, a 0.35 lot position on EUR/USD is 35,000 units.
Start from risk, not from the lot. Decide how much of your balance to risk, set your stop-loss in pips, then work out the lot size that loses only that amount if the stop is hit. The position size calculator does this for you.