PropLumio

Futures Position Size Calculator for Prop Firm Traders

Find how many futures contracts to trade from your drawdown, risk per trade and stop loss. Pick your prop firm and account size, and the drawdown and contract limit load from the firm's published rules. The calculator also shows how many losses in a row would hit your drawdown or daily loss limit.

By · Rules checked

Evaluation limits of Topstep's main plan, as listed in our review. Edit them if your plan or stage differs.

Risk per trade (% of the drawdown left)
Stop loss

Position size

2 NQ

Risking $400 if your 10-point stop is hit.

Risk budget per trade
$400
Risk per NQ contract
$200
Actual risk
$400
Stop in ticks
40
Same risk in MNQ
20 micros
Full losses in a row to hit the drawdown
5

Funded accounts often start with fewer contracts than the evaluation (a scaling plan), and slippage can make a loss bigger than your stop. Check your firm's current limits in its dashboard.

How to use the position size calculator

  1. Pick your firm and account size. The maximum drawdown, any evaluation daily loss limit and the contract limit load automatically. Change the drawdown to the room you actually have left.
  2. Set your risk per trade as a share of your drawdown or as a dollar amount.
  3. Choose the contract and your stop loss in points or ticks, and add fees if you want them included.
  4. Read your size, the actual dollar risk, the same risk in micros, and how many full losses would end the account.

How to calculate futures position size

Contracts = Risk budget ÷ (Stop in points × Point value + Fees)

Example: your risk budget is $400 and you place a 10-point stop on NQ. One NQ contract risks 10 × $20 = $200, so you can trade 2 NQ. On the micro, MNQ, the same stop risks $20 per contract, so the same budget buys 20 MNQ. The result is always rounded down, so you never risk more than you planned.

Size from your drawdown, not your account size

The classic "risk 1% per trade" rule is written for your own money. At a prop firm, the number that matters is the drawdown: on a 50K account with a $2,000 drawdown, risking 1% of $50,000 ($500) uses 25% of everything you can lose. Four losses in a row end the account.

Risk per tradeOn a $2,000 drawdownFull losses in a row to hit it
5% of drawdown$10020
10% of drawdown$20010
20% of drawdown$4005
25% of drawdown$5004
50% of drawdown$1,0002

Remember that a trailing drawdown can also tighten when a winning trade comes back, so your real room may be smaller than the number in your dashboard suggests. Read how trailing drawdown works.

How many contracts to risk $250?

A common question, and the answer depends on your stop. With $250 of risk: a 5-point ES stop risks $250 per contract, so 1 ES or 10 MES; a $2.50 stop on gold risks $250 per GC, so 1 GC or 10 MGC; a 10-point NQ stop risks $200, so 1 NQ or 12 MNQ. Plug your own stop into the calculator above.

Prop firm contract limits on a 50K account

Your position can never exceed your firm's contract limit. These are the evaluation limits on each firm's main 50K plan, as checked on our reviews:

FirmMax drawdownMax contracts
Alpha Futures$2,0005 minis
Apex Trader Funding$2,0006 minis
Blue Guardian Futures$2,0004 minis
E8 Futures$2,0004 minis
FTMO Futures$2,0005 minis
FundedNext Futures$1,5003 minis
FuturesElite$2,0004 minis
Goat Funded Futures$2,0004 minis
My Funded Futures$2,0005 minis
Take Profit Trader$2,0006 minis
Top One Futures$2,0003 minis
Topstep$2,0005 minis
TradeDay$2,0005 minis
Tradeify$2,0004 minis

Funded accounts often start lower and scale up with profit. A 50K Topstep Express Funded Account starts at 2 lots and reaches 5 at $2,000 of profit; a 50K Apex Performance Account starts at 2 contracts and reaches 4 at $3,000; a 50K FTMO Futures Sim-Funded Account starts at 2 contracts and reaches 5 at $3,000. Always check the limit for the stage you are trading.

Related tools

Check what a move is worth with our futures calculator, see whether your days meet your firm's rule with the consistency rule calculator, or compare drawdowns and limits in our prop firm comparison.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate position size for futures?+

Divide the dollars you are willing to risk by the risk of one contract: contracts = risk budget ÷ (stop in points × point value + fees). With $400 of risk and a 10-point stop on NQ ($200 per contract), you can trade 2 NQ, or 20 MNQ.

How many contracts can I trade to risk $250?+

It depends on the contract and your stop. With a 5-point stop, one ES risks $250 (5 × $50), so 1 ES or 10 MES. With a $2.50 stop on gold, one GC risks $250 (2.5 × $100), so 1 GC or 10 MGC. With a 10-point stop on NQ ($200 per contract), $250 allows 1 NQ or 12 MNQ.

How much should I risk per trade at a prop firm?+

Size from your drawdown, not the account size. Risking 20% of a $2,000 drawdown ($400) means five full losses in a row end the account; risking 10% gives you ten. Many traders also keep each trade well inside any daily loss limit.

Do micros count toward the contract limit at prop firms?+

Yes. Most futures prop firms count 10 micros as one mini, so a 5-mini limit allows 50 micros. Topstep, Apex Trader Funding, Take Profit Trader and FTMO Futures all use 10 to 1. Check your firm's rules, because funded accounts often start with a lower limit.

Is this a Topstep position size calculator?+

It works for Topstep and the other futures prop firms we review: pick Topstep and your account size, and the drawdown and contract limit load from Topstep's published rules. Remember that a Topstep Express Funded Account starts at fewer contracts under its Scaling Plan.

Sources

This calculator is a free educational tool, not financial advice. It follows each firm's published rules as checked on the date above; firms change their rules, and your firm's dashboard always decides. Check the current terms before you request a payout or buy an evaluation.