Shares to Buy
Position Value
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Dollar Risk
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% of Account
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When Should You Use This?
Use this before every trade. The 1% rule means never risking more than 1% of your account on a single trade. This calculator converts that rule into the exact number of shares to buy, based on your stop-loss distance.
How It Works
1
Enter Account & Risk
Input your total account size and how much you want to risk (0.5% = conservative, 1% = standard, 2% = aggressive).
2
Set Entry & Stop
Enter your planned entry price and stop-loss price. The difference is your risk per share.
3
Buy Exact Shares
The calculator tells you exactly how many shares to buy so that if your stop is hit, you lose exactly your target risk amount.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 1% rule ensures no single trade can significantly damage your account. Even 10 consecutive losses only cost 10%. This gives you staying power through losing streaks.
1% risk means you could LOSE 1% if stopped out. The position size could be much larger. For example, with a 5% stop, 1% risk means a 20% position.
If the calculated position exceeds 20-25% of your account, consider a tighter stop or lower risk percentage. Concentration risk is real even with proper stop-losses.
Not necessarily. New traders should use 0.5%. Experienced traders with proven edges might use 1-2%. Never exceed 2% per trade. Reduce during drawdowns.
This calculator focuses specifically on the percentage risk model and shows the position as a percentage of your account. The general Position Size Calculator uses similar math but with different emphasis.