In forex and CFD trading, size is counted in lots. One standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency: buying 1 lot of EUR/USD buys €100,000. Brokers allow fractions, so most retail size is written as 0.10, 0.25 or 1.5 lots.

Lot sizes

Name Lots Units Value of 1 pip on EUR/USD
Standard 1.00 100,000 $10.00
Mini 0.10 10,000 $1.00
Micro 0.01 1,000 $0.10
Nano 0.001 100 $0.01

The pip value in dollars is fixed for pairs quoted in dollars (EUR/USD, GBP/USD). For other pairs it changes with the exchange rate: on USD/JPY a pip on one lot is ¥1,000, about $6.67 at 150.00.

Other instruments

  • Gold (XAUUSD): at most brokers one lot is 100 ounces, so a $1 move is $100 per lot. Check your broker's contract specification.
  • Indices and oil CFDs: lot sizes vary widely by broker, from 1 to 100 units per lot.
  • Futures use contracts, not lots, each with a fixed value per point.

Example

0.30 lots of GBP/USD, long at 1.2700, closed at 1.2745: 45 pips × $10 × 0.30 = $135 gross.

In SetupBook

Enter the size in lots and SetupBook multiplies it by the symbol's contract value: 100,000 for six-letter forex pairs and 100 for XAUUSD by default, both editable in Settings. MetaTrader imports read the volume column in lots and apply the same multiplier, so a 0.30-lot trade imports as 0.30, not as 30,000.