Stop Loss Calculator
Calculate a stop-loss price from a percentage, a fixed price distance or an ATR multiple, with the position size it implies.
A stop-loss is a price at which a position is closed to limit the loss. Deciding where to put stop loss orders is a strategy question; this stop loss calculator handles the arithmetic that follows, turning that decision into a specific stop-loss price.
Formula: stop = entry ∓ distance, where distance = % of entry, a set amount, or ATR × multiple
Your figures
Used with the percentage method.
Used with the fixed-distance method.
Average True Range, in price terms. Used with the ATR method.
Commonly between 1.5 and 3.
Optional — adds position sizing to the result.
Optional — used with the balance above.
Results
Stop-loss price
190.0000
below an entry of 200.0000
- Distance from entry
- 10.0000
- Distance as a percentage
- 5.00%
What this means
Placing the stop 10.0000 below the entry puts it at 190.0000, a 5.00% move. A fixed stop distance does not adjust to changing volatility.
- Stop placement is a risk-control convention. It does not predict where price will go.
Stop-loss price: 190.0000
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Continue with these figures
About the Stop Loss calculation
Three common placement methods are supported: a stop loss percentage of the entry price, a fixed price distance, and a multiple of the Average True Range. Each produces a stop price and the distance it implies.
Adding an account balance and risk percentage extends this stop loss price calculator into a position size, since the stop distance is what determines how large a position a given risk budget allows.
Stop Loss formula
percentage method : distance = entry × (percent ÷ 100)
fixed distance : distance = the price distance entered
ATR method : distance = ATR × multiple
long : stop = entry − distance
short : stop = entry + distance
with an account balance and risk %:
units = (balance × risk % ÷ 100) ÷ distance- ATR
- Average True Range — the average size of a period's range over a lookback window, in price terms.
- multiple
- How many ATRs the stop sits from entry. Commonly between 1.5 and 3.
The percentage and fixed-distance methods are static: they place the stop the same relative or absolute distance away regardless of market conditions.
Used as an ATR stop loss calculator, the third method scales with recent realised volatility. When ranges widen, the stop widens with them; when the market quietens, it tightens. The reasoning is that a stop should sit outside the range of ordinary movement, and what counts as ordinary changes.
None of the three methods predicts anything. They are conventions for placing a stop consistently, so that position size can be derived from it rather than chosen arbitrarily.
Stop Loss: a worked example
A long entry at 200, with a stop placed 2 ATRs away where the ATR is 4.50, on a $20,000 account risking 1%.
- Distance4.50 × 2 = 9.00
- Stop price200 − 9.00 = 191.00
- Distance as a percentage9.00 ÷ 200 = 4.50%
- Risk amount20,000 × 1% = $200
- Position size200 ÷ 9.00 = 22.22 units
The stop sits at 191.00, 4.5% below the entry. At 22 units, reaching that stop costs roughly the $200 budgeted.
How to use the Stop Loss calculator
- Enter the entry price and select long or short. The stop goes below entry for a long and above it for a short.
- Choose a placement method. Percentage and fixed distance are static; ATR scales with volatility.
- Fill in the field for the method you chose — the others can be left blank.
- Optionally add an account balance and risk percentage to get the position size the stop implies.
Limitations of the Stop Loss calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- A stop-loss order is not guaranteed to fill at its price. Gaps and fast markets can fill it worse, and a guaranteed stop usually carries an extra charge.
- ATR measures past ranges. It describes recent volatility rather than forecasting future volatility.
- The calculator applies no view on whether a stop level is well placed relative to structure, support or resistance.
- Excludes spread. On a long position the stop triggers on the bid, which is below the price you watch.
Frequently asked questions about Stop Loss
Where should I put a stop loss — percentage, fixed distance or ATR?
This calculator does not recommend one. Percentage stops are simple and consistent across instruments; ATR stops adapt to volatility so the same multiple means something similar in quiet and active markets; fixed distances suit traders working from chart levels.
What ATR multiple is typical?
Published trading systems commonly use between 1.5 and 3 ATRs. A larger multiple survives more noise but forces a smaller position for the same risk budget.
Why does a tighter stop mean a bigger position?
Because position size is the risk budget divided by the per-unit risk. Halving the distance halves the loss per unit, so twice as many units lose the same total amount.
Can the stop end up below zero?
The calculator rejects any combination that would put the stop at or below zero — for example a 100% stop distance on a long position — rather than returning an impossible price.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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