Results
| Daily loss floor (do not go below) | – |
| Daily loss allowance | – |
| Current equity | – |
| Maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Room to maximum drawdown floor | – |
| Risk per trade | – |
| Full-stop trades that fit before the floor | – |
Everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The same 5% measured three ways
In our example the day starts with a closed balance of $25,600 and a small open profit of +$150, so start-of-day equity is $25,750. The table applies a 5% daily limit to that day. “Room” is the start-of-day equity minus the floor, before any new trade.
| Method | Reference | Allowance | Floor today | Room |
|---|
| 1. % of the initial balance, from start-of-day balance | $25,600 | $1,250 | $24,350 | $1,400 |
| 2. % of the start-of-day balance | $25,600 | $1,280 | $24,320 | $1,430 |
| 3. % of the start-of-day equity | $25,750 | $1,287.50 | $24,462.50 | $1,287.50 |
These figures only show the arithmetic. They are not a recommendation of any limit, position size or number of trades; your account’s own rules decide which line applies.
What changes on a $25k account
$25k sits between the small and the large accounts: at 5% the allowance is $1,250, which is more than one ordinary losing trade but fewer trades than many people assume. Lot rounding is where it shows. Rounding a gold position up from 0.25 to 0.30 lot adds $5 of risk for every $1 of price movement, if one lot is 100 ounces; on a $40 day that is $200, or 16% of the allowance.
One bad day on gold
Take a fresh day on which balance and equity both start at $25,000 and nothing is open, so all three methods give the same $1,250 allowance. You buy 0.3 lot of XAUUSD and gold falls $30 before you close. On many accounts one lot of gold is 100 ounces — check your contract specification — so each $1 move is worth $30 on 0.3 lot and the loss is $900. That is 72% of the day’s allowance, leaving $350. A second trade of the same size that ends the same way would cost another $900 and go $550 past the floor.
A stop is a request, not a promise: on news or in a fast market the fill can be several dollars away, so the real loss can be larger than planned.
Related
Change any field in the calculator above, or open the full daily loss calculator. If you want the limit held on your MetaTrader 5 account automatically, see the free MT5 Daily Loss Lock.
Questions
How much is 5% of a $25k account per day?
$1,250 if the percentage is taken from the initial balance. From a start-of-day value it is 5% of that value: $1,280 from a $25,600 balance or $1,287.50 from $25,750 of equity in our example.
Why does the equity method leave exactly the allowance as room?
Because the floor is measured from the same equity the day starts with, so at the start of the day the room equals the allowance. The balance methods also count the +$150 open profit as extra room above their floor.
How do commission and swap fit in?
They reduce equity like any other loss and count against the day they are charged. Enter them under closed P&L in the calculator.
Not financial advice. This calculator is a planning aid; your account’s own rules and figures always take precedence.
