GLOSSARY
Mini lot
A tenth of a standard lot — the size where each pip is worth about one dollar.
Updated 2026-09-04 · Educational content · No broker owns this site
Quick answer. A mini lot is 10,000 units of the base currency, one tenth of a standard lot. On a pair quoted to four decimals against the US dollar, one pip on a mini lot is worth about $1.
A mini lot is 10,000 units of the base currency —
one tenth of a standard lot. Platforms show it as a
volume of 0.10.
It is the size most beginner examples use, including ours, for one reason: the arithmetic is transparent. One pip is one dollar, so a 20-pip stop is a $20 loss and you can check the maths in your head instead of trusting a calculator.
What is one pip worth on a mini lot?
0.0001 × 10,000 = $1.00. Buy EUR/USD at 1.1000 with one mini lot, sell at 1.1025, and the 25-pip gain is $25 before the spread and any commission. The same 25 pips against you is $25 gone.
When does a mini lot make sense?
Work backwards from the loss you accept, not forwards from the size. If you risk 1% of a $2,000 account, that is $20 per trade — which at $1 per pip buys you a 20-pip stop on one mini lot. If your idea needs a 60-pip stop, one mini lot would risk $60, so the honest answer is to drop to micro lots, not to shorten the stop.
| Stop distance | Risk on 1 mini lot | Risk on 0.3 mini lots |
|---|---|---|
| 20 pips | $20 | $6 |
| 40 pips | $40 | $12 |
| 60 pips | $60 | $18 |
What do beginners get wrong?
Two things. First, reading 0.10 as "a tenth of something small" — it is 10,000
units of currency, and on a rough day a 100-pip move is $100. Second, sizing every trade at
one mini lot regardless of where the stop sits, which makes the loss on a wide-stop trade
several times the loss on a tight-stop one without ever deciding to take more risk.
Related terms
- Lot · Standard lot · Micro lot
- Pip · Stop loss
Frequently asked questions
Is 0.10 lots the same as a mini lot?
Yes. On most retail platforms a volume of 0.10 means one mini lot, or 10,000 units of the base currency.
Is one pip on a mini lot always $1?
Only on pairs quoted to four decimals with the US dollar as the quote currency, held in a US dollar account. On USD/JPY or a cross pair the value must be converted at the current exchange rate.
Should a beginner start with mini lots or micro lots?
That depends on the account and the stop distance rather than on experience. Size the position so the distance to your stop costs the amount you decided to risk; on a small account that usually means micro lots.