GLOSSARY
Standard lot
The full-size forex contract — 100,000 units, and roughly $10 riding on every pip.
Updated 2026-09-04 · Educational content · No broker owns this site
Quick answer. A standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, the full-size contract in forex. On a pair quoted to four decimals with the US dollar as the quote currency, one pip on a standard lot is worth about $10.
The standard lot is the original unit of retail forex: 100,000 units of the
base currency. Buying one standard lot of EUR/USD
means controlling €100,000. Platforms show it as a volume of 1.00, and the mini
and micro sizes are just fractions of it.
You do not put up €100,000 to hold that position — leverage means the broker asks for a small deposit instead. That is exactly why the size deserves respect: the money at risk is tied to the full 100,000 units, not to the deposit.
What is one pip worth on a standard lot?
The arithmetic is one line: 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10. A 30-pip move is $300. A 100-pip move — an ordinary day on a major pair — is $1,000 in either direction.
| Move on EUR/USD | 1 standard lot | 1 mini lot | 1 micro lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 pips | $100 | $10 | $1 |
| 30 pips | $300 | $30 | $3 |
| 100 pips | $1,000 | $100 | $10 |
Why do beginners rarely trade a standard lot?
Because of what a normal stop loss costs at that size. A sensible 30-pip stop on one standard lot risks $300. If you keep risk to 1% of the account — a common ceiling — the account behind that single trade needs to be around $30,000.
Under $30,000, one standard lot means either an unusually tight stop or a percentage of the account that most trading plans would reject. The size itself is not dangerous; using it on an account too small for it is.
What do people get wrong about it?
The frequent error is reading "1.00" on the platform as "one unit" and clicking it as a default. It is 100,000 units. The second error is assuming the deposit required is the most you can lose — the loss follows the price of all 100,000 units.
Related terms
- Lot — the parent term
- Mini lot · Micro lot
- Pip · Base currency
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need to trade one standard lot?
There is no fixed answer, because it depends on your stop distance and the share of the account you are willing to risk. As an illustration: a 30-pip stop on one standard lot risks $300, which is 1% of a $30,000 account.
Is one standard lot always worth $10 per pip?
No. That figure applies to pairs quoted to four decimals with the US dollar as the quote currency, in a US dollar account. On USD/JPY or a cross, the pip value has to be converted at the current rate.
Is 1.00 on my platform the same as one standard lot?
On most retail platforms, yes — volume 1.00 means one standard lot, 0.10 a mini lot and 0.01 a micro lot. Check the contract size in your platform's specification before your first trade.