What is Lot?
A standardized position size in forex. 1 standard lot = 100,000 units of the base currency. Mini = 10,000. Micro = 1,000. Cent = 100.
A lot is a standardized contract size in forex. 1 standard lot equals 100,000 units of the base currency. For EURUSD, 1 lot = €100,000 of currency exposure. For GBPJPY, 1 lot = £100,000 of exposure.
Smaller lot sizes let retail traders take meaningful positions without massive capital: 1 mini lot = 10,000 units = 0.1 standard lot. 1 micro lot = 1,000 units = 0.01 standard lot. 1 cent lot (Cent accounts) = 100 units = 0.001 standard lot — used mostly for testing and very small starting capital.
Lot size determines pip value: on EURUSD, 1 standard lot = $10/pip, 1 mini = $1/pip, 1 micro = $0.10/pip. Position sizing for risk management is: lot = (account × risk%) / (stop-loss-pips × pip-value-per-lot).
