Daily loss limit calculator

Pick a daily stop you can keep: three common methods side by side, with the strictest highlighted. No sign-up.

Account balance

Monthly loss limit (% of balance)

Trading days in the month

Average winning-day gain (% of balance, optional)

Daily limit set by someone else (money, optional)

Share of that limit to use as your own stop (%)

-Monthly loss limit in money

-Method 1: monthly limit split evenly

-Method 2: half the average winning day

-Method 3: buffer under an outside limit

-Strictest daily stop

-Strictest stop as % of balance

-Full-limit losing days to reach the monthly limit

A daily loss limit is a number you decide in advance: when the day has cost you this much, you stop trading until tomorrow. This calculator gives you three common ways to pick that number and shows the strictest of them. Enter your balance, the most you are willing to lose in a month and how many days you trade. The optional boxes add a second method based on your average winning day and a third that keeps you inside a limit set by someone else.

Why a daily limit exists

A monthly limit is easy to agree with and hard to enforce, because no single day feels like the one that breaks it. A daily limit turns the month into small, checkable pieces. It also protects against the most expensive pattern in trading: the afternoon in which one loss leads to another trade to win it back, then another. The revenge trading and losing streak pages describe how that spiral builds. A hard stop for the day interrupts it while the loss is still small.

The three methods the calculator uses

Method	Formula	Idea	Weak point
1. Even split	Monthly limit / trading days	Spreads the month evenly, so no day can use it all	Ignores how big your good days usually are
2. Half an average winning day	Average winning-day gain x 50%	A losing day should cost less than a normal good day earns	Needs enough history to know your average
3. Buffer under an outside limit	Outside daily limit x chosen share	Leaves room for costs and for losses on open trades	Only useful if someone else sets a limit

The strictest result is shown because a limit you can keep is worth more than a generous one you break. You are free to choose any of the three, or your own number. The method labels are common rules of thumb, not requirements, and none of them is advice.

A worked example (hypothetical)

A trader has a 10,000 account, accepts a monthly loss limit of 6% and trades 20 days a month. Their average winning day is 0.5% of the balance. Their account also has an outside daily limit of 400, and they decide to use half of it as their own stop. The numbers are invented.

Step	Working	Result
Monthly limit in money	10,000 x 6%	600.00
Method 1	600 / 20	30.00 (0.30% of balance)
Method 2	10,000 x 0.5% x 50%	25.00 (0.25%)
Method 3	400 x 50%	200.00 (2.00%)
Strictest	The smallest of the three	25.00 (0.25%)
Losing days to hit the month limit	600 / 25	24.0 full-limit days

Here the third method is far looser than the other two, and the second method is the strictest. The last row is a useful reality check: at that daily stop, the monthly limit would take 24 full-limit days to reach, which is more than the 20 trading days in the month. In other words, the daily stop is doing most of the protecting. If you want the daily limit to matter less, raise it; if you want the monthly limit to bind earlier, lower the daily figure or the monthly percentage.

What counts toward the limit

Closed results: profit plus commission plus swap on positions that closed today. That is the figure AI Trading Journal shows for each closed position.
Floating losses: if your limit is based on equity, open trades count before they close. The journal does not record floating results, so check equity in MetaTrader 5 itself.
Time zone: MetaTrader 5 uses the broker’s server clock to decide where a day ends. Confirm when your broker’s day rolls over.
Costs: spread, commission and swap are part of your real loss, so include them.

Turning the number into a habit

Convert it to money before the session. A percentage is easy to argue with; a fixed amount is not.
Write it in your plan next to your risk per trade, so you can see how many full losses it allows. The position size calculator sets the risk per trade; the risk of ruin calculator shows what happens to a streak at different sizes.
Log the day you hit it. Tag the trades with something like stopped-by-limit, and note whether you really stopped. A limit you ignore is worse than none.
Review monthly. If you almost never reach the limit, it may be too loose; if you reach it every week, your risk per trade or your setup selection needs a look. The P&L calendar shows the red days at a glance.

In AI Trading Journal the Progress page stores a monthly profit target and a monthly loss limit in the journal, and shows how much of each you have used. The Daily view on the dashboard shows the day’s result so far. See progress and goals and how to set monthly trading goals.

Prop firm accounts

If you trade a funded or challenge account, the firm sets its own daily limit and its own way of measuring it. Those rules differ between firms and change over time, so read your firm’s current rules yourself and never rely on this page for them. The third method exists only to give you a personal stop below whatever limit applies. For the drawdown arithmetic, see the prop firm drawdown calculator and drawdown rules explained.

Limits of this calculator

It assumes a fixed balance for the month. If your account grows or shrinks a lot, recalculate.
It does not know your trading rules, your strategy or the way your broker defines a day.
It describes ways to choose a number. It is not trading or investment advice, and losing is always possible.
AI Trading Journal records closed positions, not floating results, and works with MetaTrader 5 on Windows only.

Frequently asked questions

What is a daily loss limit in trading?

A maximum amount you allow yourself to lose in one day. When it is reached, you stop trading until the next day. It is set in advance, ideally as a fixed amount of money.

How do I choose a daily loss limit?

Common approaches are to split a monthly loss limit across your trading days, to use about half your average winning day, or to stay well inside a limit set by a broker or firm. The calculator shows all three and picks the strictest.

Should the limit include open trades?

If the limit is measured on equity, yes. The journal records closed positions only, so watch floating results in MetaTrader 5 yourself.

Does this work for prop firm accounts?

It can give you a personal stop under the firm limit, but firm rules differ and change. Always read your firm current rules; this page does not state them.

Does AI Trading Journal stop me trading when I hit the limit?

No. It is read-only and never places, modifies or closes trades. It records results and shows monthly goals and limits, but stopping is your decision.

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