ATR stop-loss calculator

Your numbers

The planned or actual entry.

The average true range in dollars, such as the 14-day ATR from your charting tool.

Without an ATR: at least five daily high − low values, separated by commas or spaces. Their average stands in for the ATR.

How many ATRs from the entry the stop goes. 1.5 to 3 are common choices.

Direction

Results

Stop-loss price
$47.50
Stop distance
$2.50
Distance as % of the entry
5.0%
ATR used
$1.25

An educational tool: results leave out commissions, slippage and gaps. Nothing you enter is sent or saved. Not investment advice.

How to use it

  1. Enter the entry price and choose long or short.
  2. Enter the ATR from your charting tool. Without one, enter at least five recent daily ranges (high minus low) and the calculator averages them.
  3. Choose a multiple. A small one keeps the stop close, where ordinary noise hits it more often; a large one gives the trade more room and needs a smaller position for the same risk.
  4. Take the stop to the position size calculator to turn it into a share count.

The formula

Stop (long) = entry − multiple × ATR

Stop (short) = entry + multiple × ATR

True range = max(high − low, |high − previous close|, |low − previous close|); the ATR averages it, usually over 14 days. An average of plain high − low ranges leaves out gaps, so it understates volatility for a stock that gaps often.

Worked example

Illustrative numbers: a long entry at $50 with an ATR of $1.25 and a multiple of 2 puts the stop at $47.50, which is $2.50 or 5% below the entry.

Entering the ranges 1.10, 1.40, 1.20, 1.30 and 1.25 instead gives an average of $1.25 and the same stop. At 3 × ATR the stop moves to $46.25; with 1% risk on a $25,000 account the position shrinks from 100 to 66 shares.

Questions

What ATR multiple should I use for a stop-loss?

There is no single right multiple. Values between 1.5 and 3 are common for swing trades. Test the choice on your own setups: a stop too close is hit by ordinary noise, and one too far makes each loss larger or the position smaller.

Which ATR period should I use?

Fourteen days is the most common default. A shorter period reacts faster to a change in volatility, a longer one is steadier; use the period that matches how long you expect to hold the trade.

Should an ATR stop replace a stop based on the chart?

Not necessarily. Many traders place the stop beyond the chart level that proves the idea wrong and then check its distance in ATR: a stop well inside one ATR of the entry is likely to be hit by noise.

Is anything I enter saved?

No. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is sent to Clear Tape or stored.

Related guides

Other calculators

From the calculation to the record

Save the entry, stop and target as a plan before the trade, then log the fills. The journal works out R, expectancy and drawdown from your own trades, and its AI score grades how closely each trade followed the plan. A free account is all it takes.