Margin Calculator

See how much of your account a leveraged position ties up and how close it sits to a margin call.

Margin is the deposit the broker holds while a position is open. It is not the maximum you can lose, and confusing the two is one of the more expensive misunderstandings in leveraged trading.

Margin Calculator

See how much of your account a position ties up, and how little room is left before a margin call.

Position size (lots) Contract size (units per lot) Price Leverage (1:X) Account balance

Notional exposure —

Margin required —

Share of account —

Margin is what the broker holds, not what you can lose. A position using a small slice of margin can still run a loss far larger than that slice. Leverage caps also differ by regulator and by instrument.

Margin used is not risk taken

A position using five percent of your account as margin can still lose far more than five percent, because losses are calculated on notional exposure rather than on the deposit. Leverage does not change the size of a market move – it changes how much of your account that move represents.

When the margin call arrives

Brokers close positions automatically once equity falls below a set proportion of the margin required. The higher the share of your account tied up in margin, the smaller the adverse move needed to trigger that. Traders who routinely run margin usage above half their balance are, in practice, letting the broker decide when they exit.

Leverage limits vary

Maximum leverage differs by regulator, by instrument and by client classification. The same account can face very different caps on a major pair, an index and a crypto CFD. Check the specification for the instrument you are actually trading.

Margin Calculator