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Create AccountMargin Calculator
See how much of your balance a position ties up, and how much stays free.
Your Result
The calculation runs in your browser. Rates used for currency conversion are indicative — check your broker for the exact figure.
Margin is not a cost. It is the part of your balance the broker sets aside as collateral while a position is open, and it comes back when you close. What matters is how much is left afterwards, because free margin is what absorbs an open loss before a margin call arrives.
Leverage decides how little you need to put up. Higher leverage frees more of the balance, which is exactly why it is dangerous: it lets you open a position far larger than the account can survive.
When to use it
- Before opening a large position, to check enough free margin remains.
- When running several trades at once and margin is accumulating.
- When comparing brokers, since the same trade needs different margin at different leverage.
- When a platform refuses an order — usually free margin, not balance, is the problem.
Position value first, then the slice of it your broker holds.
Position Value = Contract Size × Lots × Price
Required Margin = Position Value ÷ Leverage
Margin Level = (Equity ÷ Used Margin) × 100- Contract size is 100,000 units for a currency pair, 100 ounces for gold and 5,000 ounces for silver.
- Margin level below 100% usually means no new positions. Below the broker's stop-out level, often 50%, positions start closing automatically.
- The largest size shown uses your whole balance as margin, which leaves nothing to absorb a loss. Treat it as a ceiling, never a target.
One standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0850 on a 1:100 account holding $10,000.
Working: 100,000 × 1.00 × 1.0850 = $108,500, divided by 100 = $1,085 held. That leaves $8,915 free. At 1:30 the same trade would need $3,617 and leave far less room.
Is margin a fee?
No. It is your own money, held while the position is open and released when you close. The costs of a trade are the spread, any commission, and swap if you hold overnight.
What happens at a margin call?
The broker warns you that free margin has run low. If equity keeps falling and the margin level reaches the stop-out point, positions are closed automatically, usually the biggest loser first.
Does higher leverage increase risk?
Not directly — risk comes from position size and stop distance. But high leverage lets you open a position the account cannot survive, so in practice the two travel together.
Why does gold need so much more margin?
A gold lot is 100 ounces at a price near $4,000, so the position value is around $400,000. That is several times a standard EUR/USD lot, and the margin follows.
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