Margin calculator
This margin calculator converts a position into the collateral your provider will hold while it is open. Enter the pair, price, lot size and leverage ratio. The answer is required margin, the amount set aside from your balance, not the amount you can lose.
The formula
Required margin = notional value ÷ leverage
Margin level (%) = equity ÷ used margin × 100
Worked example (illustrative)
0.5 lots of EUR/USD at 1.0900 with 30:1 leverage.
- Units: 0.5 × 100,000 = 50,000 euros.
- Notional value: 50,000 × 1.0900 = $54,500.
- Required margin: $54,500 ÷ 30 = about $1,816.67.
At 10:1 the same position would need $5,450; at 50:1, $1,090. Leverage changes the collateral, not the size of the position or the money made or lost per pip.
How to read the result
Compare required margin with your equity (balance plus or minus open profit and loss). If your equity is $4,000 and used margin is $1,816.67, your margin level is about 220%. As losses reduce equity, the margin level falls. UK and EU rules require providers to start closing retail positions once the margin level reaches 50%; many platforms issue a margin call warning earlier.
Retail leverage caps in the UK and EU are 30:1 for major currency pairs, 20:1 for non-major pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 for other commodities and minor indices, 5:1 for individual shares and 2:1 for crypto. Australia applies similar caps, and US retail forex is limited to 50:1 on majors and 20:1 on others. Some providers set lower limits than these.
A low margin requirement is not the same as low risk. The loss on a position depends on its full notional size: a 1% adverse move on $54,500 is $545 whatever leverage was used to open it. Size positions from the loss you accept with the position size calculator, then use this page to check the collateral. The forex guide explains why leverage is capped.