Margin & leverage calculator
See how much of your balance a position actually locks up.
Required margin
$110
of your balance
11.0%
Free margin
$890
Pips against you until stop-out
945
Higher leverage lowers the required margin, but it magnifies losses exactly as much as gains. Lower leverage is safer while you learn.
What this tool actually tells you
Margin is the slice of your balance the broker freezes as collateral while a position is open. It is not a cost and not your risk — it's capital that's locked up and can't absorb losses on your other trades.
The number that actually matters is what's left over. Free margin is the cushion between you and a margin call, and traders who run several positions at once tend to discover that cushion is thinner than they assumed.
Worked example
One standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0850 on 1:100 leverage, in a $2,000 account.
| Notional value — 100,000 × 1.0850 | $108,500 |
| Required margin — $108,500 ÷ 100 | $1,085 |
| Free margin left | $915 |
| Margin level at entry | ≈ 184% |
Over half the account is locked to hold one position. A 90-pip move against you takes the margin level toward the danger zone.
How to read the result
- Margin level is equity ÷ used margin × 100. Most brokers block new positions around 100% and force-close at a stop-out level, often 50%.
- Higher leverage locks less margin — it doesn't make the trade riskier by itself. Your position size does that.
- If opening a trade takes free margin below roughly half the account, you have no room for a second position or a normal drawdown.
Common mistakes
- Confusing margin with risk. Margin is what's frozen; risk is what the stop-loss says you'll lose.
- Stacking positions until free margin is nearly gone, then getting stopped out of everything at once.
- Assuming a margin call is a warning. On many accounts the stop-out is automatic and the broker closes your largest loser first.
Put it into practice — risk-free
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Tools
Educational tools only — results are estimates and not financial advice. Real trading involves risk of loss; most beginners lose money.