Forex Margin Calculator โ Required Margin by Leverage & Lot Size
Calculate the exact margin required to open a trade based on instrument, leverage, lot size, and current price. Supports 76+ instruments across forex, metals, crypto, indices and commodities.
๐ Live Price: EUR/USD
โ๏ธ Calculator
Auto-filled from live price, can be manually adjusted
What Is Margin in Forex Trading?
Margin is the amount of money your broker requires you to deposit as collateral to open and maintain a leveraged position. It is not a fee โ it is a portion of your account balance that is temporarily set aside for the duration of the trade.
The required margin formula is:
Example: 1 lot EUR/USD at 1.1000 with 1:100 leverage โ (100,000 ร 1 ร 1.1000) รท 100 = $1,100 required margin.
Required Margin by Leverage โ EUR/USD, 1 Standard Lot at 1.1000
| Leverage | Margin % | Required Margin (1 lot) | Typical Account Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:10 | 10% | $11,000 | Institutional / conservative |
| 1:30 | 3.33% | $3,667 | EU/UK regulated retail (ESMA) |
| 1:50 | 2% | $2,200 | US regulated retail (NFA/CFTC) |
| 1:100 | 1% | $1,100 | Standard offshore retail |
| 1:200 | 0.5% | $550 | High-leverage offshore broker |
| 1:500 | 0.2% | $220 | Maximum offshore leverage |
Margin, Free Margin & Margin Level โ Key Concepts
The total margin currently locked across all open positions. Calculated by this calculator. You cannot use this portion of your balance for new trades.
Equity minus used margin. This is the available capital you can use to open new trades or absorb floating losses before a margin call is triggered.
Equity รท Used Margin ร 100%. Most brokers issue a margin call below 100% and stop out below 50%. Keeping margin level above 200% is considered safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is forex margin calculated?
Required margin = (Contract Size ร Lots ร Price) รท Leverage. For example, trading 1 lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000 with 1:100 leverage requires (100,000 ร 1 ร 1.1000) รท 100 = $1,100 in margin. Higher leverage reduces the margin requirement; lower leverage increases it.
What is the difference between margin and leverage?
Leverage is the multiplier your broker provides โ e.g. 1:100 means you control $100,000 with $1,000 of your own capital. Margin is the actual dollar amount required as collateral for that position. They are two sides of the same coin: higher leverage = lower margin requirement.
What happens if I don't have enough free margin?
If your free margin falls to zero, you cannot open new trades. If your account equity drops below your broker's margin call level (typically 100% margin level), the broker will issue a margin call warning. If it falls further to the stop-out level (typically 50%), the broker will automatically close your most unprofitable positions to protect the remaining balance.
Does margin change when I switch instruments?
Yes. Margin depends on the instrument's contract size and current price. Gold (XAU/USD) uses a 100-unit contract size, Bitcoin uses 1 unit, and forex pairs use 100,000 units. This calculator automatically applies the correct contract size for each of the 76+ supported instruments.