Forex Calculators
Margin Calculator
The deposit your leverage requires to open a trade
Margin is the slice of your balance a broker locks up as collateral while a leveraged position is open. Knowing it before you click keeps you from over-committing your account and helps you see how much free margin is left to weather a drawdown.
For planning and education only. Results exclude broker spread, swap and commission, and are not financial advice.
How to use it
- 1Choose your lot type and enter the trade size in lots.
- 2Enter your leverage as the ratio 1:N — type just the N (e.g. 100 for 1:100, 500 for 1:500).
- 3Enter the price of one unit of the base (first) currency in your account currency. For EUR/USD on a USD account that is the EUR/USD price, about 1.08.
- 4Read the required margin and the full notional value the trade controls.
Frequently asked questions
Is margin a fee?
No. Margin is not a cost — it is your own money set aside as a good-faith deposit. It is released back to your free margin the moment you close the position.
Does higher leverage change my risk?
Higher leverage lowers the margin a given trade locks up, but it does not change how much you lose per pip — that comes from your position size. Leverage frees up margin; your stop-loss and lot size govern risk.
What is the base-currency price?
It is what one unit of the pair's first currency costs in your account currency. It converts the contract's notional value into your currency so the margin comes out in the money you actually hold.