Margin calculator
Enter the lot size, the price and your account's leverage to estimate the margin a position ties up, in US dollars, for currency pairs, gold and silver.
30 means 30:1. Use the leverage your account has.
Margin required
$3,616.67
For 1.00 lots of EUR/USD at 30:1.
- Position value
- $108,500.00
- Margin as share of position
- 3.33%
Example values are filled in; replace them with your own. Results are estimates in US dollars and leave out spread, commission and swap.
How the calculation works
Margin is the deposit a broker sets aside from your balance to keep a leveraged position open. It is the position's full value, the notional, divided by the leverage: at 30:1, a position worth $108,500.00 needs $3,616.67 of margin. Margin is not a fee, and it is not the most you can lose.
The notional is the number of units multiplied by the price. One standard lot of EUR/USD is 100,000 euros, so at 1.0850 it is worth $108,500.00. When the quote currency is not the dollar, the notional comes out in that currency and is converted; on USD/JPY the units are already dollars, so a standard lot is worth $100,000.00 whatever the price.
Leverage is set by your broker within the limits of your jurisdiction and client classification. In the EU, measures ESMA agreed in 2018 capped leverage for retail clients at 30:1 on major currency pairs and 20:1 on gold and on currency pairs outside the majors. A loss can exceed the margin set aside for a position: the position size and the stop decide how large it can get.
The formula
Notional (quote currency) = Lots × Contract size × Price
Notional (US dollars) = Notional (quote currency) × Conversion rate
Margin = Notional (US dollars) ÷ Leverage
- Contract size
- Units in one standard lot: 100,000 of the base currency, 100 troy ounces of gold, 5,000 troy ounces of silver.
- Price
- The instrument's price, usually the price the position is opened at.
- Leverage
- N in N:1. At 30:1 the margin is one thirtieth of the notional, about 3.33%.
- Conversion rate
- What one unit of the quote currency is worth in US dollars. For EUR/USD it is 1; for USD/JPY it is 1 ÷ the USD/JPY price.
Worked example
One standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0850, on an account with 30:1 leverage.
- Notional
- 1 × 100,000 × 1.0850 = $108,500.00
- Leverage
- 30:1
- Margin
- $108,500.00 ÷ 30 = $3,616.67
The position ties up $3,616.67 of margin.
Gold works the same way on its 100-ounce contract: 0.20 lots at 2,500.00 with 20:1 leverage is worth $50,000.00 and needs $2,500.00 of margin.
Illustrative numbers, not live quotes.
Frequently asked questions
What is margin?
The part of your balance a broker sets aside while a leveraged position is open. It is not a fee: it is released when the position closes.
What leverage should I enter?
The leverage your account actually has. Brokers set it within the limits of your jurisdiction and client classification; in the EU, measures ESMA agreed in 2018 capped leverage for retail clients at 30:1 on major currency pairs and 20:1 on gold.
Does margin cap how much I can lose?
No. A position can lose more than its margin. If your account equity falls below the broker's requirements the broker can close positions, and the loss depends on the position size and how far the price moved.
Sources
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