How much collateral the broker locks up — and how much room you have left for the next trade. Margin calls happen well before stop-loss when leverage is stacked.
Set balance, lot size, and broker leverage — see required margin, margin level, and breathing room.
Leave blank to use the live price.
On a forex pair, margin is locked up in the base currency — the first one in the ticker. Your account currency only matters for the conversion at the end.
Formula
Required Margin = (Lots × Contract Size ÷ Leverage), then converted base ccy → account ccy
EUR/USD, 1 standard lot, 1:100, USD account, EUR/USD = 1.10
(100,000 ÷ 100) EUR × 1.10 = $1,100 margin required
USD/JPY, 1 standard lot, 1:100, USD account
100,000 ÷ 100 = $1,000 margin required
(USD is the base, so no conversion needed — price doesn't enter the formula.)
| Leverage | Margin % | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 1 : 30 | 3.33% | EU retail (ESMA cap on majors) |
| 1 : 100 | 1.00% | Standard offshore broker |
| 1 : 200 | 0.50% | Aggressive — small accounts only |
| 1 : 500 | 0.20% | High-risk; one bad trade can wipe equity |
Most brokers call when margin level (Equity ÷ Used Margin × 100) drops to 100% or below. At that point new trades are blocked. At ~50%, positions start auto-closing — usually the worst-performing first.
Best practice: keep margin usage below 50% of equity. The rest is your buffer for volatility spikes, news events, and the occasional trade going against you for longer than expected.
Use this calculator alongside the position size calculator to plan how aggressive you can be without triggering a margin call. Position sizing controls per-trade risk; leverage controls how many of those trades you can run at once.
The full toolkit — pip value, profit/loss, risk-reward, swap, and more.