Calculate the exact margin required for any forex trade. Choose your pair, lot size, and leverage to see how much collateral you need before entering a position.
Calculate required margin for any position
Enter your balance to see free margin and margin level.
Required Margin
$1,085.00
to open 1.00 lot of EUR/USD at 1:100 leverage
Notional Trade Value
$108,500.00
Margin Ratio
1.00%
of trade value
Formula
Required Margin = (Lot Size × Contract Size × Exchange Rate) / Leverage
1.00 × 100,000 × 1.0850 / 100 = $1,085.00
Choose from 20+ currency pairs and pick your leverage ratio from 1:10 to 1:500.
Enter your lot size or tap a preset for micro (0.01), mini (0.10), or standard (1.00) lots.
See the required margin, notional value, margin ratio, and margin level instantly.
Margin is the collateral your broker holds while you maintain an open leveraged position. It is not a transaction fee or a cost of trading — think of it as a security deposit. The required margin is a fraction of the full position value, determined by the leverage your account uses. Once the trade is closed, the margin is released back to your available balance.
Leverage allows you to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital. At 1:100 leverage, you can control $100,000 worth of currency with just $1,000. The higher the leverage, the less margin you need — but both your profits and your losses are amplified proportionally. For example, with 1:500 leverage you only need 0.2% of the trade value as margin, but a 0.2% move against you would wipe out your entire margin deposit.
Required Margin = (Lots × Contract Size × Exchange Rate) / Leverage
For a standard lot (100,000 units) of EUR/USD at a rate of 1.0850 with 1:100 leverage: (1 × 100,000 × 1.0850) / 100 = $1,085.00. If you switched to 1:500 leverage, the same trade would only require $217.00 of margin.
When your account equity drops below the required margin, you enter margin call territory. Most brokers define this as a margin level below 100%. If your equity continues to fall to the stop-out level (commonly 20–50%), the broker will begin automatically closing positions to protect both you and themselves from further loss. Monitoring your margin level and using appropriate leverage are critical parts of risk management.
Now that you understand your margin requirements, pair that knowledge with verified trading signals from professionals with tracked performance. Make informed entries, size positions properly, and manage risk like a pro.
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