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Margin calculator

By Saad El Soussi, UAE-authorized finfluencer · Updated 2026-11-08

Margin is the deposit your broker locks to keep a position open: margin = exposure ÷ leverage, where exposure is the full value of the position in your account currency. 0.10 lots of gold (10 ounces) at $3,966 is $39,660 of exposure, so at 20:1 leverage the margin is $39,660 ÷ 20 = $1,983. One lot of EUR/USD at 1.0800 is $108,000 of exposure, so at 30:1 the margin is $3,600. Margin is not what you can lose on the trade; your stop loss decides that. The calculator below works for a US-dollar account.

The formula

Margin = position size × price ÷ leverage. Position size is lots × contract size (100 ounces for gold, 100,000 units for a currency pair on most platforms). Leverage of 20:1 means a margin of 1/20 = 5 % of the exposure; 30:1 means 3.33 %; 500:1 means 0.2 %. The platform's contract specification states the contract size and the margin percentage for each instrument, and some brokers raise margins before weekends and news.

Margin at the leverage your regulator allows

Where you live decides the maximum leverage a regulated broker may give you, and therefore the minimum margin. The two biggest rulebooks:

InstrumentEuropean Union (ESMA) max leverageMarginUnited States (CFTC rule 5.9) minimum deposit
Major currency pairs30:13.33 %2 % (50:1)
Other currency pairs20:15 %5 % (20:1)
Gold, major stock indices20:15 %no retail spot gold CFDs; futures margins set by the exchange
Other commodities, minor indices10:110 %-
Individual shares5:120 %-
Cryptocurrencies2:150 %-

EU figures: ESMA decision of 27 March 2018, made permanent by national regulators since, together with a margin close-out at 50 % and negative balance protection. US figures: 17 CFR § 5.9(a)(1), "2 % of the notional value of the retail forex transaction for major currency pairs" and "5 % ... for all other currency pairs"; these are floors, the futures association can set higher. Brokers outside these regimes advertise 200:1, 500:1 or more, which cuts the margin to a fraction of a percent and removes none of the risk. Our what is forex page explains leverage from the beginning.

Margin level, free margin and the close-out

Three numbers on your platform follow from the margin: used margin is the sum of the margins of your open positions; free margin = equity − used margin, what is left to open more or to absorb losses; margin level = equity ÷ used margin × 100 %. Equity is your balance plus the open profit or loss. When the margin level falls to the broker's close-out level (50 % in the EU), the platform starts closing positions for you, beginning with the biggest loser.

Example: $5,000 account, 0.10 lot of gold bought at $3,966 with 20:1 leverage, margin $1,983. Margin level at the start = 5,000 ÷ 1,983 = 252 %, free margin $3,017. The close-out comes when equity falls to 50 % of $1,983 = $991.50, a loss of $4,008.50, which on 10 ounces is a fall of $400.85 to about $3,565. A trader with a stop loss never gets there; one without can lose 80 % of the account on a single position that was "only" 0.10 lots.

Margin is not risk

The margin tells you how much the broker locks; the stop loss tells you how much you can lose. The same 0.10 lot of gold with an $8 stop risks 0.10 × 8 × 100 = $80, whatever the leverage, and the margin ($1,983 at 20:1, $79.32 at 500:1) is returned when the trade closes. So size the position from the risk you accept, with the lot size calculator, and then check that the margin fits in the account with room to spare. High leverage is dangerous not because the margin is small but because it lets you open positions whose normal daily movement is bigger than your account: gold has moved a median of $82 a day between August and October 2026 (our measurement), which is $820 per day on 0.10 lots.

How much margin should stay free?

A common rule of thumb for retail accounts is to keep used margin under 10-20 % of equity, so a normal bad day never approaches the close-out. With $5,000 that means at most $500-1,000 of margin: at 20:1 that is 0.03-0.05 lots of gold or 0.15-0.25 lots of EUR/USD, which is also roughly what a 1 %-per-trade rule with a sensible stop produces. If your risk-based lot size needs more margin than that, the account is too small for that stop distance, and the honest answer is a smaller size, a bigger account or a different trade, not more leverage. The beginners' roadmap puts these rules in order.

See the sizing in real trades

Every gold trade we send to VIP members has an entry, a stop loss and targets, and we publish the week's results in our public Telegram channel, losing trades included. Open our bot to see how it works. It answers in English.

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Questions people ask

How much margin do I need to trade 1 lot of gold?

Lots × 100 ounces × price ÷ leverage. At $3,966 and 20:1 (the EU limit) one lot needs $19,830; at 100:1 it needs $3,966; at 500:1 $793.20. The daily movement of one lot is around $8,200 at a median daily range of $82, so the margin says nothing about the risk.

How much margin for 0.01 lot?

One hundredth of the full-lot margin. 0.01 lot of gold at $3,966 and 20:1 = $198.30; 0.01 lot EUR/USD at 1.0800 and 30:1 = $36.

What is a margin call?

A warning from the platform that your margin level has fallen below a threshold (often 100 %), followed by automatic closing of positions at the close-out level (50 % in the EU). Adding money to avoid it is usually throwing good money after bad; the stop loss should have ended the trade earlier.

Does margin change with the price?

Yes for instruments priced in another currency: the exposure is recomputed as the price moves, and many brokers recalculate margin at the current price. For USD/JPY-type pairs in a dollar account it does not change.

Is a higher leverage better?

It is not better or worse by itself; it changes only how much is locked. It becomes dangerous when it is used to trade bigger than the account can survive. Size from the stop loss, not from the available leverage.

Authorized in the UAESaad Nizar El Soussi, founder of SesTrading, is listed by the UAE Capital Market Authority as an authorized finfluencer (entry 193, added 24 September 2026). Check the official list.

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