Forex and gold margin calculator

How required margin is calculated

Margin is the part of your equity the broker sets aside to hold a position open. It is the position's full value in your account currency divided by your leverage: lots x contract size x price, divided by the leverage. It is a deposit, not a cost, and it is released when the position closes.

Worked examples

1.00 lot of EURUSD at 1.10 on a USD account with 1:100 leverage: 1 x 100,000 x 1.10 / 100 = 1,100 USD.

0.10 lots of XAUUSD at 2,400 with 1:200 leverage: 0.1 x 100 x 2,400 / 200 = 120 USD.

Margin level and stop out

Margin level is equity divided by the margin in use, shown as a percentage. As open losses reduce equity the level falls. Every broker sets a margin call level and a stop-out level at which it starts closing positions, and the numbers differ, so read yours in the account terms before relying on a figure.

Margin and Expert Advisors

An EA that opens several positions at once, or adds to a losing one in a grid or martingale pattern, uses margin that grows with every extra position while equity shrinks, so the margin level drops from both sides. Check the worst case your settings can reach, not the first trade, and keep a wide buffer. Higher leverage lowers the margin each trade needs but does not lower the risk of the trade itself.