Margin Calculator
How much money does one lot lock up? Enter the price, lots and leverage — margin appears instantly.
What it is
Margin is the money temporarily locked up when you open a trade — the notional value divided by your leverage. Leverage magnifies P/L, not your wallet: with 1:100 leverage, one standard forex lot occupies about 1,000 USD of margin, and a 1% move against you approaches the stop-out line. The margin calculator shows you two things before you click buy: how much money this trade will lock up, and whether your balance can support its swings.
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How much margin does one lot lock up?
Enter the symbol, price, lots and leverage — margin appears instantly, computed in your browser.
Contract sizes and leverage are typical defaults and editable. Most reliable: in MT5, right-click the symbol → Specification; leverage follows your account setting.
Required margin
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Notional value (quote currency)
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Notional value (account currency)
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Enter the current price and lot size to see the margin result.
How to use it
- Pick a symbol: presets come with typical contract sizes and quote currencies, or choose "Custom";
- Enter the current price: the latest price on your platform;
- Enter lots and leverage: how many lots, and your account leverage (e.g. 1:100 — fixed once the account is set up);
- Pick the account currency: when the quote currency differs, enter a current exchange rate as prompted;
- Read the result: required margin and notional value — make sure your balance can support the position before opening it.
The formula
Margin = notional value ÷ leverage, and notional value is simply "how much stuff one lot buys".
Enter the leverage as a number (1:100 → 100). The exchange rate is entered as "1 account currency = ? quote currency" (e.g. with a USD account and USDJPY, enter 153.62). Margin floats with the price — results reflect the current moment.
Worked example
A USD account trading gold (contract size 100 oz/lot) with 1:100 leverage, as an example:
- Gold at 2650.00, 1 lot → notional value = 1 × 100 × 2650.00 = 265,000 USD;
- Required margin = 265,000 ÷ 100 = 2,650 USD;
- At 1:500 leverage → 265,000 ÷ 500 = 530 USD.
The same 1 lot of gold locks up 2,650 USD at 1:100 but only 530 USD at 1:500 — lower leverage means more money locked and more room for the trade to breathe.
FAQ
Q How do margin and leverage relate?
Margin = notional value ÷ leverage. Leverage lets the same money open a bigger position — and magnifies P/L equally: at 1:100, a 1% adverse move approaches the size of your margin. Leverage itself costs nothing, but the margin it frees up decides whether you can hold other trades and survive drawdowns.
Q When is margin used and released?
It is locked on open and released on close. While the position runs, margin floats with the price and floating losses come out of equity — when equity falls below a set fraction of used margin (commonly 50%–100%, the stop-out level), positions are force-closed. The exact level depends on your broker.
Q Why does margin differ between brokers?
Three reasons: contract sizes may differ, account leverage may differ, and some brokers set symbol-specific margin requirements (a fixed percentage or fixed amount for gold or indices, instead of uniform leverage). The reliable way is the MT5 symbol specification window (right-click the symbol → Specification); if it differs, use "Custom" and enter the real values.
Q How do I fill the exchange rate?
Margin is computed in the quote currency first, then converted to your account currency. Enter the rate as "1 account currency = ? quote currency" — for a USD account trading USDJPY, enter the current USDJPY price (e.g. 153.62). The tool never fetches prices online, so results are always based on the rate you enter.
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Download Camovia TrayResults are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Actual margin is set by your broker and platform (fixed margin requirements, stop-out levels and slippage may apply); preset contract sizes are typical defaults and the values at your broker prevail.