Leverage and Margin Calculator
Work out effective leverage, the maintenance margin required, the equity cushion and the adverse move that triggers a call.
Last reviewed
·Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser
Leverage is not the number a broker advertises. It is the ratio between the position you actually hold and the equity behind it, and most traders using leveraged accounts are running far less than the maximum available - or far more than they realise.
This calculates the effective figure, the maintenance margin the position requires, the cushion between current equity and that requirement, and how far price can move against you before the cushion is gone.
Result
Effective leverage
3:1
- Maintenance margin required
- $6,000
- Cushion above the requirement
- $34,000
- Adverse move to a margin call
- 28.33%
- Estimated liquidation price
- 30.46
- Position value
- $120,000
- Account equity
- $40,000
- Margin utilisation
- 15%
This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not financial or investment advice, and past performance does not guarantee future results.
At 3x, a 28.33% adverse move consumes the cushion above maintenance margin.
Brokers apply tiered maintenance requirements that rise with position size, and they can change them without notice. Treat this as an approximation.
How to use the leverage and margin calculator
- Enter the total value of the position.
- Enter your account equity.
- Enter the maintenance margin requirement as a percentage.
- Add the entry price to see the adverse move and estimated liquidation level.
What people use this for
- Checking effective leverage across a position before adding to it.
- Finding how far price can move before a margin call.
- Comparing the same equity deployed at different leverage levels.
- Understanding margin utilisation on a leveraged account.
Worked examples
Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.
A moderately leveraged position
$120,000 position on $40,000 equity, 5% maintenance, entry $42.50.
- Effective leverage
- 3:1
- Cushion above the requirement
- $34,000
- Adverse move to a margin call
- 28.33%
The same equity at higher leverage
$320,000 position on $40,000 equity.
- Effective leverage
- 8:1
- Adverse move to a margin call
- 7.5%
- Margin utilisation
- 40%
Effective leverage is what matters
A broker offering thirty to one is describing a ceiling. What determines your risk is the position you actually hold against the equity behind it, which is usually a much smaller multiple - and occasionally a much larger one than intended after a position is added to.
Recalculating it whenever the position changes is the only way to know where you stand.
The cushion shrinks faster than the price falls
At four times leverage, a five percent adverse move in price removes twenty percent of the equity. The relationship is linear in leverage and it is the reason margin calls arrive on moves that feel small.
The adverse-move figure is the honest version of that: the percentage move, not the dollar amount, is what to remember.
Maintenance requirements are not fixed
Brokers raise maintenance requirements during volatility, and can do so on positions already open. A cushion calculated against today’s requirement can disappear without price moving at all.
The liquidation estimate here is exactly that - an estimate on the requirement you entered. Treat the broker’s own figure as authoritative.
Methodology and assumptions
What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.
- Results are arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Nothing here predicts prices or connects to an exchange, broker or market data feed.
- Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.
This tool is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Nothing on this website is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, currency, derivative or digital asset. No price is predicted and no return is promised or implied.
Trading and investing carry the risk of substantial loss, including the loss of your entire capital. Leveraged products can produce losses that exceed your deposit. Tax treatment depends on your jurisdiction and your circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
What leverage is safe?
This site does not suggest a level. The tool shows what each level does to the cushion and to the adverse move required, which is the information the decision needs.
Is a margin call the same as liquidation?
No. A call is a demand for more equity. Liquidation is the broker closing positions. Some brokers do the second without much of the first, particularly in fast markets.
Why does my broker show a different requirement?
Requirements vary by instrument, by position size tier, by account type and by market conditions. Use the figure from your own account.
Does leverage increase my risk per trade?
Not directly - the stop and position size set the loss. It increases risk by bringing forced closure closer, which can end the position before the stop at a worse price.
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