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Margin calculator:what a position ties up.

Pick an instrument, a lot size and your leverage, and this works out the position's notional value, the margin it needs and the largest size your balance supports. It defaults to GFN's up to 1:50 leverage, which can be lower on some instruments.

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1:

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Leverage on an individual instrument can be lower than the account maximum - metals and indices often are. Enter the figure your account shows for the instrument.
1 lots of EUR/USD at 1:50: $2,160.00 margin on $108,000 notional, 2.2% of the balance.

Required margin

$2,160.00

2.2% of $100,000

Notional value

$108,000

Largest position the balance supports

46.29 lots

If the whole balance were used as margin - the risk limits bind long before this

How it works

The formula behindthe numbers.

Margin is the part of your balance a position ties up. It is the notional value divided by the leverage.

Notional = lots × contract size × price when the dollar is the quote currency (EUR/USD, gold), or lots × contract size when it is the base (USD/JPY, USD/CAD). Required margin = notional ÷ leverage. Largest position = balance × leverage ÷ notional of one lot.

Worked example. One lot of EUR/USD at 1.08000 is 100,000 × 1.08 = $108,000 of notional. At 1:50 that needs $108,000 ÷ 50 = $2,160. Two lots of USD/JPY are $200,000 whatever the yen rate, so $4,000 of margin. A $100,000 balance supports up to 46.29 lots of EUR/USD at that leverage.

Margin tells you whether a position can be opened, not whether it should be. At 46 lots of EUR/USD a one-pip move is worth about $460, and the $5,000 daily loss limit on a $100,000 1 Step would go in 11 pips.

The rules behind the maths

Where this meetsa GFN account.

Leverage is up to 1:50 on every GFN programme and can be lower on individual instruments. It sets how much margin a position needs; it does not change the daily loss limit or the drawdown.

Leverage Rules Explained

What leverage do I get?

Margin and Lot Size Rules

Is there a maximum lot size?

Daily Loss Limit Rules

What is the daily loss limit?

$100,000 1 Step account

Every objective of the account, in dollars.

Position and lot size calculator

Size to your risk, not your margin.

Pip value calculator

What one pip is worth per lot.

Common questions

Margin and leverage,answered.

Required margin = notional value ÷ leverage. Notional is lots × contract size × price when the dollar is the quote currency, and simply lots × contract size when the dollar is the base currency. One lot of EUR/USD at 1.0800 is $108,000 of notional; at 1:50 it needs $2,160 of margin.

Up to 1:50 on Instant, 1 Step and 2 Step, and it can be lower on individual instruments. Check the live figure for an instrument on your account before sizing against it.

Leverage sets how large a position your margin supports, not how much you lose on a move - that is set by the position size. On a prop firm account the daily loss limit and drawdown bind long before margin runs out, and leverage does not change either of them.

One lot of XAU/USD is 100 troy ounces, so at $3,500 an ounce it is $350,000 of notional. At 1:50 that is $7,000 of margin per lot; metals often carry lower leverage than forex, which raises the figure.

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