PipStart

Margin Calculator

Estimate how much account equity your broker may set aside to open a Forex or metals position.

Quote currency
USD
Pip size
0.0001
Contract
100,000
Volume step
0.01 lots

Quote-currency pip convention for education. Confirm the symbol specification with your broker before trading.

Retrieving the latest available indicative reference rate…

Estimated required margin

USD 1085.00

For 1.00 standard lot of EUR/USD at 1:100
Position size
100,000 units
Notional value
USD 108500.00
Margin rate
1.00%
Leverage
1:100

How this calculation works

What margin does this simple leverage model require for the selected position?

Formula in plain language

  • Position units = lots × contract size.
  • Account-currency notional = position units × market price × conversion rate.
  • Required margin = account-currency notional ÷ leverage.
  • Margin rate (%) = 100 ÷ leverage.

What the terms mean

Notional
The full modeled value of the position, not the amount deposited as margin.
Leverage and margin
For 50:1 leverage enter 50. Margin is the modeled amount set aside to support exposure, not the maximum possible loss.
Conversion rate
Account-currency units per quote-currency unit; use 1 for matching currencies.

Worked example

This is a fixed teaching example, separate from your current inputs.

Choose EUR/USD, USD, 0.10 lots, market price 1.1000, leverage 50 and conversion 1.

  1. Units: 0.10 × 100,000 = 10,000.
  2. Notional: 10,000 × 1.1000 × 1 = USD 11,000.
  3. Margin: 11,000 ÷ 50 = USD 220.
  4. Margin rate: 100 ÷ 50 = 2%.

Example result: USD 220.00 required margin for USD 11,000.00 notional exposure.

What the result means

The margin is much smaller than the full exposure. Do not confuse that smaller amount with a loss limit: the market moves against the whole position.

What this does not tell you

Actual brokers can use tiers, symbol-specific rules and different conversion methods. This tool does not model equity, free margin, liquidation or stop-out levels, and it is not a leverage recommendation.

This is an educational estimate only. Broker contract sizes, leverage limits, conversion rates and margin rules can differ. Leverage reduces required margin but does not reduce market exposure or potential loss.