Enter the lot size, your leverage and the price to get the required margin and notional value instantly. Plus the part most calculators skip: margin is not the same thing as your risk.
The Idea
Leverage lets a small deposit control a large position. Margin is how much of that deposit is set aside while it is open.
Required margin is the slice of your account the broker locks while a position is open. It is the full notional value of the trade divided by your leverage, not the amount you can lose.
One standard lot is 100,000 units. The notional value is units multiplied by price, so a single lot on a pair priced at 1.1000 is a 110,000 position. At 1:100 leverage the broker only sets aside 1,100 of your account to hold it.
The catch is that margin says nothing about risk. The same position has the same money at stake whether leverage is 1:30 or 1:500. Only the locked deposit changes, which is the part most margin pages leave out.
Free Calculator
Enter the lot size, your account leverage and the current price. The result is the margin locked and the size of the position behind it.
Forex Margin Calculator
One standard lot is 100,000 units. Leverage is the second number of the ratio, so 1:100 means enter 100.
Assumes the pair is quoted in your account currency (e.g. EUR/USD with a USD account). For cross or non-USD-quoted pairs, convert the margin to your account currency. Required Margin = (Lots x 100,000 x Price) / Leverage
The Honest Part
The number above tells you what is locked, not what you can lose. Two very different things that most calculators blur together.
The result is exact for pairs quoted in your account currency, like EUR/USD on a USD account. For cross pairs or a non-USD-quoted pair, convert the margin into your account currency at the current rate.
Margin is what is locked. Your risk is set by your stop and your position size, not by the margin. Size the trade with the position size calculator and read what leverage is first.
More leverage locks less margin for the same position, which feels safer but is not. The loss per pip is identical and the liquidation point sits closer to the entry.
Planned vs Real
A margin number is a snapshot before the trade. The useful question is what your sizing actually did to the account over time.
Built automatically from synced broker trades, so you see the lot sizes you actually used rather than the one you typed into a calculator.
See what each position cost when it went wrong, so the gap between margin locked and money lost stops being abstract.
Maximum drawdown shown next to the curve, so over-leveraged runs are visible instead of hidden behind a comfortable margin figure.
Supported Platforms
Connect your account and the journal is built automatically from then on. No CSV files, no imports.
cTrader
Connects via the official cTrader API. Full history imports on connection and the equity curve updates on every trade.
Learn about cTrader → 14-day free trial included
Bybit
Connects via read-only API key (Bybit Global). Equity tracked on Perpetuals and Spot, synced every 2 hours.
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OANDA
Connects via the OANDA API. Forex, indices, commodities and metals with the equity curve tracked from connection.
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MetaTrader 4 & MT5
Connects via API to any MT4 or MT5 broker. No plugins and no CSV exports - the equity curve is built automatically.
Learn about MetaTrader → Requires a paid planFAQ
Required margin is the notional value of the position divided by the leverage. Notional value is the number of units traded multiplied by the price, where one standard lot is 100,000 units. So required margin equals lots multiplied by 100,000, multiplied by price, divided by leverage.
Leverage is the ratio that lets you control a large position with a smaller deposit. Margin is the actual amount of that deposit set aside for the position. Higher leverage means less margin is locked for the same position, but the size of the position, and the money at stake, does not change.
No. Higher leverage only reduces the margin locked for a position. Your risk is set by your position size and your stop loss, not by the leverage. More leverage on the same position frees up margin but leaves the loss per pip unchanged and moves the liquidation point closer.
A margin call happens when losing positions pull your account equity down toward the margin required to keep them open. The broker asks you to add funds or reduce exposure. If equity keeps falling, positions are closed automatically at the liquidation point. Higher leverage brings that point closer.
Yes. Tracker Fx includes a 14-day free trial with full access to all journaling and analytics features. The free trial is available for all platforms except MetaTrader, which requires a paid plan.
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