Leverage Calculator
Calculate effective leverage, margin required and how far price can move before a margin call.
Please note: Trading carries substantial risk of loss. These calculators are planning tools, not trading advice, and no position sizing method prevents losses.
What the Leverage Calculator does
Leverage lets you control a position larger than your account by borrowing against it. It does not change the odds of a trade — it only scales the outcome. The critical number is how far price can move against you before the position is closed automatically.
Formula
Position value = Equity × LeverageMargin required = Position ÷ LeverageWipeout move % = 100 ÷ LeverageMove to margin call = (1 ÷ Leverage) × (1 − Maintenance %) × 100
Inputs explained
| Input | Unit | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account equity | selected currency | Yes | Accepts more than 0. |
| What do you know? | one of 2 options | Yes | — |
| Leverage | × | In some modes | Accepts 1 or more. Shown What do you know? is Leverage ratio. |
| Position value | selected currency | In some modes | Accepts more than 0. Shown What do you know? is Position size. |
| Maintenance margin | % | Optional | Percent of initial margin that must remain. |
| Currency | one of 10 options | Optional | — |
How to use it
- Choose What do you know? and Currency.
- Enter Account equity.
- Fill in the remaining inputs the form shows for your choice.
- Optionally add Maintenance margin.
- Select Calculate.
Worked example
A $5,000 account at 10× leverage.
- Equity
- 5000
- Leverage
- 10
A $50,000 position. A 1% price move swings your equity by 10%, and a 10% adverse move wipes it out.
Frequently asked questions
How much leverage is safe?
No level of leverage is safe, and any figure quoted as a rule would be one this calculator cannot justify for your instrument, timeframe or account. What leverage does is fix how far price can move against you before the position is closed: the higher it is, the smaller that move. Judge it against how far the thing you are trading actually moves, and against the loss you can absorb without changing your plan.
Does leverage increase my risk per trade?
Only if you let it increase your position size. If your stop-loss and risk percentage stay fixed, leverage simply makes the position possible without tying up all your capital.
Method and sources
Method. Position value as equity times leverage, with the margin required and the adverse move that would exhaust the equity.
Assumptions
- Margin is charged at the rate entered and the position is held as sized.
Limitations
- Leverage does not change expected return; it scales both outcomes and shortens the distance to forced closure. The move that wipes out the account is the number that matters, and it shrinks in proportion to the multiple.
- Brokers can raise margin requirements or close positions during volatility, so the theoretical liquidation point is a best case.