Leverage & Margin Simulator
See what 1:500 really does to your account. No login, nothing about you is collected.
1 lot = 100,000 EUR
Current market price
Most brokers close positions when margin level falls to 20–50%. Check yours.
A 1% move changes your balance by 10–30%. Normal volatility can trigger stop-out. Each 1% price move changes your equity by about $108.50.
Illustrative calculation only. Excludes spreads, commissions, swaps, unrealised losses and broker-specific margin rules, which vary by instrument and can change during volatile markets. Balance after margin is not free margin. Nothing here is investment advice or a guarantee of any outcome.
How to read this simulator
Start with your real account balance and the leverage your broker gives you. Then choose the instrument you trade, how many lots, and the current price. The tool works out the position value for you (and shows the formula), then tells you how much of your balance gets locked as margin and, more importantly, what happens if the market moves a little against you.
Where position value comes from
Position value = lots × contract size × price. One standard lot is 100,000 units of the base currency in forex, 100 oz for gold, 1,000 barrels for oil and usually 1 contract for indices. If the pair is not quoted in US dollars (EUR/GBP, GER40, USD/JPY), the value is converted to USD so the margin and loss figures line up with a dollar account. Pick Custom instrument to enter your broker's own contract size and quote currency.
The three numbers that matter
- Effective leverage (position ÷ balance) tells you how fast your balance moves relative to price. At 18×, a 1% move changes your balance by 18%.
- Move that triggers stop-out is how far price can go against you before the broker starts closing trades. In forex, 1% is a normal day; in gold or indices it can happen in minutes.
- Move that wipes the balance is the theoretical point where equity hits zero. Stop-out usually comes first, but slippage in fast markets can take you past it.
Regulated limits
Retail leverage is capped by many regulators: 1:30 on major forex pairs under ESMA (EU), FCA (UK) and ASIC (Australia); 1:50 in the US (CFTC); and higher ratios under offshore licences. Use the Regulation Explorer to compare caps and protections, and Check a Broker to see which entity would hold your account.