Margin calculator for forex leverage from 1:30 to 1:2000

Notional value equals contract size times lots times the price of the base currency in USD. Required margin equals notional divided by leverage. The tool uses live mid-market rates, then converts the result to your account currency, so a naira or rand figure updates with the rate.

On 0.1 lots of GBP/USD at 1.34, notional is about USD 13,400. At 1:100, that locks about USD 134. At 1:500, it locks about USD 27. The position's pip value stays USD 1 at both settings, so the same move costs the same money either way.

This margin calculator repeats that sum for any pair.

Margin level equals equity divided by used margin, times 100. With USD 500 in equity and USD 100 in used margin, your margin level is 500%. As a trade loses, equity falls and so does that percentage. Brokers warn you at the margin call level and close positions at the stop-out level.

Those levels change by broker and account. HFM's offshore InfinityX account shows a 20% margin call against a 0% stop-out, for example. Read your own contract specification, then keep margin level well above 300% in normal trading. Our guide to high leverage explains why extreme settings make these events easy to reach.

Your legal cap depends on the company holding your account. EU rules limit major pairs to 30:1, as XM's EU entity shows. Nigeria's proposed rules would set 1:400 on major pairs and 1:2 on crypto, though those are not yet in force. Kenyan and South African companies apply their own limits.

Offshore arms often allow far more, up to 1:2000 or higher. Ask your broker which limit applies to your account before you plan a trade. Our Kenya guide lists the local licensees, and the main broker table shows published caps side by side.

The margin calculator accepts any of these settings, so you can test the effect of each.