Leverage Risk Visualiser
Shows the distance from entry to the margin call and the stop-out given account equity, position size, leverage, and current price. The result quantifies the room a position has before the broker's warning fires and before it force-closes the position.
This page covers the calculation; it is not trading advice.
How this calculation works
Margin held = position notional ÷ leverage. The reserved margin sets two broker-defined levels: the margin call warning (commonly around 100% of margin held) and the lower stop-out level (commonly around 50%), though both vary by broker.
Free margin = account equity − margin held. Free margin is the buffer that absorbs adverse P&L before equity falls to the margin call level and, lower still, the stop-out level.
Distance to stop-out (in pips) = (account equity − stop-out threshold) ÷ (pip value per lot × position size in lots). The margin call warning sits nearer, at the higher threshold.
The visualiser plots equity over price movement on the X-axis, with the margin call and stop-out thresholds marked as horizontal lines. Adjusting any input — leverage, lot size, account size — shifts the distance to each threshold.
Formula
- Margin held = (lot units in base × exchange rate) ÷ leverage
- Stop-out threshold = margin held × broker stop-out percentage (commonly around 0.50, varies by broker); margin call threshold = margin held × broker margin call percentage (commonly around 1.00)
- Distance to stop-out (pips) = (account equity − stop-out threshold) ÷ (pip value × position size in lots)
Worked example
$10,000 USD account, 1 standard lot EUR/USD at 1.0850, 1:100 leverage, broker stop-out at 50% of margin held and margin call warning at 100%.
Margin held = $108,500 ÷ 100 = $1,085. Stop-out threshold = $1,085 × 0.50 = $542.50. Margin call warning = $1,085 × 1.00 = $1,085.
Distance to stop-out = ($10,000 − $542.50) ÷ ($10 × 1) = $9,457.50 ÷ $10 = 946 pips of adverse movement before the broker force-closes the position. The margin call warning fires earlier, at ($10,000 − $1,085) ÷ $10 = 892 pips.
Same account, same position, leverage 1:500: margin held = $108,500 ÷ 500 = $217. Stop-out threshold = $217 × 0.50 = $108.50. Distance to stop-out = ($10,000 − $108.50) ÷ $10 = 989 pips. Higher leverage holds less margin, leaving more free margin — the distance to the stop-out increases on a single position of the same size.
But: a trader who uses 1:500 leverage often opens larger positions. The same account at 1:500 might open 5 standard lots, holding $1,085 in margin and producing $50 per pip. Distance to stop-out on the 5-lot position: ($10,000 − $542.50) ÷ $50 = 189 pips. Higher leverage with proportionally larger position size shortens the distance to the stop-out.