How to Use FTMO Margin Calculator
The FTMO Margin Calculator helps traders at FTMO and similar prop trading firms quickly estimate how much capital a trade will consume before entering a position. Knowing your required margin and margin usage percentage in advance helps you manage risk and avoid over-leveraging your funded account.
- Account Currency — Select your account denomination (USD, EUR, GBP, CNY, or JPY). The FTMO Margin Calculator will display all results in that currency.
- Account Balance — Enter your current account balance or the starting capital of your challenge account.
- Asset Type — Choose Forex, Indices, Commodities, Crypto, or Stocks. The FTMO Margin Calculator uses a standard contract size for each type.
- Lot Size — Enter your intended position size. For Forex, 1 standard lot = 100,000 units. Use 0.1 for a mini lot and 0.01 for a micro lot.
- Current Price — Enter the current market price of the instrument.
- Leverage — Enter the leverage ratio as a number (e.g. 100 for 1:100).
- Read Results — The FTMO Margin Calculator displays required margin, notional value, free margin after the trade, and margin usage percentage with a color-coded risk indicator.
Formula & Theory - FTMO Margin Calculator
The FTMO Margin Calculator applies the standard formula used by retail and prop trading brokers:
Notional Value = Lot Size × Contract Size × Current Price
Required Margin = Notional Value / Leverage
Free Margin After Trade = Account Balance − Required Margin
Margin Usage (%) = (Required Margin / Account Balance) × 100| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Lot Size | Number of lots (e.g. 1, 0.1, 0.01) |
| Contract Size | Units per lot (e.g. 100,000 for standard Forex) |
| Current Price | Market price of the instrument |
| Leverage | Leverage ratio denominator (e.g. 100 for 1:100) |
Default Contract Sizes
| Asset Type | Default Contract Size |
|---|---|
| Forex | 100,000 base currency units per lot |
| Indices | 10 units per lot |
| Commodities | 100 units per lot |
| Crypto | 1 unit per lot |
| Stocks | 100 shares per lot |
Risk Thresholds
The FTMO Margin Calculator uses two warning thresholds. Margin usage above 30% is flagged as a caution. Usage above 60% triggers a danger warning, indicating the position is very large relative to the account balance and may risk a margin call or forced close on most prop trading platforms.
Assumptions and Limits
The FTMO Margin Calculator is a pre-trade estimation tool. It does not account for spread, overnight swap charges, multi-position margin netting, or real-time price slippage. Actual margin requirements are determined by your trading platform at execution time.
Use Cases for FTMO Margin Calculator
The FTMO Margin Calculator is essential for responsible prop trading risk management:
- Challenge Account Planning — Before entering a trade during an FTMO or similar challenge, use the FTMO Margin Calculator to verify the trade fits your daily drawdown rules.
- Funded Account Position Sizing — Calculate how many lots you can open while keeping margin usage below a self-imposed limit (e.g. 20%) to maintain a buffer against volatility.
- Leverage Comparison — Change the leverage value to see how different leverage settings affect required margin and free capital for the same position.
- Multi-Asset Trading — Switch between Forex, Indices, and Commodities to compare how much margin different instruments consume at the same lot size.
- Risk Management Education — The FTMO Margin Calculator makes it easy to understand the relationship between lot size, leverage, and capital exposure for beginner prop traders.
- Pre-News Trading Preparation — Estimate margin requirements before high-impact economic events to decide whether to reduce position size ahead of increased volatility.