Cross margin calculator
Check whether your broker will let you open the next rung, how far price can move against you before the stop-out, and why cross margin can liquidate you sooner than isolated.
By the TradingCalculator.Pro team · Updated on · About us
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Formula
Margin level = Equity ÷ Used margin × 100How it works
Margin level is equity divided by used margin, as a percentage, and it is the number your broker watches. Above 100% you can keep opening; below it the warning arrives, and at the stop-out threshold — usually 50% — the broker starts closing positions for you, beginning with the biggest loser.
The difference between isolated and cross margin is not a technicality: under isolated each position answers with its own margin and that is the most you can lose; under cross they all share the account equity, so a winning position props up a losing one until it cannot. That is why cross liquidates later but more expensively: it holds on longer and, when it gives, it takes the whole account instead of one position.
What you get
- Margin level, free margin and stop-out price
- The rung the broker rejects, before you send it
- Isolated vs cross on the very same position
Worked example
A cross-margin account with $8,000 of equity and $6,200 of margin already used on open positions.
- Margin level: 8,000 ÷ 6,200 × 100 = 129.0%.
- Free margin: 8,000 − 6,200 = $1,800.
- Stop-out threshold at 50%: equity can fall to $3,100 before forced closing.
- Adding a rung that requires $2,500 of margin would leave free margin at −$700.
The broker REJECTS that fourth rung: $2,500 of margin does not fit in $1,800 of free margin.
The figure that really matters here is not the 129% but the $4,900: that is what the open positions can lose before the stop-out. A comfortable margin level with a thin loss cushion is a fragile situation, and it is the one that surprises anybody watching only the percentage.
How to use it
- Enter your inputs: the terms of the formula (capital, risk, prices and stop).
- The calculator applies the formula and returns the result in your instrument's units.
- Check the breakdown before trading: anything that cannot be computed is shown empty, never as zero.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate margin level on a cross-margin account?
Equity divided by used margin, times one hundred. With $8,000 of equity and $6,200 of used margin the level is 129.0%. Equity includes unrealised profit and loss, so the level moves with every tick even if you open and close nothing.
At what margin level does the broker close me out?
Usually 50%, though each broker sets its own and it is worth checking before you need it. With $6,200 of used margin, that 50% is reached when equity falls to $3,100 — so open positions can lose $4,900 before forced closing. The margin call warning normally arrives earlier, around 100%.
Which is worse, isolated or cross margin?
Neither is worse: they are two different ways of spreading the same risk. Isolated caps the loss at the position and liquidates it sooner; cross uses the whole equity as a cushion, absorbs more adverse movement and, if it gives, can take the entire account. For a single bounded position isolated usually suits; for a portfolio with real hedges, cross does.
Why does the broker reject an order when I have free margin?
Because the order needs more margin than the free margin you have left, and the broker checks that before opening it. With $1,800 free, a rung requiring $2,500 is simply rejected. This is the check worth running BEFORE sending the order, especially if you were counting on that rung to average in.
At what price does the stop-out hit?
At the price where accumulated open losses equal the equity above the threshold. With $8,000 of equity, $6,200 of used margin and a 50% stop-out, that cushion is $4,900, and the specific price depends on the size and direction of each open position. Under cross margin that price moves every time you open another one: that is the part that surprises people most.