Your broker might offer leverage (borrowed buying power, shown as a ratio like 1:500) up to 1:2000, but a single position rarely uses anywhere near that much. This tool works out the leverage a position is really using, from its notional value and your account balance, plus the smallest broker leverage that could support it.
Leverage in use
1:60
Aggressive — a small move against you costs a large share of the account
Notional value = $2,400.00 × 100 × 0.50 = $120,000.00. Leverage in use = $120,000.00 ÷ $2,000.00 = 1:60. The minimum broker leverage that could support this trade is 1:100, needing $1,200.00 in margin.
Notional value = 1.0850 × 100,000 × 2 = $217,000.00. Leverage in use = $217,000.00 ÷ $5,000.00 = 1:43.4.
What each variable means:
This is a different question from the one the Margin Calculator answers. The Margin Calculator starts from a leverage ratio your broker sets and works out how much margin that requires. This tool works backward: it starts from your balance and position size and works out the leverage ratio those two numbers actually represent. A broker can offer 1:500, but a small position on a well-funded account might only be using 1:10 of it, while a large position on a thin balance could already be close to the broker's cap.
Leverage in use compares the full notional value of a position to your account balance. It tells you how large a position is relative to the account behind it, which is a different number from the leverage ratio your broker sets as a maximum. A broker's leverage is a ceiling on how big a position you're allowed to open for a given amount of margin. Leverage in use is what a specific trade, on your specific balance, actually comes out to.
Leverage, whether it's the ratio your broker sets or the figure this tool calculates, doesn't change how much a price move is worth in dollars. That comes down to lot size and the pip value of the instrument you're trading, the same numbers the Pip Calculator and Lot Size Calculator work with. What a high leverage-in-use figure does tell you is that a position is large relative to your balance, which leaves less room for the price to move against you before margin becomes a problem. Treat the gauge as a sizing check, not a direct measure of risk. The stop loss distance you set still decides how much of that room you're actually using.
Brokers publish leverage in fixed tiers, such as 1:50, 1:100, or 1:500, rather than any ratio you like. The minimum tier this tool reports is the smallest of those standard steps that could technically support the position you entered, given your balance. It's a quick check on whether a broker's maximum leverage would even allow the trade, before you look at whether the position is a sensible size for your account at all.
Not by itself. Leverage in use describes how large a position is compared to your balance, but your real exposure to a price move comes from lot size and stop loss distance. A high leverage-in-use figure is a prompt to check those numbers, not a risk score on its own.
Your broker's leverage is a maximum, set for your account type. Leverage in use is what one specific position, at its current size, actually comes out to against your current balance. Most trades use only a fraction of what a broker allows.
It's the smallest standard leverage tier, such as 1:50 or 1:100, that a broker would need to offer for this exact position to be technically possible on your balance. A broker offering less than that tier wouldn't let you open the position at all.
Leverage in use is notional value divided by balance, and notional value scales directly with lot size. A bigger lot size means a bigger position for the same account, so the leverage that position represents rises even though your balance hasn't moved.
The gauge is a sizing prompt, not an instruction. A red reading means the position is large relative to your balance, which is worth a second look at your stop loss and lot size. Whether to adjust or close it is a decision for your own risk plan, not something this tool can make for you.
Find the margin your broker sets aside for a position, from lot size, price, and leverage.
Example 0.10 lot XAU/USD @ $2,400, 1:500 = $48.00
Open toolWork out the right lot size from your account balance and the risk you accept per trade.
Example $1,000 account, 2% risk, SL $2.00 = 0.10 lot
Open toolLearn more about leverage and margin sizing in Chapter 04: Trading XAU/USD on a Forex Platform → · See the full curriculum →