Size from the loss, not from the margin
Decide what one trade may lose, place the stop from the chart, and let the lot size follow.
Free margin and stop out tool
Forex margin calculator with margin call and stop out levels of 20 brokers
Enter your balance, leverage and position size, pick the broker and account type, and see the margin the trade locks, the margin level it opens at, and how many pips the price can move against you before that broker's margin call and its stop out. The levels are the ones each broker publishes, not a generic 100% / 50%.
No sign-up Instant, live results Levels read 18 September 2026
Pips to stop out145 Equity left when the broker closes: $275.00 (73% of the deposit gone)
Required margin$550.00
Margin level at open182%
Free margin$450.00
Pips to margin call90
Loss at margin call$450.00
Pip value$5.00
At 1:100 this balance can open up to 0.91 lots before the margin level is 100% on entry. No spread, swap or floating result is included.
Choosing where to trade?
The same twenty brokers, scored on regulation, costs, platforms and safety.
Compare forex brokersWhy this matters
The stop out is a number the broker chose, and it is not the same everywhere
Every entity licensed in the EU, the UK or Australia closes retail positions at 50% of margin, because the regulator fixed it. Offshore accounts go lower: 40%, 20%, 10% and, at Exness, 0%. On the same trade, that is the difference between the broker closing you with half the margin still in the account and the broker closing you with nothing left.
Keep the stop out far away
If your stop-loss is fifty pips out and the stop out is a hundred and forty, the broker's rule never fires.
Read the protection with the level
A 0% stop out with negative balance protection and one without it are two different products.
Reference
Margin call and stop out levels at the twenty brokers we rate
What each broker's own pages said on 18 September 2026. Where a broker runs several entities, the retail figure under its European, British or Australian licence comes first; where the level depends on the account type, the account types are named. Interactive Brokers and Saxo Bank have no fixed percentage, so they are in the table but not in the selector.
| Broker | Max leverage on majors | Account | Margin call | Stop out | Negative balance protection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IC Markets | 1:30 (ASIC, CySEC); 1:500 on the Global entity | All accounts | 100% | 50% | Retail clients; its Global entity’s page says it is not offered there |
| Pepperstone | 1:30 (FCA, ASIC, DFSA); up to 1:200 offshore | Retail, MetaTrader | 90% | 50% | Retail clients; not guaranteed for professionals |
| Professional | Tiered warnings on cTrader | 20% | |||
| OANDA | 1:30 (EU); 1:50 (US) | EU entity | Warning at the stop out threshold | 50% | EU and Canada; the US entity says you “may lose more than you invest” |
| US entity | Closes out when equity falls to half the margin used | 50% | |||
| FP Markets | 1:30 (ASIC, CySEC); up to 1:500 offshore | All accounts | 100% | 50% | All retail clients, per its FAQ |
| XTB | 1:30 (FCA, CySEC); up to 1:500 on the Belize entity | FCA entity | 100% | 50% | Retail clients under the FCA and CySEC rules |
| IG | 1:30 retail; up to 1:500 for professionals | Retail | Combined with the close-out | 50% | Retail clients; professionals can lose more than their balance |
| Swissquote | Up to 1:100 on the Swiss bank; 1:400 for professionals | Retail | Not published as a separate level | 50% | EU and UK retail; the Swiss entity’s disclosure says losses “are in theory unlimited” |
| Professional | Not published as a separate level | 30% | |||
| AvaTrade | 1:30 (EU); up to 1:400 elsewhere | All accounts | Warnings ahead of the close-out | 50% | Negative balances are refunded, stated for the whole broker |
| CMC Markets | 1:30 retail; up to 1:500 for professionals | Retail | Not published as a separate level | 50% | Retail clients; not CMC Pro |
| XM | 1:30 (CySEC, ASIC); up to 1:1000 on XM Global | All accounts | 50% | 20% | Guaranteed for clients, in its own words |
| RoboForex | Up to 1:2000 | Pro | 50% (10 points above the stop out) | 40% | Not stated on an open page |
| Interactive Brokers | 1:30 (UK retail); 1:50 (US) | All accounts | No margin call; positions are liquidated in real time as the account becomes deficient | — | UK retail; professionals cover deficits |
| Exness | 1:30 (FCA, CySEC); very high on offshore entities | Standard | 60% | 0% | All accounts, without exception in its own wording |
| Pro | 30% | 0% | |||
| FXOpen | 1:30 (FCA, ASIC); up to 1:500 offshore | ECN | 100% | 50% | Retail clients; not professionals |
| Forex.com | 1:30 (UK); 1:50 (US) | All accounts | Not published as a separate level | 50% | UK and EU retail; not the US entity |
| Saxo Bank | 1:30 retail | All accounts | Closes when the product’s maintenance margin is no longer met | — | Retail clients; professionals cover deficits |
| Markets4you | Up to 1:1000 and above | Classic | Rises to 100% or 500% over weekends, by leverage | 20% | Not stated on an open page |
| Cent | Rises to 100% or 500% over weekends, by leverage | 10% | |||
| AMarkets | Up to 1:3000 | Standard | Not published as a separate level | 20% | Yes, with a fraud exception, in its trading regulations |
| ECN and Zero | Not published as a separate level | 40% | |||
| Alpari | Up to 1:3000 | Standard | 50% | 20% | Only “to the extent required by applicable regulation” |
| ECN | 80% | 50% | |||
| Weltrade | Up to 1:2000 | Micro, Cent, Pro, Raw Spread | 100% | 10% | Not stated on its account page |
| Universe | 20% | 10% | |||
| SyntX | 100% | 50% |
Common questions
Margin calculator FAQ
What is the margin level, and how is it calculated?
Margin level is equity divided by the margin your open positions are using, expressed as a percentage. With 1,000 USD of equity and 550 USD of margin in use, the margin level is 182%. It is the single number a margin call and a stop out are measured on: the broker compares it with its own thresholds, not your balance or your loss in pips.
How does the calculator turn a margin call level into pips?
A margin call arrives when equity falls to margin multiplied by the margin call level. The distance from your current equity to that point is the loss you can absorb first, and dividing that loss by the pip value of the position gives the number of pips the price can move against you. The same arithmetic with the stop out level gives the pips to the stop out.
Why do the stop out levels differ so much between brokers?
European, British and Australian regulators fixed the retail close-out at 50% of margin, so every entity under those licences uses the same number. Offshore entities set their own, and they run lower: 40%, 20%, 10% and, at Exness, 0%. A lower stop out leaves the position running longer, which sounds generous and also means more of the deposit is gone by the time the broker acts.
What does a 0% stop out mean in practice?
The broker does not close the position until equity reaches zero. There is no cushion left at that point, so whether the account can go negative depends entirely on the broker’s negative balance protection, which the table on this page lists per broker in its own words.
Does this include spread, swap or floating profit and loss?
No. It assumes the position opens at the price you enter with no floating result, and it ignores spread, commission and overnight swap. All three reduce equity a little, so the real distance to a margin call or a stop out is slightly shorter than the number shown. It is also built for USD-quoted instruments on a USD account; for USD-base pairs such as USD/JPY, use the custom instrument and your broker’s pip value.