Liquidation Price Calculator
Calculate where a leveraged crypto position is liquidated, and the adverse move that would trigger it.
A leveraged position is closed automatically when its margin can no longer cover the loss, and the price at which that happens is the liquidation price. This liquidation price calculator works that level out before the position is opened, which is the difference between a managed risk and a surprise.
Formula: long: entry x (1 - 1/leverage) / (1 - maintenance margin)
Your figures
Published by your exchange, often 0.4%-1% and rising with position size.
Optional — position size in base units, for the margin and loss figures.
Optional — margin beyond the initial requirement.
Results
Liquidation price
US$27,135.68
below an entry of US$30,000.00
- Adverse move that triggers liquidation
- 9.55%
- Price distance from entry
- US$2,864.32
- Effective leverage
- 10.00x
- Position value
- US$15,000.00
- Margin posted
- US$1,500.00
- Loss at liquidation
- US$1,432.16
What this means
At 10.00x, a 9.55% move against this long position takes the margin down to the maintenance requirement and the position is closed by the exchange. Higher leverage does not increase the profit per unit of price movement — it reduces the margin posted, which moves the liquidation price closer to the entry.
- Exchanges use tiered maintenance margin that rises with position size, so a large position liquidates earlier than this figure suggests.
- Funding payments and fees erode margin over time, moving the real liquidation price closer than the formula shows.
- Assumes isolated margin. Cross margin draws on the whole account balance and behaves differently.
Liquidation price: US$27,135.68
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Continue with these figures
About the Liquidation Price calculation
The link between leverage and liquidation is direct: the higher the leverage, the less margin backs the position, and the closer the liquidation price sits to the entry. At 10x an adverse move of roughly 10% is enough; at 50x it is around 2%.
This crypto liquidation calculator estimates that price for an isolated-margin position from your entry, leverage and the exchange's maintenance margin rate. Dated futures and perpetual swaps are margined the same way, so it doubles as a perpetual liquidation calculator; the standard formula is used throughout rather than any one exchange's exact implementation.
Liquidation Price formula
long:
liquidation = entry × (1 − 1 ÷ L) ÷ (1 − mmr)
short:
liquidation = entry × (1 + 1 ÷ L) ÷ (1 + mmr)
where L is effective leverage and mmr the maintenance margin rate
adding margin reduces effective leverage:
L = notional ÷ (initial margin + extra margin)- maintenance margin
- The minimum margin the exchange requires before it closes the position.
- effective leverage
- Notional value divided by the margin actually posted, including any extra added.
- isolated margin
- Margin ring-fenced to one position, rather than drawn from the whole balance.
The formula comes from setting equity equal to the maintenance requirement. Equity is the margin posted plus the unrealised profit or loss; liquidation occurs at the price where that equals the maintenance margin, and rearranging for the price gives the expressions above.
Leverage enters as 1 ÷ L, which is why the effect is not linear. Going from 5x to 10x halves the distance to liquidation, but going from 50x to 100x only moves it from roughly 2% to 1% — by that point the position is already fragile, and the incremental change is small in absolute terms.
Adding margin beyond the initial requirement is the one lever that moves liquidation further away without reducing the position. It works by lowering effective leverage, which is why the calculator recomputes L from the total margin rather than using the selected leverage directly.
Liquidation Price: a worked example
A long position opened at $30,000 with 10x leverage, on an exchange with a 0.5% maintenance margin rate.
- 1 ÷ leverage1 ÷ 10 = 0.10
- Numerator30,000 × (1 − 0.10) = 27,000
- Denominator1 − 0.005 = 0.995
- Liquidation price27,000 ÷ 0.995 = $27,135.68
- Distance from entry$2,864.32
- Adverse move required9.55%
A 9.55% fall wipes out the position. Because Bitcoin has moved more than that in a single day many times, 10x is not a conservative setting despite being far below the maximum most exchanges offer.
How to use the Liquidation Price calculator
- Choose long or short, then enter the price you opened at.
- Enter the leverage used.
- Enter the exchange's maintenance margin rate for your position size — it is published in the fee or risk-limit tables, and rises in tiers as the position grows.
- Optionally add the position size to see the margin posted and the loss taken at liquidation.
- Add any extra margin you have posted; it lowers effective leverage and pushes liquidation further away.
Limitations of the Liquidation Price calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Exchanges use tiered maintenance margin that increases with position size. A large position liquidates earlier than a rate taken from the lowest tier suggests.
- Funding payments on perpetual futures are deducted from margin over time, gradually moving the real liquidation price closer.
- Liquidation fees and the exchange's insurance fund mechanics mean the position is usually closed slightly before the theoretical price.
- Assumes isolated margin. Under cross margin the whole account balance backs the position, so liquidation is further away but a loss can consume everything.
- In fast markets, liquidation can execute considerably worse than the calculated price.
Frequently asked questions about Liquidation Price
Does higher leverage increase my profit, or only bring liquidation closer?
Only the second, and mistaking that is the most common misunderstanding. Profit depends on position size and price movement. Leverage determines how much margin is posted against that position, which changes how much of your own capital is committed and how close liquidation sits — not how much the position earns per point moved.
What is maintenance margin?
The minimum equity the exchange requires to keep a position open, expressed as a percentage of notional value. It is lower than the initial margin, and the gap between the two is the room a position has to move against you before being closed.
Why does my exchange show a different futures liquidation price?
Tiered maintenance rates, accrued funding, unrealised profit or loss on other positions under cross margin, and liquidation fees all shift the figure. This calculator uses the standard formula; treat its output as an approximation that is, if anything, slightly optimistic.
Can I avoid liquidation by adding margin?
Adding margin lowers effective leverage and moves the liquidation price further away, which the extra-margin field models. It does not remove the risk — it commits more capital to a position that is already moving against you.
What is the difference between isolated and cross margin?
Isolated margin ring-fences a set amount to one position, so a liquidation loses only that. Cross margin draws on the entire account balance, which pushes liquidation much further away but puts the whole balance behind the position.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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