Futures Margin Calculator
Calculate initial and maintenance margin on a futures position, the leverage it carries and the cushion before a margin call.
Futures margin is a performance bond rather than a loan, and this futures margin calculator treats it as one throughout. You are not borrowing money to control the contract — you are depositing collateral against the possibility of loss, and the exchange sets how much from recent volatility.
Formula: total margin = margin per contract x contracts; leverage = notional / balance
Your figures
Sets the point value and tick size. Choose 'Custom' to enter them yourself.
From your own broker's margin schedule. The exchange sets a floor and brokers commonly require more, so nothing is preset here.
Optional — shows the cushion before a margin call. Also from your broker's schedule.
Used to work out the notional value the contracts control.
Contract currency to your account currency. 1 when they match. Use the rate that applied on the day for a past trade.
Only used when Contract is set to Custom.
Only used when Contract is set to Custom.
Results
Enter the margin your broker requires per contract.
The link reopens this calculator with the same numbers. Nothing you enter is sent to a server.
Continue with these figures
About the Futures Margin calculation
That has two consequences worth understanding. Margin is not a fixed percentage of notional value the way forex margin is, and it changes: exchanges raise requirements during stressed markets, sometimes sharply and at short notice, which can force positions to be reduced at the worst possible moment.
It estimates the margin a position requires, and as a futures leverage calculator it shows the exposure that collateral controls and the loss the account can absorb before the balance falls to the maintenance requirement and a margin call follows.
Futures Margin formula
total initial margin = initial margin per contract × contracts
notional value = price × point value × contracts
effective leverage = notional value ÷ account balance
cushion to a margin call:
balance − (maintenance margin per contract × contracts)- initial margin
- Collateral required to open the position.
- maintenance margin
- The minimum that must be maintained. Falling below it triggers a call.
- notional value
- The full value the contracts control, which gains and losses are calculated on.
The gap between initial and maintenance margin is the room a position has to move against you before the broker acts. It is usually 5% to 10% of the initial requirement, which is narrow — the cushion comes mostly from account equity above the margin, not from that gap.
Effective leverage is the number that describes the actual exposure. Two E-mini S&P contracts at 5,000 control $500,000 of notional value; on a $50,000 account that is 10:1, and a 10% move in the index equals the entire balance regardless of what the margin requirement happens to be.
Day-trading margins offered intraday are a separate matter and are far lower — often a fraction of the overnight requirement. They apply only while the position is open within the session, and a position held past the close is re-margined at the full rate, which catches out traders who sized against the intraday figure.
Futures Margin: a worked example
Two E-mini S&P 500 contracts with the index at 5,000, on a $50,000 account. The page opens with both margin fields blank, because no margin figure is preset for any broker — enter $12,000 initial and $11,000 maintenance per contract to reproduce the arithmetic below, then replace them with your own broker's schedule.
- Total initial margin12,000 × 2 = $24,000
- Total maintenance margin11,000 × 2 = $22,000
- Notional value5,000 × $50 × 2 = $500,000
- Effective leverage500,000 ÷ 50,000 = 10.00 : 1
- Margin used24,000 ÷ 50,000 = 48%
- Loss before a margin call50,000 − 22,000 = $28,000
$24,000 of margin controls half a million dollars of index exposure. Nearly half the account is committed as collateral, and a $28,000 loss — a 5.6% move in the index — would trigger a call.
How to use the Futures Margin calculator
- Choose the contract and enter how many you intend to trade.
- Enter the initial margin your broker requires per contract. This field starts empty on purpose: initial margin on futures is set by the exchange as a floor, brokers usually require more, and both revise the figure, so a number typed into this site would be someone else's and out of date. Take it from your own margin schedule.
- Add the maintenance margin per contract. As a maintenance margin calculator it then reports the cushion — the loss the balance can absorb before a margin call.
- Enter the current price so the notional value and leverage can be worked out.
- Read effective leverage rather than the margin percentage — it is what describes the real exposure.
Limitations of the Futures Margin calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Margin requirements change. Exchanges revise them from volatility, and brokers frequently require more than the exchange minimum.
- Day-trading margins are much lower than the overnight requirement and apply only within the session. Positions held past the close are re-margined at the full rate.
- Does not model margin offsets for spread positions, which can be substantially lower than the sum of the outright legs.
- Assumes a single contract month. Calendar spreads and multi-leg positions are margined differently.
Frequently asked questions about Futures Margin
What is the difference between initial and maintenance margin on futures?
Initial margin is what is required to open the position. Maintenance margin is the minimum that must be maintained afterwards. If the balance falls below maintenance, a call follows and the account must be topped up to the initial level or the position reduced.
Why is futures margin not a fixed percentage of notional?
Because it is a performance bond sized to cover plausible one-day moves, which the exchange sets from recent volatility rather than from contract value. When volatility rises the requirement rises with it, even though the contract has not changed.
Can I use day-trading margin on futures to take a larger position?
Brokers offer it, and day trading margin on futures does permit a larger position within the session. It does not reduce the risk — the notional exposure and the loss per point are unchanged, and the position must be closed or fully margined before the session ends.
What happens if margin requirements increase while I am in a position?
You must meet the higher requirement or reduce the position. Increases usually arrive during volatile markets, which is exactly when reducing is least attractive — which is why free capital above the requirement matters more than the requirement itself.
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