Skip to content

Stocks and trading

Margin and leverage calculator

See the exposure, the leverage and the price move that would use up your margin on a leveraged position.

Direction
per share
shares or units

For futures, lots x lot size.

% of exposure

Your broker’s figure for this position. This page holds no broker margin data, so it is a number you enter.

per share

Marks the position at this price.

Brokerage and taxes

Counts STT, brokerage, exchange fees, GST and stamp duty from the broker’s published plan.

Broker plan

Charges use the rates this broker publishes for an ordinary account, on NSE. Your own plan may differ.

Kind of trade

An exposure of ₹1,00,000 on ₹20,000 of margin is 5 x leverage. A 20% fall in price would use up the whole margin. Losses can be larger than the margin.

Leverage
5 xThe position is 5 times the money you put up.
Exposure
₹1,00,000Entry price x quantity
Margin you put up
₹20,000

The move that uses up the margin

Fall that wipes out the marginEquals the margin percentage
20%
Price at that point
₹800.00

Brokers can close a position before this point, and the losses beyond it still have to be paid. This is the arithmetic only, not a rule of your broker.

Marked at the price you entered

Mark-to-market profit or lossBefore charges
+₹5,000.00
As a share of your margin
25%
Margin left after the move
+₹25,000.00
Charges for the round trip
₹84.12
Profit or loss after charges
+₹4,915.88

Charges worked out for intraday trading on NSE with Zerodha’s published plan.

What different moves do

Profit or loss and return on margin for price moves from your entry
Move in pricePriceProfit or lossOn your margin
−20%₹800.00−₹20,000.00-100%
−10%₹900.00−₹10,000.00-50%
−5%₹950.00−₹5,000.00-25%
−2%₹980.00−₹2,000.00-10%
−1%₹990.00−₹1,000.00-5%
+1%₹1,010.00+₹1,000.005%
+2%₹1,020.00+₹2,000.0010%
+5%₹1,050.00+₹5,000.0025%
+10%₹1,100.00+₹10,000.0050%
+20%₹1,200.00+₹20,000.00100%

The move is in the price, positive when it helps your position. Because of leverage, a small move in price becomes a larger move on your margin, in both directions.

What this assumes

  • The margin percentage stays the same throughout. Brokers can change it, and may ask for more money when the price moves against you.
  • There is no interest or funding cost on any borrowed part of the position.
  • Profit or loss is marked at the single price you entered, with no gaps or partial exits.
  • Leverage magnifies losses as much as gains. A loss can be larger than the margin you put up.
  • This describes the figures you entered. It does not predict what comes next.

What next

  • Position size

    Work out how many shares a trade involves if you decide in advance how much you can afford to lose.

  • Risk-reward

    Compare how far a stop-loss and a target are from your entry, and the win rate that breaks even.

  • Brokerage

    See every charge on a trade, from brokerage to taxes, and what you actually keep.

  • Average price

    Find the weighted average price of several buys, and what it takes to reach a target average.

How it works

With margin, you put up only part of a position's value and borrow or are allowed exposure to the rest. The share you put up is the margin percentage. Leverage is how many times the position is bigger than your own money, and it multiplies profits and losses alike.

Exposure = Price x Quantity. Margin = Exposure x Margin %. Leverage = 100 / Margin %

A worked example

100 shares at 1,000 is an exposure of ₹1,00,000. At a margin of 20 percent you put up ₹20,000, which is 5 times leverage. If the price rises to 1,050 the position makes +₹5,000.00, which is 25% of the margin although the price moved only 5 percent. A fall of 20 percent, to ₹800.00, loses ₹20,000, the entire margin. The same maths works against you for a price move of the other sign.

Mark-to-market (MTM) is the profit or loss of an open position at the latest price, whether or not you have sold. The page shows it at the price you enter, with the charges for the round trip if you include them.

What it leaves out

  • Your broker’s real margin. Margin changes with the instrument and the day, so you enter the percentage.
  • Extra margin calls or the broker closing a position early. A loss can also exceed the margin put up.
  • Interest on any borrowed money, such as in margin funding.
  • Tax on profits and losses.

Questions people ask

What is leverage in trading?

Leverage means controlling a position larger than the money you put up. With a margin of 20 percent you control five times your money. It multiplies both gains and losses, so a small adverse move in price can take a large share of your capital.

What is the margin percentage?

It is the share of the position value you must keep with your broker to hold the position. It depends on the instrument, the type of order and the day, and brokers publish or show it in their platform. This page asks you to enter it rather than guess.

What is the move that wipes out the margin?

It is the percent move in the price, against your position, that creates a loss equal to the margin you put up. It is the same as the margin percentage: a 20 percent margin is used up by a 20 percent adverse move. In practice a broker can close the position earlier.

What does MTM mean?

Mark-to-market is the profit or loss on a position if it were valued at the latest price. In derivatives it is settled in cash every day, so a loss reduces your balance even before you close the position.

Can I lose more than my margin?

Yes. If the price moves against you by more than the margin percentage, the loss is bigger than the margin, and the shortfall is yours to pay. Brokers try to limit this by closing positions early, but a gap in price can still produce a loss beyond the margin.

Where the numbers come from