What is Margin?
Updated October 17, 2026
Margin is the money your broker sets aside from your account to keep a leveraged trade open.
Margin isn't a fee. It's more like a deposit your broker holds while your trade is running.
The more leverage you have, the less margin each trade needs. That's handy but it also makes it easy to open too much.
If losses eat into your account and margin runs low, the broker can start closing your trades.
Example
Opening 0.10 lots of EURUSD at 1:100 might lock up about $108 of margin.
Questions people ask
Do I get my margin back?
Yes, it's released when you close the trade, plus or minus your profit or loss.
What's the difference between margin and free margin?
Margin is what's locked in trades. Free margin is what's left to open new ones or absorb losses.
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