Estimate initial, maintenance, and intraday futures margin for a whole-contract position and compare each requirement with available account equity.
STEP-BY-STEP
How to use this tool
- Select the exact contract and confirm whether the position will be held through the broker’s intraday cutoff.
- Copy current initial, maintenance, and broker intraday margin from official sources.
- Enter available account equity and whole-contract quantity.
- Add a personal cushion because brokers and exchanges can raise margin without notice.
- Compare the applicable requirement with equity and reduce contracts if the buffered amount is too large.
- Recheck requirements before news, holidays, rollover, overnight holds, and volatile sessions.
WORKED EXAMPLE
See the calculation in context
Two contracts requiring $1,800 initial margin each need $3,600. A 25% personal cushion raises the planning requirement to $4,500, leaving $5,500 from a $10,000 account.
Calculation method
Margin requirement = margin per contract × whole contracts. Buffered initial requirement = total initial margin × (1 + personal cushion percentage). Maximum contracts divide equity by the buffered per-contract requirement and round down.
AVOID THESE ERRORS
Common mistakes
- Treating margin as the amount that can be lost
- Using intraday margin for an overnight position
- Assuming margin will remain unchanged during volatility
- Using a different contract month or product specification
- Using all available equity with no cushion
- Ignoring a prop firm’s separate contract and drawdown rules
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Questions and answers
What is the difference between initial and maintenance margin?
Initial margin is generally required to open or carry the position; maintenance is the minimum equity standard after the position is open. Exact handling depends on the broker and exchange.
Why can intraday margin be much lower?
Some brokers offer reduced collateral during approved hours, but the position must meet higher requirements outside those conditions.
Does enough margin mean the trade is properly sized?
No. Position risk should be determined from stop distance and tick value, not from maximum margin capacity.