Forex trading calculator
Discover how a forex trade works – including the margin requirement and potential profit or loss on a forex CFD trade – with our forex trading calculator.
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Visit help and support for more information.
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com to talk about opening an account.
Contact us 08001953100
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Get info fast via our instant help and support portal. Available for account queries, ProRealTime, product info and more.
Visit help and support for more information.
Call 0800 409 6789 or email helpdesk.uk@ig.com if you have any questions about trading or investing. We're available 24/7 between 8am Saturday and 10pm Friday.
Contact us 0800 409 6789
Our forex trading calculator
Choose from the options below to see how margin requirements and profit or loss are calculated on forex CFD trades.
* The profit, loss and margin requirement figures in this example are for illustrative purposes only, and the calculation assumes a spread of 1 point – which could vary. If you keep your positions on spot markets open overnight, you will pay overnight funding charges.
How to use our forex trading calculator
Decide on your points of movement
Choose between the different points of movement – from 50 points all the way up to 500. These are applicable for different timeframes including hourly, daily, weekly and monthly.
Put in your order size
Select the order size in the underlying currency pair’s price. For our example, this is given in USD.
See how your margin and P&L are calculated
Look at the different margin requirements and profit or loss figures for the trade using the figures provided by our example, and tweak the input options to get a different calculation.
When you trade forex with us, you’ll do it using either spread bets or CFDs. Both are leveraged, meaning you’ll only need to put up a deposit (called margin) to open a position. This can magnify your profits and losses as both will be based on the full exposure of the trade, not just the margin required to open it. This means losses as well as profits could far outweigh your margin, so always ensure you’re trading within your means.
Start trading today
Start trading today
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
Start trading today
Start trading today
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 17,000+ global markets, with reliable execution
Deal seamlessly, wherever you are
Trade on the move with our natively designed, award-winning trading app
Feel secure with a trusted provider
With more than 47 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
How to get started with forex trading
To get started with trading forex, check out the educational resources we have at IG Academy – which can help you with your market analysis and risk management – or learn more about how forex trading works.
In the calculator on this page, we’ve included an example of a forex CFD trade. CFDs are a derivative that enable you to speculate on the price of a forex pair rising or falling – and there are a range of benefits to trading forex with CFDs. With us, you’ll be able to trade forex mini lots or standard lots with CFDs. Mini lots represent 10,000 of the first-named currency in a pair and can help to decrease your position size, while standard lots represent 100,000 of the first-named currency.
We also offer spread bets, which are a derivative just like CFDs. But, when you trade spread bets, you won’t pay any tax on your profits: no capital gains, no stamp duty – nothing.1 There’s a whole host of benefits to trading forex with spread bets, not just the tax. Interested in learning more about spread bets? Why not check out how they’re different to CFDs.
Remember that since spread bets and CFDs are leveraged, it’s important that you take steps to manage your risk because leverage can increase both your profits and your losses.
- Learn how to trade forex with spread bets or CFDs
- Choose a forex pair to trade
- Create a forex trading account
- Take steps to manage your risk
- Open, monitor and close your forex trade
Remember that our forex calculator is a useful tool for determining the margin requirement and potential profit or loss of your forex trade before you open a position. CFD traders can also check out our CFD calculator, while spread bettors can use our spread bet calculator tool
Who are we?
If you want to trade financial markets, you’ve come to the right place. We invented financial spread betting in 1974, and today we offer spread bets and CFDs to retail traders who are looking to seize their next opportunity. We’ve got a range of markets to choose from, including indices, forex, commodities, shares and more.
If you prefer to own assets, you can also buy and sell thousands of shares and ETFs with our share dealing offering, or choose a wealth portfolio managed by one of our pros.
FAQs
How is forex margin and leverage calculated?
Margin is calculated as a percentage of the total position size when trading with leverage, because margin is the deposit that you need to put down to open a leveraged position. Our margins for forex spread bets and CFDs start at 3.33% for major pairs like GBP/USD, EUR/USD and EUR/GBP. Find out more about our margin rates, including for other markets like indices, stocks and commodities.
How is forex profit and loss calculated?
Your forex CFD profit and loss is calculated as the difference in price from when you opened your position to when you closed it, multiplied by your total position size. For forex spread bets, your profit or loss is determined by the amount of money you bet per point, and the total size of the underlying market movement.
You should remember that when you’re trading with leverage, your final profit or loss will be calculated using the full position size – not just the margin required to open it – which can result in both greater profits and greater losses.
Learn more about calculating your profit or loss on a CFD trade
Try these next
Discover our charges for share dealing, spread bets and CFDs.
Get to grips with what CFDs are and how to trade them.
Learn more about the markets we offer.
1 Applies to UK spread betting. Tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual circumstances. Tax law may differ in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
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