What margin call and stop out mean
When you open a leveraged position, the broker sets aside part of your money as margin, a deposit that keeps the position open. Your equity is your balance plus or minus the floating profit or loss of open positions. Free margin is equity minus the margin in use.
- A margin call is a warning level. When your margin level falls to it, the platform tells you that your account is close to running out of margin.
- A stop out is the level where the broker starts closing your open positions automatically, because equity can no longer support them.
Both levels are expressed through margin level. Leveraged CFD and forex trading can lose money fast. Price can move from margin call to stop out in minutes or seconds, especially around news.
Exness margin call and stop out levels by account type
These levels come from the account tables on the official Exness site at the time of our check. Conditions can change. Check the current values in your Exness Personal Area or on the official site before you rely on them.
| Account type | Margin call | Stop out |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Cent | 60% | 0% |
| Standard | 60% | 0% |
| Pro | 30% | 0% |
| Raw Spread | 30% | 0% |
| Zero | 30% | 0% |
Exness's own notes on this table add some exceptions:
- Stocks. For stock CFDs, the stop out level can be raised when market risk increases. It is also raised during the daily break hours of stocks. If you hold stock positions, check the current rule on the official site.
- Some entities. Clients registered through Exness (KE) Limited and Exness Limited Jordan Ltd have a different, higher stop out level. Your Personal Area footer shows which entity holds your account: shown in the Personal Area footer. See Entities and regulators.
For the other differences between these accounts, see Account types.
How Exness margin level is calculated
Margin level is your equity divided by the margin in use, shown as a percentage.
Margin level = equity ÷ used margin, as a percentage
What moves each part:
- Equity falls as open positions lose money. It also falls when spreads widen, when commission is charged on Raw Spread and Zero accounts, and when swaps are charged on accounts without swap-free status.
- Used margin depends on position size, the instrument and your leverage. Higher leverage means less margin per lot. See Leverage.
If you have no open positions, used margin is zero and the platform shows no margin level. In MetaTrader you can see equity, margin, free margin and margin level in the Trade tab of the terminal.
Margin requirements can rise without you doing anything. Exness applies higher margin requirements (HMR) to orders opened from 15 minutes before to 90 seconds after high-impact news. For forex, leverage under HMR is 1:200 (0.5%). When the requirement rises, used margin goes up and margin level goes down, even if price has not moved.
On hedged positions (a buy and a sell of the same size on the same instrument), Exness lists the hedged margin as 0%. Closing one side of a hedge can therefore raise used margin sharply. See Hedged margin.
Margin call and stop out simulator
Enter your balance, position size, instrument, entry price and leverage. The tool shows your margin level and the prices where the margin call level and the stop out level are reached.
Fill in the empty fields to see the result.
Margin level = equity / used margin × 100%. Equity falls with the floating loss; the price for a level L solves balance + P/L = L × margin. Margin is taken at the entry price. In a gap the position can close at a worse price.
Read the result as a rough guide, not an exact forecast:
- The calculator uses the levels from the table above. If your account has a different stop out level, enter that value.
- Real fills at stop out can happen at a worse price than the calculated one, because of gaps, slippage and wider spreads.
- Commission, swaps and spread changes move the real stop out price over time.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
What a zero stop out level means
A stop out of 0% means positions are closed only when margin level reaches zero, which is when equity reaches zero. In practice, an account with such a stop out level can use almost all of its equity before positions are closed.
This has a clear downside. With a higher stop out level, part of the money stays in the account when positions are closed. With a zero level, little or nothing is usually left. A zero stop out does not reduce risk. It only moves the point of forced closing further away.
Exness also states a limit: 0% stop out not supported in some countries; may vary. Do not assume your account has a zero stop out level. Check the value shown for your account in the Personal Area.
Stop Out Protection
Exness says Stop Out Protection is offered on all accounts (not for KE/JO entities; may be unavailable with unlimited leverage). Exness describes it as offered on all trading accounts while stop out is set at zero.
We do not describe how the feature works in detail, because the sources we checked do not give that detail. Read the current description on the official Exness site. Do not treat it as a guarantee that a position will not be closed.
When the stop out happens and the balance goes negative
In a fast market, price can jump past your stop out price. The position is then closed at the next available price, and the loss can be larger than your equity.
Exness states: balance reset to 0 after stop out. This means you should not owe money beyond your deposit after a stop out. You still lose what was in the account. See Negative balance protection.
How traders keep distance from stop out
This is general risk control, not advice on any trade:
- Use a stop-loss order on each position so that you choose the exit, not the stop out.
- Size positions from the amount you accept to lose, not from the leverage you have. The lot calculator and other tools help with this.
- Watch margin level before high-impact news, when HMR and wider spreads can push it down.
- Remember that withdrawals reduce equity. Exness lets you withdraw up to free margin, and withdrawing free margin while positions are open moves you closer to stop out.
- Practise on a demo account first. Note that for the Standard Cent account, demo not available.
More on this in Risk management.
A note for readers in Pakistan: the SBP and SECP have issued statements on offshore forex and CFD platforms. Read Is Exness legal before you open an account.
Frequently asked questions
Does a margin call close my positions?
No. A margin call is a warning level. Positions are closed automatically when the stop out level is reached.
What is the Exness stop out level for a Standard account?
The account table lists 0%, with a margin call at 60%. Stocks and some entities have exceptions, and a zero stop out is not supported in some countries. Check your account in the Personal Area.
Why are the margin call levels different between accounts?
Exness sets 60% on Standard and Standard Cent and 30% on Pro, Raw Spread and Zero. On professional accounts, the warning therefore comes later, at a lower margin level.
Can I lose more than my deposit?
Exness states: balance reset to 0 after stop out. You can still lose the whole amount in the account.
Does changing leverage affect stop out?
Yes. Leverage changes the margin in use, and margin level depends on it. See Account settings for where leverage is changed.
Where do I see my margin level?
In the trading platform's account summary, for example the Trade tab in MetaTrader, next to equity, margin and free margin.
