Liquidation price calculator
Enter your entry price, your leverage and whether you are long or short, and I will tell you at what price the exchange would liquidate you on isolated margin and how far away that is. I use the same formula as the guide on how the liquidation price is calculated.
Liquidation price54,300
Distance from entry-9.5%
You are liquidated if the price falls 9.5% from your entry.
Isolated margin, without fees or funding. Before you open, check the figure your exchange gives you: that is the one that counts.
How far away liquidation is at each leverage
With a 0.5% maintenance margin, this is how far the price has to move against you to liquidate you, and where liquidation would be with an entry at 60,000 USDT. The higher the leverage, the closer it gets:
| Leverage | Move against you | Long from 60,000 | Short from 60,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| x2 | 49.5% | 30,300 | 89,700 |
| x3 | 32.83% | 40,300 | 79,700 |
| x5 | 19.5% | 48,300 | 71,700 |
| x10 | 9.5% | 54,300 | 65,700 |
| x20 | 4.5% | 57,300 | 62,700 |
| x50 | 1.5% | 59,100 | 60,900 |
| x100 | 0.5% | 59,700 | 60,300 |
Doubling the leverage puts liquidation at less than half the distance. At x100, a move of less than 1% against you liquidates you, and in crypto that happens several times a day.
The formula I use
I calculate the liquidation price on isolated margin and without fees, with the same formula as the blog guide:
- Long: liquidation = entry price × (1 − 1 / leverage + maintenance margin)
- Short: liquidation = entry price × (1 + 1 / leverage − maintenance margin)
The maintenance margin goes in as a fraction: 0.5% is 0.005. It is the minimum the exchange requires to keep the position open, and when your margin drops to it, the exchange closes the position. It is usually between 0.4% and 1% for small positions on the big pairs, and it rises in tiers with the size of the position.
An example: a long at 60,000 USDT with x10 and 0.5% maintenance is liquidated at 60,000 × (1 − 0.1 + 0.005) = 54,300 USDT, 9.5% below the entry.
To understand it step by step, the blog has what leverage is and how the liquidation price is calculated.
Why your exchange gives a slightly different figure
Your exchange’s figure almost never matches the calculator’s to the cent, because it takes into account things the formula leaves out:
- It deducts the closing fee it would charge when liquidating you, which brings liquidation slightly closer.
- Its maintenance margin rises in tiers with the size of the position: on a large position, yours is higher than 0.5%.
- If you add margin or pay the funding rate, your margin changes and liquidation moves.
- It calculates liquidation with the mark price, an average of several markets, and not with the last price on the chart.
Use the calculator to get the order of magnitude before you open, and the exchange’s figure to decide.
It doesn’t work for cross margin
On cross margin, the position uses the whole free balance of your futures account as a cushion, so liquidation depends on everything in the account and moves every time you open another position or withdraw funds. This calculator doesn’t work for that case: there, the figure that counts is the one the exchange shows you on the open position.
Liquidation being further away on cross margin doesn’t mean you risk less: if it comes, it can take the entire balance of the futures account.
Frequently asked questions
How is the liquidation price calculated?
On isolated margin and without fees, for a long it is the entry price × (1 − 1 / leverage + maintenance margin), and for a short, the entry price × (1 + 1 / leverage − maintenance margin). That is the calculation this calculator does.
How far away is liquidation at x10?
With a 0.5% maintenance margin, 9.5% from the entry: below it for a long and above it for a short. At x20, 4.5%, and at x100, 0.5%.
What maintenance margin should I enter?
Your exchange’s figure for that pair and that position size, which is in its risk tier table. If you don’t know it, the 0.5% filled in is the usual figure for small positions on the big pairs, such as BTC or ETH against USDT.
Why does my exchange show a different liquidation price?
Because it deducts the closing fee, uses its tiered maintenance margin and the mark price, and takes into account any margin you add and funding. The difference is usually small, and the figure that counts is the exchange’s.
Does it work for cross margin?
No. On cross margin, liquidation depends on the whole balance of your futures account and changes with every position you open. There, check the figure the exchange gives you on the open position.
Does a stop loss prevent liquidation?
If you place it before the liquidation price and it is filled, yes: you close with the loss you chose. In very sharp moves, a market stop can be filled worse than expected. More in stop loss and take profit.