Perp Leverage Liquidation Calculator
Leverage lets you control a larger position than your margin alone, but it also brings the liquidation price closer. This calculator takes your margin, leverage, entry price, and the exchange's maintenance margin rate, then returns your notional position size, the quantity of the underlying, the estimated liquidation price for an isolated long, and the percentage price drop that would trigger liquidation. It is a simplified model that excludes fees and funding, so always confirm against the live liquidation price your exchange shows.
Leverage and liquidation formula
Notional = margin * leverage
Quantity = notional / entry price
Liquidation price = entry * (1 - 1/leverage + mmr/100)
Drop to liquidation % = (entry - liquidation price) / entry * 100
This isolated-margin long model excludes fees and funding. A short position liquidates on the upside using the mirror formula. Higher leverage moves the liquidation price closer to entry.
Things to know
- Maintenance margin rate is set per market by the exchange; enter the current value.
- Higher leverage shrinks the adverse move needed to trigger liquidation.
- Fees and funding payments shift the real liquidation point against you over time.
- Cross-margin pools collateral across positions and changes liquidation behaviour.
- Always confirm the live liquidation price shown by your exchange before trading.
Leverage liquidation: frequently asked questions
How is a leveraged position size determined?
Position size in notional terms equals your margin (collateral) times your leverage. With $1,000 of margin at 10x leverage, your notional exposure is $10,000. Dividing notional by the entry price gives the quantity of the underlying you control. This calculator reports both notional value and quantity.
How is the liquidation price calculated for a long?
For an isolated long, liquidation approaches when losses consume your margin down to the maintenance margin. The approximate liquidation price is entry price times (1 minus 1 over leverage plus maintenance margin rate). It rises with higher leverage, meaning a smaller adverse move wipes you out.
What is the maintenance margin?
Maintenance margin is the minimum equity, as a fraction of notional, that an exchange requires you to keep to avoid liquidation. If your position equity falls to this level, the position is liquidated. The rate is set per market by each exchange; enter the current figure from the venue.
Why is higher leverage riskier?
Higher leverage means a larger notional position per dollar of margin, so a smaller percentage price move against you erases your margin. At 20x, roughly a 5 percent adverse move is enough to approach liquidation before fees and funding. Leverage magnifies both gains and losses.
Does this account for fees and funding?
No. This is a simplified isolated-margin model using entry price, leverage, and maintenance margin. Trading fees, funding payments, and cross-margin effects shift the real liquidation point. Treat the output as an estimate and rely on the exchange's own liquidation price for live positions.
Official sources
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission: CFTC on leverage and derivatives.
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Investor.gov on crypto assets.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 17 June 2026. See our methodology.