Shows the leverage a position is really using, which is rarely the ratio the account was opened with.
There is a difference between the leverage a broker offers and the leverage a trader is using, and most retail traders never notice it. An account approved for 1:200 does not mean every trade runs at 1:200. If a trader with R20,000 of equity opens a position with R100,000 of notional exposure, they are using 1:5, whatever the account says. Effective leverage is the number that determines how much a move hurts, and this widget calculates it.
Your reader enters their equity and their total position value, and the widget returns the effective ratio along with what a given percentage move in the instrument does to the account. That second figure is the one that changes behaviour, because a 2% move against a position at 1:10 is a 20% account drawdown and very few people feel that in their bones until they see it.
It works as a planning tool and as a review tool. Before a trade it answers whether the exposure is sensible. After a losing run it usually explains why the drawdown was deeper than the trader expected.
No sign-up, no tracking, no external dependency, and full control over theme and accent colour from the iframe URL.
Free for any site, including commercial ones. Keep the small credit line at the bottom of the widget so readers can find the full version. Nothing is stored about the people who use it. See the disclaimer.
| Parameter | Values | What it does |
|---|---|---|
theme | auto, light, dark | Default follows the reader's own system setting, so the widget looks right on a dark site and a light one without you choosing. |
accent | Six hex digits, e.g. accent=1A56DB | Recolours the header bar and the primary button to match your brand. |
header | 1 or 0 | Set to 0 to hide the title bar when your page already has a heading above the widget. |
breakdown | 1 or 0 | Set to 0 to hide the calculation breakdown for a more compact block. |
corners | 1 or 0 | Set to 0 for square corners if your design has no rounding anywhere else. |
width | full | Removes the 520px maximum so the widget stretches to its container. |
Parameters are added to the iframe URL as a normal query string, for example
/embed/position-size-calculator.html?theme=dark&accent=1A56DB&header=0. The
widget builder lets you set all of them visually and hands you the finished code.
The widget divides total position value by account equity to give the effective leverage ratio, then models the account impact of price moves at several sizes so the reader can see the relationship rather than infer it.
It also works in reverse: a reader who knows the maximum drawdown they will accept from a given move can see what exposure that permits, which is a more disciplined way to arrive at a position than starting from the broker's maximum.
Effective leverage is the single most misunderstood number in retail trading.
Useful context next to a table of headline leverage ratios, which on their own tell a reader very little.
A working demonstration carries more weight than a warning in bold type.
The full library of free trading widgets has more than seventy tools, and the widget builder lets you preview and configure any of them before you copy the code.
It is total position value divided by account equity, which is the leverage actually in use rather than the maximum the broker permits. A trader on a 1:500 account who opens one micro lot is using a fraction of one to one. The account ratio is a ceiling, not a setting.
The distinction is explained in more depth in leverage versus margin in practice.
South Africa does not impose a single blanket retail leverage cap in the way that some jurisdictions do, so FSCA-regulated brokers set their own limits and these vary widely. That makes the effective leverage figure more important for a South African audience, not less, since the ceiling is not doing the work for them.
The margin widget answers how much deposit a position requires. This one answers how exposed the account is once the position is open. Margin is about whether you can place the trade; effective leverage is about what happens to you afterwards.
Yes, by entering the combined notional value of everything open. That total is the figure that matters, and it is usually considerably higher than traders assume, which is the point of the exercise. Portfolio heat approaches the same problem from the risk side.
Higher effective leverage means a given price move has a larger effect on the account, which is a mechanical fact rather than a judgement. Whether that constitutes higher risk depends on position size and stop placement, which is why this widget is most useful next to a position size or stop-loss calculator rather than on its own.
Widgets show the maths. A demo account shows how the same maths behaves against live spreads and real market movement, without risking funds.
Open a free demo account79% of retail CFD accounts lose money. Demo accounts do not guarantee future profits.