CFD trading calculator
Discover how a CFD trade works – including the margin requirement for your trade and the potential profit or loss – with our CFD trading calculator.
Call 0800 195 3100 or email newaccounts.uk@ig.com to talk about opening an account.
Our CFD trading calculator
Play around with the options in our example below to see how margin requirements and profit or loss are calculated on 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 CFD trading calculator
Choose your points of movement
Set up our calculator using different points of movement, from 50 points all the way up to 500, which are typical amounts of price movement in various CFD trade timeframes.
Select your order size
Put in a range of order sizes including $1, $2, $5, $10 and $25 per point of movement in the underlying market.
Keep in mind that FX CFDs are always traded in the quote currency – so you might be trading in a different currency than USD (which we used in our example above).
See how your margin and P&L are calculated
Look at the margin requirement and final profit or loss for the trade using the figures provided by the example, and tweak the input data to get a different calculation.
Open a CFD trading account in minutes
*Demo accounts are only available for spread betting and CFD trading.
Open a CFD trading account
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 15,000+ 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 50 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
*Demo accounts are only available for spread betting and CFD trading.
Open a CFD trading account in minutes
Open a CFD trading account
Fast execution on a huge range of markets
Enjoy flexible access to 15,000+ 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 50 years of experience, we’re proud to offer a truly market-leading service
How to get started with CFD trading
To get started with CFD trading, 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 CFD trading works.
- Learn how to trade CFDs
- Choose a market to trade
- Create a CFD trading account
- Take steps to manage your risk
- Open, monitor and close your CFD trade
Remember that our CFD calculator is a useful tool for determining the margin requirement and potential profit or loss of your CFD trade before you open a position. Forex traders can also check out our FX calculator tool, or you can compare CFDs to spread bets with our spread betting calculator.
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 CFD margin calculated?
CFD margin is calculated as a percentage of the total position size, and it’s the deposit that you need to put down to open a leveraged CFD trading position. Our CFD margin requirements vary between the markets you’re looking to trade.
How is CFD profit and loss calculated?
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. 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
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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Professional clients trading spread bets and CFDs can lose more than they deposit.
Options and futures are complex instruments which come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. They’re not suitable for most investors. Before you invest, you should consider whether you understand how options and futures work, the risks of trading these instruments and whether you can afford to lose more than your original investment.
Trading stocks and shares ‘on margin’ within a US options and futures account – meaning that you only finance part of the cost of acquiring a position in a security – carries additional risks over buying securities on a fully funded basis and may result in losses exceeding your original investment. Trading on margin will also result in additional costs to you as the investor and any securities purchased using margin may be held as collateral by the lender, restricting both your rights as shareholder, and your ability to use the securities until the margin trade is closed. You should familiarise yourself with these risks before trading on margin.
The value of shares, ETFs and other ETPs bought through a share dealing account, a US options and futures account, a stocks and shares ISA or a SIPP can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Some ETPs carry additional risks depending on how they’re structured, investors should ensure they familiarise themselves with the differences before investing.
Share dealing and IG Smart Portfolio accounts provided by IG Trading and Investments Ltd, CFD accounts and US options and futures accounts are provided by IG Markets Ltd, spread betting provided by IG Index Ltd.
IG is a trading name of IG Trading and Investments Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales under number 11628764), IG Markets Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales under number 04008957) and IG Index Ltd (a company registered in England and Wales under number 01190902). Registered address at Cannon Bridge House, 25 Dowgate Hill, London EC4R 2YA. IG Markets Ltd (Register number 195355), IG Trading and Investments Ltd (Register Number 944492) and IG Index Ltd (Register number 114059) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
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