How Exness leverage works

What leverage is and what it changes

Kocchan

If leverage is higher, do I need less money to open a trade?

BlueSnyaiper

For instruments with variable margin, higher leverage reduces the margin needed for the same position. Larger positions relative to equity increase loss exposure. Fixed-margin instruments are unaffected by the leverage setting.

Leverage is the ratio of your equity to the capital Exness provides, written for example 1:200, 1:2000 or 1:Unlimited. It affects the margin needed to keep an order open.

• For instruments with variable margin, higher leverage means less margin for the same position, and lower leverage means more.
• Larger positions relative to your equity increase the exposure to losses as well as gains.
• Instruments with fixed margin are not affected by the leverage setting (see the margin section below).
• The lowest leverage setting is 1:2, and leverage cannot be disabled.

Source: Exness help center, Leverage (checked 2026-10-13).

Maximum leverage by equity

Kocchan

Is the maximum leverage the same for every account?

BlueSnyaiper

No. It depends on the current equity of the account, and for clients of some Exness entities the maximum can be lower than the table. The leverage actually applied to your own account is shown in the Personal Area.

The table shows the highest leverage that can be available, not the leverage that is applied to your positions. The applied value can be lower, for example during the higher margin periods described below. Depending on the Exness entity you are registered with, the maximum can also be lower than the table.

Margin call and stop-out levels by account type are on the account types page.

Unlimited leverage: conditions and risks

Exness lists 1:Unlimited as a setting that is not available to everyone by default. On a real account it can be selected only when both of these hold:

• the account's equity is below 5,000 USD;
• across all your real accounts in the Personal Area, you have closed at least 10 orders (pending orders do not count) with a combined size of at least 5 lots (or 500 cent lots).

If the conditions are not met, the option does not appear in the leverage settings.

• Only some instruments qualify. Eligibility is limited to the instruments in Exness's official list, which names certain forex pairs and gold and silver. An instrument that is not on the list is not eligible, even on a qualifying account. Check the list in the Unlimited leverage article.
• Stop Out Protection may not be available on an account set to unlimited leverage.
• It raises risk. Larger positions relative to equity increase exposure to losses as well as gains. Exness says it should not be read as a profit advantage and that it is not suitable for all traders.

Margin: variable and fixed

How much margin an order needs depends on the instrument.

• Variable margin. The requirement moves with the leverage: margin = lots x contract size / leverage. Exness's own example: 2 lots of EURUSD at 1:2000 gives 2 x 100,000 / 2000 = 100 EUR.
• Fixed margin. For some instruments (examples named by Exness: exotic currency pairs, some commodities and indices) the margin is set per symbol and is not affected by the leverage setting, including unlimited leverage.

Which instruments use which type is listed in the Margin article, so check it for the instruments you trade.

Higher margin requirements (HMR) around news and breaks

• News. For most instruments, orders opened from 15 minutes before to 90 seconds after a high-impact news release are subject to higher margin requirements (HMR), and leverage on the affected instruments is capped. Afterwards the margin is recalculated from the account's equity and leverage. Depending on your trading activity and market risk, you may have no HMR or only a brief period.
• Breaks. HMR also applies before and after weekends, public holidays and daily breaks. For weekends it runs from about 3 hours before the break to 1 hour after it, for all instruments except BTC and ETH. The periods around daily breaks differ by instrument group.
• The cap. During HMR the leverage cap depends on the instrument group. For forex it is 1:200 (0.5% margin) on all pairs. The other groups have different values.

HMR periods can differ by instrument and can change. Exness shows the latest periods in the chart indicators of Exness Terminal and Exness Trade. The full tables are in the Higher Margin Requirements article (checked 2026-10-13).

How to change and check your leverage

1. Log in to the Personal Area and open My accounts.
2. Click the 3-dot icon next to the trading account and choose Adjust leverage.
3. Choose an available setting, or select Custom to enter a value. The available maximum depends on your equity and the Exness entity you are registered with, and 1:Unlimited appears only if its eligibility conditions are met.
4. Continue and confirm.

If you choose a setting higher than what is available at the moment, because of your equity or a higher margin period, the leverage actually applied to your positions is lower than the one you set. You can see the actual leverage in the Personal Area. A setting is therefore not a promise of the leverage you will get. Source: Trading account settings (checked 2026-10-13).