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うさぎ先生
11/07/2026 17:30
Release： 11/07/2026 17:30
Update： 11/07/2026 17:30
うさぎ先生
Investment style : Trading System
Investment career : More than 10 years
Investment amount : 100,000 - 300,000 JPY
This is Usagi-sensei. Focusing on FX, I develop and validate indicators, trade assist tools, and automated trading EAs for MT5. Currently, I publish MT5 tools that make “market condition checks” and “multi-chart workflows” a bit easier in discretionary trading. When listing products, I strive to verify them in as close to real operating environments as possible, and clearly explain: - what can be done - what cannot be done - in what environments it was verified - what could not be verified I aim to provide tools that are easy to understand and use, not guarantees of profit or future price movements, but rather aids for checks and tasks during trading. If you have any questions about the products, please feel free to contact me.
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What is the difference between 'Balance', 'Effective Margin', and 'Surplus Margin'?

Under MT5's "Trading" tab, there are numbers such as "Balance," "Equity," and "Free Margin" (display names may vary slightly depending on the broker and language settings). Why do some numbers change when you hold a position and others do not?

This time, we will sort out the meanings using dummy numbers.

Meaning of the numbers

  • Balance: the account funds after settled profits and losses are reflected. Merely holding a position does not change it
  • Equity (may be displayed as "Equity" in MT5): Balance plus the unrealized P/L of open positions
  • Margin (Required Margin): the amount that must be deposited in the account to hold current positions
  • Free Margin: the usable excess funds obtained by subtracting the Required Margin from Equity

Calculating with a dummy example

As a dummy example, suppose the Balance is 100,000 yen and the Required Margin for a position is 20,000 yen.

  1. Immediately after opening the position (no unrealized P/L): Equity is 100,000 yen, Free Margin is 80,000 yen
  2. If an unrealized loss of 10,000 yen occurs: Equity is 90,000 yen, Free Margin is 70,000 yen. Balance remains 100,000 yen
  3. If the position is closed and a realized loss occurs: Balance decreases to 90,000 yen. Since there are no positions left, Required Margin becomes 0 yen

Where to look

  • When you want to know the "actual funds" including current unrealized P/L: Equity
  • When you want to know how much new position you can take: Free Margin
  • When you want to know the settled results: Balance

Points that are easy to overlook

If unrealized losses grow large, Equity decreases, and Free Margin decreases by the same amount. Since Balance hasn't changed, you might mistakenly misjudge your actual available funds.

Cautions

  • The Required Margin for a position varies by instrument, lot size, account leverage, and the broker's rules
  • If the account currency and the traded instrument's currency differ, they are converted using exchange rates
  • Display names on the screen may differ slightly depending on MT5 language settings and the broker

Summary

Balance is "settled funds," Equity is "funds including unrealized P/L," Free Margin is "usable remaining capacity." While trading, make it a habit to monitor Equity and Free Margin.