High Leverage Forex Brokers: 1:2000, Unlimited and When It Drops

See the highest leverage at XM, HFM, XS and Exness, what Unlimited leverage really covers, and when each broker lowers the leverage on your trades.

Which Forex Brokers Offer the Highest Leverage?

HFM, XS and Exness offer up to 1:2000, and XM offers up to 1:1000. Exness and HFM also have Unlimited leverage, which works on some trades while your account is small. The table below shows the four brokers whose trading data we collect.

	Maximum leverage	Unlimited leverage
XM	1:1000	No
HFM	1:2000	Unlimited account
XS	1:2000	No
Exness	1:2000	Below USD 5,000 of equity

Some brokers advertise 1:3000 or more, but the headline number matters less than the leverage you still get at busy times. HFM, XS and Exness lower the leverage around major news, so at these three brokers you can count on 1:100 to 1:300 for gold during news, not 1:2000.

Where you live can lower the maximum too, because it depends on the broker’s company that holds your trading account. For example, Exness clients registered with its company in Kenya have a maximum of 1:400.

Is Unlimited Leverage Really Unlimited?

Unlimited leverage means almost no margin on some trades, up to a limit. Above that limit, or at busy times, the normal leverage comes back, so you still need free margin in your trading account.

Exness: Unlimited Leverage Below USD 5,000

At Exness, Unlimited is a setting on a normal trading account. It works while your account equity is below USD 5,000, once you have closed 10 orders and 5 lots in total on your real accounts. It covers the major and minor currency pairs, gold and silver, and every other instrument keeps its normal margin.

The catch is the busy times that Exness calls HMR, short for higher margin requirements. During news and around the weekend, a new gold trade gets 1:100 to 1:1000 instead of Unlimited. So 1 lot of gold that needed almost nothing can need up to $4,164, and with USD 1,000 in your trading account the order may not open.

To see the figure for your trade, tick Estimate during higher margin requirements (HMR) in the Exness margin calculator. Our guide to Exness leverage shows how to switch Unlimited on in your Personal Area.

HFM: the Unlimited Account

At HFM, Unlimited is a separate account type. HFM offers it in some countries, and it has a different name in some of them, such as InfinityX in India and KATANA in Japan.

On this account the margin is close to zero for up to 5 lots in each asset class, such as 5 lots of currency pairs and 5 lots of metals. A sixth lot of gold needs the normal margin for your account equity, and the limit counts all your positions in metals, such as gold and silver.

The account also has lower margin call and stop out levels. The margin call comes at 20% and the stop out at 0%, so a losing trade stays open until your equity is almost zero.

HFM sets the leverage on this account itself, so you choose your own leverage only on the Premium, Pro and Zero accounts. Choose Unlimited in the HFM margin calculator to see its figures.

When Does Your Leverage Drop?

At every broker, your leverage drops as your account equity grows and around the weekend. HFM, XS and Exness also lower it around major news.

As Your Account Equity Grows

Your account equity is your balance plus the profit or loss on your open trades. At each broker, gold gets the maximum leverage only while your equity is under a certain amount.

	Maximum leverage	Leverage falls from
XM	1:1000	USD 40,001 of equity
HFM	1:2000	USD 5,000 of equity
XS	1:2000	USD 5,001 of equity
Exness	1:2000	USD 30,000 of equity

So a bigger account can need more margin for the same trade. At XS, 1 lot of gold needs about $208 with USD 5,000 in the trading account. Add USD 1,000, and the same lot needs about $416.

Type your equity into Account equity (USD) in the XM, HFM, XS or Exness margin calculator, and it applies the step for your account.

When Major News Comes Out

HFM, XS and Exness lower the leverage in a short window around major economic news.

	Leverage on gold	Time window
HFM	1:300	15 minutes before to 5 minutes after
XS	1:200	15 minutes before to 5 minutes after
Exness	1:100 to 1:1000	15 minutes before to 90 seconds after

On a small account, this is the limit that matters most. During news, 1 lot of gold at XS needs about $2,082, ten times the $208 it needs at normal times.

XM has no fixed news window in its rules. Instead, its client agreement lets XM raise the margin before major releases such as US non-farm payrolls, also on trades that are already open.

Before and After the Weekend

At HFM, XS and Exness, the lower limit covers the trades you open close to the weekend break. At XM, it may also cover the trades you hold over the weekend.

• XM
  From Friday evening until the markets reopen, currency pairs and gold fall to 1:250. So a gold trade you keep open over the weekend needs four times its weekday margin.
• HFM
  On Friday, trades opened in the last hour before the close get 1:200, and 1:100 in the last 30 minutes. On Monday, trades opened in the first 10 minutes get 1:100, and 1:200 until the first hour ends.
• XS
  On Friday, gold trades opened in the last 2 hours before the close get 1:200. Gold trades opened in the first hour on Monday get 1:200 too.
• Exness
  From about 3 hours before the weekend break until 1 hour after the market reopens, Exness works out the margin at the HMR limits. So gold trades opened during this time get 1:100 to 1:1000.

Can a Lower Limit Affect a Trade You Already Hold?

At XS and Exness, the lower limits apply only to the trades you open around news or the weekend. At XM and HFM, some of these lower limits may also apply to trades that are already open. The table shows what the rules of each broker say.

	During news	At the weekend
XM	If XM raises the margin	New and open trades
HFM	Not only new trades	New trades only
XS	New trades only	New trades only
Exness	New trades only	New trades only

XM has no fixed news limit, but if it raises the margin before major news, the higher margin may also affect open trades. The HFM rule for news does not limit the lower leverage to new trades, so at HFM, plan as if it applies to your open trades too.

When the margin on an open trade rises, your margin level falls, even if the price has not moved. For example, with USD 1,000 in your trading account and 1 lot of gold open, the margin level is about 480% at 1:2000. At 1:200, it falls to about 48%, lower than the margin call level at XM and HFM.

From that point, a smaller loss than usual brings the trade to the stop out. Our guide to margin calls and stop out levels shows how much you can lose before a stop out at each broker.

So before major news at XM or HFM, check the free margin for the trades you keep open, or reduce the lot size. At XM, do the same before the weekend.

At XS and Exness, the lower limits leave your open trades as they are, with one exception for hedged trades. During HMR, closing one side of a hedge can fail if the other side then needs more margin than you have. Exness also raises the margin on stocks you already hold to 20% before the company reports its earnings.

On Stocks and Other Instruments

The maximum leverage is for currency pairs and gold. Stocks have a much lower, fixed limit, such as 1:20 on Apple at XM and Exness. So a higher account leverage leaves the margin on a stock trade unchanged.

How Much Margin Does 0.01 Lot of Gold Need?

At 1:2000, 0.01 lot of gold needs about $2.08, so USD 100 opens it at every broker. You find the margin by dividing the value of the trade by the leverage, and 0.01 lot of gold is 1 ounce.

At 1:1000 at XM, the same trade needs $4.16. Either way, most of the USD 100 stays free. Every $1 move in gold changes your balance by $1 at any leverage, so on this trade a higher leverage adds less than $1 of room before a stop out.

Leverage starts to matter on bigger trades, and most of all when it drops. The table below shows the margin for gold at XS, where major news lowers the leverage to 1:200.

	0.01 lot	1 lot
Normal times, 1:2000	$2.08	$208
Major news, 1:200	$20.82	$2,082

With USD 1,000 in your trading account, 1 lot of gold opens easily at normal times. During news the same order needs more than the whole balance, so it may not open. The lot size calculator shows the largest lot your balance can open at your leverage, and how far the price can move before a stop out.

Because the leverage you can use is close at all four brokers, the cost of each trade differs more between them. Our lowest spread comparison ranks the trading accounts by their cost on gold.

High Leverage Forex Brokers FAQ

Which forex broker has the highest leverage?

HFM, XS and Exness offer up to 1:2000, and XM up to 1:1000.

Exness and HFM also offer Unlimited leverage. At Exness it works below USD 5,000 of equity, and at HFM on the Unlimited account up to 5 lots in each asset class.

Can you use high leverage in the US, the UK or the EU?

With a broker regulated in those places, retail traders get much lower leverage limits. In the US, the rules cap leverage at 1:50 on major currency pairs. In the EU, the cap is 1:30 on major pairs and 1:20 on gold, and the UK uses the same 1:30 cap on major pairs.

The limit follows the company of the broker that holds your trading account, and each broker decides which countries it accepts.

So before you open an account, check on the broker’s registration page which company would serve your country and what leverage it offers.

Is 1:2000 leverage good for beginners?

The leverage only sets the margin, and the lot size sets your risk. With 0.01 lot of gold, you gain or lose $1 for each $1 move, at 1:2000 and at 1:100 alike.

The risk grows when a small margin makes a bigger lot easy to open. So set the lot size from your balance and your stop loss first, for example with the lot size calculator.

Can you change your leverage?

Yes, you can change it at all four brokers, in the area where you manage your trading accounts. That is the XM Members Area, myHF at HFM, your profile at XS and the Personal Area at Exness.

The HFM Unlimited account is the exception, because HFM sets its leverage. Each broker’s margin calculator page shows the steps, for example the XM margin calculator and the XS margin calculator.

Which Page Do You Need Next?

If you are planning a trade, start with the lot size calculator, because it turns your balance and leverage into a lot size. The other pages show what 0.01 lot means in dollars, which brokers have the lowest trading cost on gold, and which accounts have no swap.