Margin is the amount of funds in account currency that is held by a broker for keeping an order open. Free margin is the remaining amount of equity in your account.
The main differences are:
- Free margin denoted in your trading platform indicates the amount of funds available to open new trades, while margin denotes the amount held for the trades that were already open.
- Margin of your trades is used for margin level calculation and directly affects when your account reaches margin call. Free margin does not affect margin call.
- The free margin available in your Personal Area is available for withdrawal. The funds held as margin cannot be withdrawn while trades are open.
- The sum total of both margin and free margin at any given time is known as equity.
Kindly look through the examples below: