PolyTerminal
How to use it
Pick long or short, type the entry price and the position value, and set the leverage with the box, the slider or a quick button. The leverage cannot go above the market's maximum, which you choose in the next field and which also sets the maintenance margin. The result shows the liquidation price and how far it is from your entry, then the margin you post, the maintenance margin and the loss that triggers liquidation. The chart under it draws that distance for every leverage up to the maximum and marks yours. "Add funding" opens two more boxes for the hourly rate and the hours you hold. To see the profit or loss of a trade at a price you choose, use the PnL calculator.
What the calculator computes
Polymarket Perps use the margin rules summarised in the margin and leverage guide:
- The initial margin is Notional / Leverage.
- The maintenance margin is the position value times 0.5 / MaxLeverage, so it depends on the market's maximum leverage, not on the leverage you chose.
- Liquidation starts when equity, valued at the mark price, falls below the maintenance margin.
Polymarket's documentation does not publish a formula for the liquidation price. The one below is derived from those rules, so it is an estimate with clear assumptions: an isolated position, the margin equal to the position value divided by your leverage, the maintenance margin taken on the position value at the mark price, and no fees or funding. Setting equity equal to the maintenance margin and solving for the price gives, with entry price E, your leverage L and maintenance rate m:
- for a long: price = E times (1 minus 1 / L) divided by (1 minus m)
- for a short: price = E times (1 plus 1 / L) divided by (1 plus m)
The loss that triggers liquidation is how far the position falls before equity reaches the maintenance margin. It equals the position value times the distance to the liquidation price, and the calculator also shows it as a share of the margin you posted.
What the number leaves out
- Fees and funding. Equity falls by the fees and funding you owe, so the real liquidation price is closer to your entry than the estimate.
- Cross margin. In cross mode, the exchange compares the account's cross equity with its combined maintenance margin, so the liquidation price depends on your other positions.
- Leverage tiers. Leverage tiers cap the leverage available as your position grows. The calculator accepts any leverage up to the market maximum and does not know which tier your position falls into.
- The closing price. A liquidation is market priced and sweeps the order book, so you can be closed at a worse price than the trigger.
- Mark price. The trigger uses the mark price, a median of three candidates, not the last trade on its own. See the mark price guide.
The funding block
Funding is paid between longs and shorts once per hour. The optional block estimates the cost of holding for a number of hours at a rate you enter: the position value times the hourly rate times the hours. Polymarket's documentation does not spell out which price a funding payment is based on, so treat the result as an approximation. A positive rate is paid by longs and received by shorts. The hourly rate is capped by the exchange at 4% per hour. How the rate is built is in the funding rate guide.
FAQ
How do I find the maximum leverage of a market?
It is part of Polymarket's public instrument list, in the maximum leverage field of each market, and PolyTerminal's Perps tab lists each market with its own maximum leverage. Markets differ: crypto, stock, index and commodity markets have different maximums, and the allowed leverage also falls as your position grows through the leverage tiers.
Is the liquidation price the same in cross margin?
No. With cross margin the exchange compares your account equity with the combined maintenance margin of all cross positions, so the liquidation price depends on your other positions and on your balance. This calculator models one isolated position.
Why can the exchange show a different liquidation price?
Polymarket's documentation does not say how the number in an order form is computed. This calculator applies the margin rules from the documentation and ignores fees and funding to keep the logic visible, so a difference is expected. Treat its result as an estimate.
Does the calculator store or send my numbers?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to a server or stored. Once you change a value, the values are written into the part of the address after the # sign, so that you can copy a link to your calculation. Browsers do not send that part to a website. If you share the link, whoever opens it sees your numbers.
Sources and checks
Every rule quoted in this article comes from the registry below. Each row names the official page and the day it was compared with the text.
All 4 rules used in this article
| Rule | Value | Official source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial margin | Notional / Leverage | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Maintenance margin rate | 0.5 / MaxLeverage | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| What leverage tiers do | cap the leverage available as your position grows | docs.polymarket.com/ | |
| Funding rate cap | 4% per hour | docs.polymarket.com/ |
Keep reading
Perps · 8 min
Polymarket Perps Liquidation Explained
How liquidation works on Polymarket Perps: the trigger, the insurance fund, auto-deleveraging, the extra fee and how to read your distance to liquidation.
Perps · 8 min
Polymarket Perps Margin and Leverage
How margin and leverage work on Polymarket Perps: initial and maintenance margin, leverage tiers, isolated and cross margin, with worked numbers.
Perps · 6 min
Polymarket Perps Funding Rate Explained
How the Polymarket Perps funding rate is built from the order book, settled every hour and capped, who pays whom, and what it costs to hold a position.
Free tool
Perps PnL Calculator
Free Polymarket Perps profit and loss calculator: net PnL after fees, return on margin and the exit price where a long or short breaks even.
PolyTerminal is an independent interface for Polymarket and is not operated or endorsed by Polymarket. Orders placed through PolyTerminal carry PolyTerminal’s Polymarket builder code, and PolyTerminal may charge a builder fee on top of Polymarket’s own fees. This page is educational and is not investment advice. Rules were compared with the official documentation on Oct 19, 2026; check the source before you act on a number.