Margin Calculator
Exchange SPAN + Exposure for NSE, BSE & MCX · live · not investment advice
How F&O margin is calculated in India
Every futures and short-options position in India is margined by the exchange under SPAN — a scenario model that revalues your position across a grid of price and volatility moves and charges the worst outcome. On top of SPAN the exchange levies an Exposure margin. Together they form the initial margin your broker blocks.
Because SPAN reads the whole basket rather than each leg alone, a hedged position costs far less than the sum of its parts. Selling a NIFTY straddle and buying wings against it can cut the margin blocked by a third or more. That saving is shown here as the margin benefit.
For a position that collects premium, the calculator also reads every leg's live price and shows the ROI on margin: the net premium collected as a percentage of the total margin blocked.
Buying options needs no margin at all — only the premium, paid upfront. The numbers on this page come from the exchange through a live broker connection, not an approximation, which is why they move during the day as the underlying does.
- NIFTY, Bank Nifty, FinNifty and Midcap Nifty options and futures
- Sensex and Bankex contracts on BSE
- Over 200 stock F&O underlyings — Reliance, HDFC Bank, TCS and the rest
- MCX commodities: Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Natural Gas and their minis
- Multi-leg baskets — straddles, strangles, spreads, iron condors
Lot sizes and expiry dates are read from the exchange contract master and refreshed daily, so a revised lot size is picked up automatically rather than sitting stale in a table.
Common questions
How much margin is required to sell one lot of NIFTY options?
Selling (writing) a NIFTY option requires SPAN + Exposure margin, which together usually run to roughly ₹1.4–2 lakh per lot depending on the strike and current volatility. Buying an option requires only the premium. Enter the exact contract above for the live figure.
What is the difference between SPAN and Exposure margin?
SPAN is the core risk margin computed by the exchange, which scans your position across a range of price and volatility scenarios and charges the worst-case loss. Exposure margin is an additional buffer levied on top of SPAN. Initial margin is the sum of the two.
Why is the margin lower when I add a hedge?
The exchange recognises offsetting positions. A long option that caps the loss on a short one reduces the worst case SPAN has to cover, so the margin blocked falls — often by a very large amount. This calculator shows that saving separately as the margin benefit.
Do I need margin to buy options?
No. Buying an option costs only the premium, paid in full upfront, with no SPAN or Exposure margin. Margin applies when you sell or write options, and to all futures positions on both sides.
Is intraday margin lower for F&O?
Not meaningfully. SEBI removed intraday leverage on F&O, so an intraday futures or options position attracts essentially the same SPAN + Exposure as a carry-forward one — the difference is a rounding error. This calculator therefore quotes carry-forward margin, which is the same figure you need intraday.
How is ROI on margin calculated?
Take the net premium the basket collects at live prices — the premium from every option you sell, minus what you pay for every option you buy — and divide it by the total margin the position blocks after the hedge benefit. It is the return on that capital if every option expires worthless. A position that pays more premium than it collects has no return on margin, so none is shown.
Will my broker block exactly this amount?
It will be close. SPAN and Exposure come from the exchange and are the same everywhere, but individual brokers may add their own risk margin on top, particularly near expiry or on far out-of-the-money short options.