1:100 or 1:500? What leverage your gold EA needs, and what it doesn't change
The EA's page says "1:500 or higher". Your account is 1:100. Or it is 1:500 and the number bothers you, because it sounds like five hundred times the risk.
Both readings mix up two different things. Leverage decides how much you can open. The lot decides how much you win or lose. Four tables with gold show where each one acts, and what leverage our three EAs actually need.
The margin, in one line
When you open a position, the broker does not charge its full value. It holds part of your equity as collateral, the margin:
margin = lots × contract size × price ÷ leverage
With gold at 4,000 USD (an example price) and a 100-ounce contract, 1 lot is 400,000 USD of gold. At 1:500, the broker holds 800 USD. At 0.01 lot, 8 USD. Use the table as a calculator: if the price is different, the margin moves in the same proportion.
| Lot | 1:100 | 1:200 | 1:500 | 1:1000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01 | 40 USD | 20 USD | 8 USD | 4 USD |
| 0.10 | 400 USD | 200 USD | 80 USD | 40 USD |
| 1.00 | 4,000 USD | 2,000 USD | 800 USD | 400 USD |
Some brokers apply a different leverage to gold than to the account. Check your account conditions before you do the math.
Same lot, two leverages
| 0.10 lot of gold | At 1:100 | At 1:500 |
|---|---|---|
| Margin required (gold at 4,000 USD, example) | 400 USD | 80 USD |
| Gold moves 1 USD | 10 USD | 10 USD |
| Gold moves 10 USD against you | −100 USD | −100 USD |
The margin dropped from 400 to 80 USD. Nothing else moved. The same lot wins and loses exactly the same at any leverage. What leverage changes for an EA is whether every lot it wants to open fits in the margin.
What really brings the stop out closer
Put both leverages in the same account: a 1,000 USD balance, gold at 4,000 USD and a broker with stop out at 50%, all three as examples. Margin level is equity divided by used margin. Stop out is the margin level at which the broker starts closing positions on its own, and each broker sets its own.
| Position | Margin | Margin level at open | Gold move against you until a 50% stop out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.10 lot at 1:100 | 400 USD | 250% | 80 USD |
| 0.10 lot at 1:500 | 80 USD | 1,250% | 96 USD |
| 1 lot at 1:500 | 800 USD | 125% | 6 USD |
| 1 lot at 1:100 | 4,000 USD | Does not open: not enough margin | — |
With the same lot, higher leverage helps: more free margin, and the stop out moves a little further away, from 80 to 96 USD. What brings it close is the lot: from 96 to 6 USD, at the same leverage.
1:500 is not the danger. The danger is using the room 1:500 gives you to open 1 lot on a 1,000 USD account.
What leverage each of our EAs needs
| EA | Leverage | Account | Leverage in the official test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitbull Gold | 1:100 or higher, on any profile | From 100 USD | 1:500 |
| Beagle Gold | 1:100 or higher, on any profile | From 1,000 USD | 1:100 |
| Collie Gold | 1:500 or higher on any profile; with 1:100, Moderate at most | From 300 USD | 1:1000 |
To rerun our test and check the number on the page, use the leverage of the test sheet. Then run it again with your account's leverage: that is the test that shows the EA in your own conditions. In all three, the lot is sized from the balance and only grows when the balance grows.
If your account is 1:100, the most direct fit is Pitbull Gold on the Market. Each trade has one entry, no grid, with the target and the stop on the server from the first second. In the test with real ticks, it made +425% in 2025 on the Balanced profile, with 22 of 22 months in profit in 2025 and 2026.
If you want to choose the risk of each trade, look at Beagle Gold on the Market. It also runs at 1:100 on any profile: you pick from 1% to 5% of the balance per trade, and it never goes past two open trades at the same time. +184% in 2025 on the Moderate profile, in the test with real ticks.
If your account is 1:500 or higher, Collie Gold on the Market trades short baskets, groups of entries with the same lot, with no martingale and a stop on every basket. Each open entry holds its own margin, which is why it asks for more room. +586% in 2025 on the Moderate profile, in the test with real ticks.
The full guide is on our site, with the margin formula step by step, the EUR/USD example, figures and an FAQ: leverage in forex: what 1:500 changes, and what it doesn't.
Pick the leverage by the EA and the lot by your plan. Then run the free demo in the Strategy Tester with your account's leverage and your broker's data, and see the EA trade by trade before you decide.
Lucky Dogs Trading Systems
