Exness Leverage: Maximum Levels, How To Change It And The Risks Of High Leverage

Many traders open a new account, see a leverage menu running from 1:50 up to 1:2000, and pick the highest option because "more must be better". In practice, Exness leverage only decides how much margin you must lock for a trade. It does not change how many dollars a pip is worth.

For the same trade, higher leverage simply lets you open a bigger position with the same capital, and that bigger position is what makes losses grow. In this article, Backcom.io walks through the maximum leverage on Exness shown in the interface, the conditions for Exness unlimited leverage, how to change leverage, and how to calculate margin so you can choose a sensible level:

• The leverage levels shown in an Exness interface screenshot dated 11 November 2026.
• The conditions for unlocking unlimited leverage, and why the level you select is not always the level that applies.
• The steps to change leverage in the Personal Area.
• Two margin examples and a risk rule built around 1% of your balance.

1. What Is Exness Leverage And What Are The Maximum Leverage Levels?

Exness leverage is the ratio between the position size you can open and the margin you must keep aside. At 1:500, for example, every 1 USD of margin controls a position worth 500 USD. It is a tool provided by the broker, not a cash loan added to your balance.

According to the Exness Personal Area screenshot dated 11 November 2026 (shown in section 4), the "Set max leverage" panel of an MT5 Standard account groups the options like this:

• High group: 1:Unlimited, 1:2000, 1:1000, 1:800, 1:600, 1:500, 1:400 and 1:200.
• Balanced group: 1:100 and 1:50, with more options further down the panel.
• Custom leverage: a separate entry, shown as "Not set" on the account in the screenshot.

The account in the screenshot has 1:200 selected, so that level is not a universal default. There is no public official source solid enough to state a fixed maximum for each account type (Standard, Cent, Pro, Zero, Raw Spread), so this article relies only on the account interface that was captured. The available maximum can also differ by legal entity, by MT4 or MT5, by region and by account size.

The safest way to read the menu is to open your own account in the Personal Area and look at the levels that account is allowed to select. To compare account types first, see our guide to Exness account types.

The core margin relationship fits on one line:

Margin = Position Value ÷ Leverage

The full formula for each product is covered in how to calculate margin, and the general concept is explained in what is leverage in forex.

2. Exness Unlimited Leverage: Who Is Eligible?

Exness unlimited leverage (1:Unlimited) sits at the top of the High group, but not every account can select it. The screenshot above shows an Exness notice titled "You're not yet eligible for unlimited leverage" on the account that was captured.

According to that notice (Exness interface, screenshot dated 11 November 2026), traders need to meet all three conditions to unlock this level:

1. Equity below 5,000 USD: account equity must stay under this threshold.
2. At least 10 closed positions: counted across Real accounts.
3. At least 5 lots traded: also counted across Real accounts.

The notice ends with an important line: effective leverage can change depending on your account, the assets you trade and market conditions. Even when you qualify, you should not treat 1:Unlimited as a fixed number.

Two points are worth keeping in mind:

• The conditions in the screenshot belong to the account that was captured, and other entities or regions of Exness may show different conditions.
• Several third-party pages quote different equity thresholds and disagree with each other, so this article does not use them as sources.

For a small account, the better question is usually not "how do I get unlimited leverage" but "do I have the discipline to use it". Sections 5 and 6 answer that with concrete numbers.

3. Does Exness 1:2000 Leverage Mean Every Trade Uses 1:2000?

No. Exness 1:2000 leverage is the ceiling you select for the account, while the leverage that applies to each trade also depends on the instrument and the moment. The selection panel itself shows a blue notice: effective leverage may vary for instruments with fixed leverage, or during periods of Higher Margin Requirements.

Three situations commonly leave effective leverage below the level you chose:

• Instruments with fixed leverage: some products follow the broker's own rule for that group rather than the level you selected.
• Higher margin periods: may be linked to high-volatility events such as major news (not verified), when margin requirements are raised temporarily.
• Account conditions: the Exness notice says effective leverage can change with your account, the assets you trade and market conditions, and the exact thresholds are not verified.

Here is an easy example. A trader picks 1:2000 to hold a trade through a news release, but if margin requirements are raised temporarily, the margin to hold can be much higher than planned. The margin level then drops quickly even though the stop loss has not been hit. So always read the real margin figure in the MT5 order window before you press Buy or Sell.

4. Changing Exness Leverage Step By Step In The Personal Area

Changing Exness leverage comes down to one panel called "Set max leverage" on the accounts page. Based on the interface screenshot dated 11 November 2026, the order is:

1. Log in to the Personal Area: open your Exness account page in a browser. The address in the screenshot is my.exness.com/pa/trading/accounts.
2. Pick the right Real account: the "My accounts" section lists each account with its platform (MT5 or MT4), account type and server.
3. Open the leverage panel for that account: the "Set max leverage" panel slides in from the right. The button that opens it sits inside the account's information block, and the screenshot does not show that click.
4. Select the level you want: tick the circle next to 1:500, 1:200, 1:100 or another level in the High or Balanced group.
5. Press Save: the yellow button at the bottom right of the panel (in the screenshot, the label in the lower corner partly covers it).

After saving, reopen the panel to confirm the change, then check the margin of a small trade in MT5 to make sure the new level is in effect.

Before you change anything, keep three notes in mind:

• Open trades: close or reduce them before lowering leverage, because the margin required can rise immediately.
• Lowering leverage at a low margin level: this can push the account towards a warning threshold, and the exact Exness thresholds are not verified.
• One level per account: changing one account does not change your other accounts.

For a new account that is not open yet, pick the leverage when you create it. The steps are in our guide on how to open an Exness account.

5. How Much Exness Leverage Should You Choose? Two Margin Examples

The short answer is to choose a level that lets you open a sensible size under your risk rule, while leaving margin as a buffer. The two examples below use assumed prices to keep the arithmetic simple, not current market prices.

Example 1: EUR/USD, 1 lot, assumed price 1.1000. The position value is 100,000 × 1.1000 = 110,000 USD.

Calculation shown as at 11 November 2026 with an assumed price of 1.1000 and a contract size of 100,000 units. Real Exness margin can differ by account, so check it again before you trade.

The MetaTrader 5 platform uses the same formula for forex, with a EUR/USD example of 1 lot at 1:100 giving 1,000 EUR, see the MT5 documentation on forex margin. On a 1-lot EUR/USD trade, each pip is worth about 10 USD whether you choose 1:100 or 1:2000. Leverage changes the margin that gets locked, not the profit or loss per pip.

Example 2: a 1,000 USD account risking 1%. The 1% rule allows a maximum loss of 10 USD per trade. With a stop loss 20 pips away, the suitable size is 10 ÷ (20 × 10) = 0.05 lot, a position of about 5,500 USD. At 1:200, the margin is only about 27.5 USD, less than 3% of the balance.

The result shows three things:

• Risk decides the size: a 0.05-lot trade needs small margin at almost every level in the menu.
• Higher leverage does not make a 1%-rule trade earn more: profit and loss still follow pips and lot size.
• Lower leverage can block an oversized trade: with 1,000 USD, 1 lot of EUR/USD at 1:100 needs 1,100 USD of margin, more than the whole balance.

Gold needs much more margin because the position value is larger. Assume a price of 4,000 USD per ounce and 1 lot equal to 100 ounces, giving a position value of 400,000 USD. At 1:200 the margin is about 2,000 USD, and at 1:500 about 800 USD. Spreads and gold costs are covered in Exness gold spread by account type, and position sizing in forex money management and the 1% rule.

6. The Risks Of High Leverage And How To Keep Your Account Safe

The biggest risk of high leverage is that a small loss turns into a blown account, because a high level makes it easy to open an oversized position. On a 1,000 USD account, 1 lot of EUR/USD at 1:2000 needs only 55 USD of margin, so the order is accepted at once, yet each pip is already worth 10 USD and roughly 100 pips against the trade wipes out the balance.

Common mistakes include:

• Picking the maximum level and then the maximum size: low margin creates a false sense of safety.
• Trading without a stop loss: the margin level erodes until positions are closed automatically.
• Holding through major news: high volatility and temporarily higher margin can arrive together.
• Using leverage to win losses back: increasing size after a losing streak multiplies the risk.

To limit the damage, traders should follow a few rules:

1. Calculate size from your risk, not from the maximum margin you are allowed.
2. Set the stop loss before entering and keep it where you calculated it.
3. Watch the margin level, especially before major news.
4. Pick a level below the ceiling if you find it hard to control your size.

How margin warnings and automatic closing work is explained in margin call vs stop out, and stop placement in how to set a stop loss.

To see that 1:2000 is not a standard for every market, look at the retail leverage limits that ESMA announced in 2018 for brokers in Europe, which set 30:1 for major currency pairs. Reference: ESMA's announcement of its product intervention measures on CFDs. That framework applies to providers within ESMA's area, not to Exness or to the interface described in this article.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Exness Leverage

Conclusion: Choose Exness Leverage By Risk, Not By The Ceiling

Exness leverage is a tool for setting margin, and a sensible level is one that lets you open the right size under your risk rule while keeping a buffer. Traders need to look at three things together: the ceiling the account may select, the effective leverage of each product, and the size calculated from the stop loss.

What to do now: open the Personal Area, read the leverage menu of the exact account, check the real margin in MT5 and set a stop loss on every trade. If you are considering a new account, you can read the trading conditions and rebates for Exness or open an Exness account through the referral link.

Backcom.io is an independent introducing broker (IB/affiliate) of Exness; rebates are paid from the commission the broker pays Backcom.io, see the risk disclaimer.

Disclaimer: This content is compiled by Backcom.io for information only and is not investment advice, a trading recommendation or legal advice. Trading forex and CFDs uses leverage, carries high risk and can lead to the loss of all your capital. The leverage levels and conditions in this article come from the Exness interface on 11 November 2026 and may change, so check them on your own account before trading.