# Canonical: https://www.uddalak.xyz/hyperliquid-academy/article/62-initial-margin-vs-maintenance-margin
# Author: Uddalak Das
# Last source: https://www.uddalak.xyz/hyperliquid-academy/article/62-initial-margin-vs-maintenance-margin

---
title: "Initial Margin vs Maintenance Margin on Hyperliquid"
description: "Initial margin determines whether a leveraged position can be opened; maintenance margin determines how much equity must remain before liquidation becomes possible."
pillar: "Trading & Risk"
track: "Trading & Risk"
cluster: "Trading & Risk"
level: "Intermediate"
primary_icp: ["trader", "DeFi-native user"]
secondary_icp: []
content_type: "concept"
reading_time: "3 min"
last_reviewed: "2026-09-07"
last_verified: "2026-09-07"
volatile: true
prerequisites: ["61-hyperliquid-margin-tiers", "10-leverage-margin-long-short"]
related: ["13-liquidations", "23-portfolio-margin-risk"]
---

# Initial Margin vs Maintenance Margin on Hyperliquid

Initial margin and maintenance margin solve different problems. Initial margin is the collateral requirement for creating or increasing leveraged exposure. Maintenance margin is the lower threshold the account must continue to satisfy after the position exists. Liquidation risk begins when account equity can no longer support the relevant maintenance requirement.

## Initial margin controls entry

Suppose a market allows 10× leverage at your position size. Ignoring fees and other positions, $10,000 of notional would require roughly $1,000 of initial margin. The protocol checks whether the account has enough eligible collateral before accepting exposure that would violate the initial requirement.

This is a pre-trade gate. It is not the liquidation threshold.

## Maintenance margin controls survival

Maintenance margin is deliberately below the initial requirement so normal price movement does not cause instant liquidation after a position is opened. As losses reduce account equity, the distance between current equity and maintenance requirement shrinks.

The exact calculation depends on market parameters, account mode, cross or isolated margin, and tier. Portfolio Margin introduces a portfolio-level risk calculation rather than a simple one-position rule.

## Why the two are often confused

Interfaces often present leverage and liquidation price more prominently than the underlying margin equations. That can make traders think “10× leverage” directly means “a 10% move liquidates me.” Fees, maintenance margin, mark price, other positions, collateral composition, tier changes, and funding can all move the actual threshold.

The correct mental model is a balance sheet. Initial margin decides whether you may add risk. Maintenance margin decides whether the system can continue to carry the risk you already have.

## How to use this in sizing

Size from the maintenance buffer you are willing to tolerate, not from the maximum leverage button. If a position only works economically at a liquidation distance that normal volatility reaches frequently, the trade is structurally fragile.

Professional systems calculate projected initial requirement, projected maintenance requirement, and stressed equity before sending the order. The leverage setting is an input to that analysis, not the analysis itself.

## How this connects

Start with [Hyperliquid Margin Tiers Explained](/hyperliquid-academy/article/61-hyperliquid-margin-tiers), [Long, Short, Leverage, and Margin](/hyperliquid-academy/article/10-leverage-margin-long-short) if the underlying concept is unfamiliar. Related reading: [How Liquidations Work on Hyperliquid](/hyperliquid-academy/article/13-liquidations), [Portfolio Margin Risk and Liquidations](/hyperliquid-academy/article/23-portfolio-margin-risk).

## Sources

- https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/margin-tiers
- https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/liquidations