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Check a liquidation price yourself
Enter an entry price, leverage and maintenance rate and see where a position would be closed.
What is included
- How the bot works, step by step
- The arithmetic of the ladder or grid, with tables
- How it fails and how to test it honestly
- The tools that check the numbers
Who it is for
- People thinking of using this kind of bot
- People already running one and wanting a stress test
- Readers comparing bot types before buying
- Not advice, and not a recommendation to use one
Key facts
- A long grid on leveraged futures buys more as price falls, so the position grows, the average entry drifts down and the margin tied up rises.
- Liquidation can arrive before price reaches the grid lower bound. The higher the leverage, the closer the liquidation price sits to the entry.
- In a made-up grid of 90 to 110 with an average entry of 97.00 after it fills all the way down, the simplified liquidation price is 65.15 at 3x, 87.78 at 10x and 92.63 at 20x (calculated by us on 27 Oct 2026, exact).
- At 20x the liquidation line rises above the price when the grid fills down to 94, which is above the lower bound of 90.
- Real exchanges differ from the simplified formula: margin modes, fees, the maintenance rate and funding all change the number. Always check the figure your platform shows.
Why leverage changes what a grid is
On spot markets a grid bot that is stuck holding the asset has an unrealised loss, but it is still holding the asset and can wait. On leveraged futures the position is held with borrowed exposure. The exchange only needs the margin to cover losses, and if losses eat the margin, the exchange closes the position by force. That is liquidation. The guide on margin calls explains the broker version of the same event.
A long grid makes it worse in a particular way. Every time price falls to the next buy line, the bot adds a position. The total position grows, the average entry price moves down but always stays above the current price, and the margin needed rises at the same time. So the account becomes more exposed exactly as it gets less able to carry it.
The mechanism
The simplified isolated liquidation price for a long position is the one used by the liquidation price calculator:
with a maintenance rate of 0.005 (0.5 percent) in this example
At 3x leverage the part in brackets is 1 - 0.3333 + 0.005 = 0.6717. At 10x it is 1 - 0.1 + 0.005 = 0.905. At 20x it is 1 - 0.05 + 0.005 = 0.955. So at 20x the price needs to fall only 4.5 percent below the entry to liquidate, and at 10x only 9.5 percent. Whether the number is right for any particular exchange is a separate question, and it is usually not exactly right.
A worked example
This is a made-up example. A long grid covers 90 to 110 in ten grids two apart, with 5 units per grid. The asset starts at 100. The bot buys 25 units at 100 to cover the sell orders above and leaves five buy orders of 5 units each at 98, 96, 94, 92 and 90. First, how the position and margin grow as the buy orders fill:
| Grid filled down to | Units held | Average entry | Position value | Margin at 3x | Margin at 10x | Margin at 20x |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 25 | 100.00 | 2500.00 | 833.33 | 250.00 | 125.00 |
| 98 | 30 | 99.67 | 2990.00 | 996.67 | 299.00 | 149.50 |
| 96 | 35 | 99.14 | 3470.00 | 1156.67 | 347.00 | 173.50 |
| 94 | 40 | 98.50 | 3940.00 | 1313.33 | 394.00 | 197.00 |
| 92 | 45 | 97.78 | 4400.00 | 1466.67 | 440.00 | 220.00 |
| 90 | 50 | 97.00 | 4850.00 | 1616.67 | 485.00 | 242.50 |
After the last fill, the bot holds 50 units at an average of 97.00, worth 4850.00 at entry. At 3x that needs 1616.67 of margin, at 10x 485.00 and at 20x 242.50. The margin at higher leverage is small, which is the attraction, and also why liquidation is close. Now the liquidation price after each fill, using the formula above:
| Grid filled down to | Average entry | Liquidation at 3x | Liquidation at 10x | Liquidation at 20x | Price at or under the 20x line? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 100.00 | 67.17 | 90.50 | 95.50 | No |
| 98 | 99.67 | 66.94 | 90.20 | 95.18 | No |
| 96 | 99.14 | 66.59 | 89.72 | 94.68 | No |
| 94 | 98.50 | 66.16 | 89.14 | 94.07 | Yes: liquidated at 20x |
| 92 | 97.78 | 65.67 | 88.49 | 93.38 | Yes: liquidated at 20x |
| 90 | 97.00 | 65.15 | 87.78 | 92.63 | Yes: liquidated at 20x |
At 3x, the liquidation price is far below the floor of the grid (65.15 against 90), so the grid reaches its lower bound first. At 10x, it is 87.78, which is 2.5 percent under the floor. The grid would not liquidate inside the range, but a price that continues only a little below 90 would. At 20x, the liquidation price when the grid has filled down to 94 is 94.07, which is above the 94 fill price itself. The position is liquidated at or before that buy order, well before the lower bound of 90 is reached. Calculated by us on 27 Oct 2026, exact.
How to check the liquidation price against the lower bound
- Work out the average entry if every buy order fills, not only the ones filled now. Total cost divided by total units.
- Take the liquidation price your platform shows for that full position. If the platform cannot show it before the orders fill, use the formula above as a rough guide only.
- Compare it with the lower bound. If the liquidation price is above the lower bound, the grid is not able to work down to its own floor.
- Check how far below the floor it is in percent, not only whether it is below. A 2 or 3 percent gap is one candle on a volatile asset.
- Repeat for the case where you add margin and the case where leverage is lower. More margin moves the liquidation price down, and the figure is not the same on every platform.
Funding costs
On perpetual futures, long and short holders pay each other a funding rate at set intervals. If the rate is positive, longs pay. A grid stuck holding its full position pays it on the whole position value. As a made-up example, take 0.01 percent per 8 hours on the 4850.00 position. That is 0.485 per interval, 1.455 per day, and 43.65 over 30 days. A completed grid in this example earns a gross 10 (5 units over a gap of 2), so about 4.4 completed grids a month are needed just to pay that funding, before fees. Funding rates change and can be negative, so this is only the shape of the cost. It is highest when the bot is stuck, which is when it is also earning nothing.
What to take from it
Leverage lets a grid hold a bigger position for the same money. It also moves the point of forced closure up toward the entry price. A grid built for a 90 to 110 range with a 20x position is not really a 90 to 110 grid: it is a grid that works down to wherever the liquidation line meets the price. For the broader picture of how a grid fails when price trends, see grid trading.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a futures grid bot be liquidated?
Yes. A long grid adds positions as price falls, and if price drops far enough that losses use up the margin, the exchange closes the position. With high leverage this can happen before the lower bound of the grid.
How do I find the liquidation price of a grid?
Work out the average entry if every buy order fills, then use your platform liquidation figure for that full position. The simplified formula is entry x (1 - 1/leverage + maintenance rate), but your platform may differ.
Does lower leverage fix it?
It moves the liquidation price further from the entry, so it takes a bigger fall. It does not remove the risk. In the example, 3x sits far below the floor and 10x only about 2.5 percent below it.
Does adding margin help?
More margin lowers the liquidation price for the same position, at the cost of more money at risk. Whether extra margin is added automatically depends on the platform and margin mode.
Why does funding matter for a grid?
A grid holding a large long position pays funding when the rate is positive. It is paid on the whole position, and it is largest when the grid is stuck and earning nothing.
Are the numbers on this page real?
Example numbers are made up to show how the maths works, and the page says so. A figure only counts as exact when the page says it was calculated on a stated date. Nothing you enter in a calculator leaves your browser.
Can I use this to decide whether to run a bot?
It can show whether a bot's numbers hold together and how much an account can lose. It cannot say what the market will do, and it is not advice. Use it to ask better questions, then read the terms of your own broker or exchange.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is general education about how leverage and grids interact. All prices and rates are made up and real exchanges differ.
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