Drawdown recovery calculator
See what percentage gain it takes to get an account back to where it started after a loss of a given size.
Free, no account, no sign up. It runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How it works: required gain = (1 / (1 - loss / 100) - 1) x 100
Losses and gains are not symmetric, because a gain is measured against a smaller balance than the loss was. Down 10 percent needs 11.1 percent to get back. Down 50 percent needs 100 percent. Down 90 percent needs 900 percent.
The deeper the loss, the faster the required gain grows: each extra step of loss adds more to the recovery than the step before it.
Enter the loss as a percentage of the starting balance and the page returns the gain required from the reduced balance.
Also searched for: drawdown calculator, recovery percentage, how to recover a 50 percent loss, breakeven after loss
Questions
Why does a 50 percent loss need a 100 percent gain?
Because after losing half, the gain is measured against the half that is left. Turning 500 back into 1,000 is a doubling.
Does this account for costs?
No. Spread and commission make the real requirement higher than the figure shown, and swap can move it either way.
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A calculator, not financial advice. It works out what a number is and says nothing about what to trade. Trading carries a risk of loss.