Drawdown recovery calculator
See how big a gain you need to win back a loss. A 20% drawdown needs a 25% gain; a 50% drawdown needs 100%. For crypto, forex or shares. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser.
Any currency. The starting figures are an example. This is arithmetic, not advice.
| Drawdown | Gain needed |
|---|---|
| 5% | 5.3% |
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 25% | 33.3% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 40% | 66.7% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 60% | 150% |
| 75% | 300% |
| 90% | 900% |
Why losses are harder to win back
A percentage gain is worked out on a smaller balance than the one you lost from. Lose 10% of 1,000 and you have 900; a 10% gain on 900 only takes you to 990. To get back to 1,000 you need about 11.1%. The deeper the fall, the faster the gain needed grows: a 50% loss needs a 100% gain.
What this means for risk
Because deep drawdowns are so hard to recover from, many traders cap how much of their account they risk on any one trade and use stop-loss orders. Leverage makes drawdowns arrive faster, since gains and losses are worked out on the full position, not just the money put in.
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