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Profit & Loss Calculator

The cash result of a trade from your entry, exit, size and direction, in the quote currency and your own, plus the pip move and the return on the margin you put up.

By , founder and editorUpdated

Result (account)
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Result (quote)
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Move
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Return on margin
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The formula

long: (exit − entry) × contract size × lots
short: (entry − exit) × contract size × lots
result (account) = result (quote) × rate(quote → account)

The raw profit is simply the price change times the size you controlled. Buy one lot of EUR/USD (100,000 euros) at 1.0900 and sell at 1.0950 and you made (1.0950 − 1.0900) × 100,000 =$500, in dollars, the quote currency. That 0.0050 move is 50 pips, so equally it is 50 pips × $10 a pip. The two views agree because pip value is just contract size scaled to one pip. We then convert to your account currency at daily ECB rates.

The result-on-margin figure puts the outcome in perspective. That same $500 on a position that needed roughly $3,633 of margin at 1:30 is a +13.8% return on the capital committed, from a price move of under half a percent. Leverage is what turns a small move into a large percentage swing on your money, in both directions, which is exactly why sizing and stops matter more than being right.

Where it fits

Use this after the fact to reconcile a closed trade, or before entering to see what a target and a stop are each worth in cash. Pair it with thepip value calculatorto cross-check the per-pip figure, the margin calculatorto see the capital tied up, and the risk/reward calculatorto weigh the target against the stop before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Does this include spread, commission or swap?
No, it is the gross result of the price move only. Your real net will be a little worse after the spread you crossed on entry and exit, any commission, and overnight swap/financing if you held the position. For a day trade on a major pair those costs are small; for a wide-spread instrument or a multi-day hold they are not. Treat this as the clean price-move result and subtract your own costs.
How do I model a short?
Set direction to Sell. For a short, profit comes when the exit price is below the entry, so the calculator flips the sign: result = (entry - exit) × contract size × lots. Everything else, pip move, account-currency conversion, works the same.
Why is my result in a different currency?
The raw profit falls in the pair's quote currency (yen for USD/JPY, dollars for EUR/USD). We convert it to your account currency using daily ECB reference rates so it reads in the units you fund the account in. When quote and account currency match, the two figures are identical.
What is return on margin?
If you enter your leverage, the tool also shows the profit as a percentage of the margin the position required. This is why leveraged trades feel so dramatic: a 1% price move can be a 30% swing on the margin posted at 1:30. It cuts both ways, and it is the honest way to see how large the bet really was relative to the capital committed.

Method and limitations

Gross price-move result only, computed in your browser; account-currency conversion uses daily ECB reference rates baked into the site. It excludes spread, commission and swap, subtract your own costs for the net. Contract sizes are editable defaults; your broker's specification is the authority. Nothing is fetched during your visit and nothing you type leaves your browser. This is an information tool, not trading advice.

Data sources

This tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us or stored.

For general information and education only. This is not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. Trading and investing carry risk, including the risk of losing more than your initial outlay. Always verify figures against your broker or the original source before acting on them.

Spotted an error? Email[email protected]and it will be corrected. Maintained byJoey van Diest.