Drawdown
Drawdown
The recovery percentage needed after a loss.
Recovery needed
+25.0 %
The climb costs more than the fall
This calculator answers a question every trader eventually runs into: after losing X %, what gain does it take to get back to the starting capital? The answer is surprising because it is not symmetrical. A 10 % loss is erased by an 11.1 % gain, but a 50 % loss requires a 100 % gain · you have to double what is left.
The reason is simple: the recovery gain is measured against the remaining capital, not the original amount. The deeper the loss, the smaller the base and the steeper the climb back. Seeing the number in plain figures helps you grasp what a drawdown really costs, beyond the red percentage on the screen.
The formula
Required gain = loss ÷ (1 - loss) × 100, with the loss written as a fraction. Example with 25 %: 0.25 ÷ 0.75 = 0.333, meaning a 33.3 % gain. In plain words: you divide what was lost by what remains. That is why the curve takes off: a 50 % loss takes +100 %, 75 % takes +300 %, and 90 % takes +900 %.
A worked example · from −20% back to break-even
A 10,000 account loses 20% and drops to 8,000. Intuition says a 20% gain brings it back · check it: +20% of 8,000 is 1,600, so the account climbs to 9,600. Still 400 short. The correct calculation divides the loss by what remains: 20 ÷ 80 = 0.25, so +25%. And indeed, 8,000 + 25% = 10,000, exactly back to the start. The step to climb is 25%, not 20% · and that 5-point gap grows very fast as the loss deepens.
Loss taken, gain required · the reference table
Every row comes from the same formula as the calculator above. The third column measures the gap between the required gain and the loss, in percentage points · that is the part that takes off.
| Loss | Required gain | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|
| −5% | +5.3% | 0.3 |
| −10% | +11.1% | 1.1 |
| −15% | +17.6% | 2.6 |
| −20% | +25% | 5 |
| −25% | +33.3% | 8.3 |
| −30% | +42.9% | 12.9 |
| −40% | +66.7% | 26.7 |
| −50% | +100% | 50 |
| −60% | +150% | 90 |
| −70% | +233.3% | 163.3 |
| −80% | +400% | 320 |
| −90% | +900% | 810 |
What the number does not tell you
This percentage is the height of a step, nothing more. It assumes the base stays still: a deposit or a withdrawal along the way changes the calculation. It ignores costs · every trade of the climb pays its spread or commission, which add to the step. It says nothing about what caused the loss: climbing back with the same trading that dug the hole means walking the same road in the same direction. And it does not measure the mental weight of a recovery: +100% on paper and +100% lived through, trade after trade, are not the same thing.
The classic mistake
Believing the climb costs what the fall cost · "I am down 30%, I need +30%". No: at −30%, the formula requires +42.9%. And that mistake feeds a more expensive one: forcing to win it all back at once. If the attempt fails and the loss moves from 30% to 40%, the required gain moves from +42.9% to +66.7% · 10 more points of loss made the step grow by almost 24 points. The arithmetic is merciless: every extra point lost costs more and more to erase.
Frequently asked questions
Why does a 50 % loss require a 100 % gain?
Because the gain is measured on what is left. A 10,000 account that loses 50 % drops to 5,000. Getting back to 10,000 means earning 5,000 starting from 5,000, in other words doubling · +100 %. The loss percentage and the gain percentage do not share the same base, hence the asymmetry.
At what depth does a drawdown change scale?
There is no official threshold, but the arithmetic speaks for itself: up to a 10 % loss, the required recovery stays close to the loss itself (11.1 %). At 30 % it already takes +42.9 %. Beyond 50 %, every extra point of loss makes the requirement grow faster and faster, up to +900 % for a 90 % loss.
Does this calculation account for time or the number of trades?
No. It is a pure ratio between what was lost and what remains: it says nothing about how many trades or how long the climb back will take, and it assumes no strategy. It only shows the height of the step. To explore the effect of a series of trades, the expectancy and risk-of-ruin calculators complement this one.
Why do prop firms stop accounts long before −50%?
Their rules are public: FTMO, for instance, closes an account at a 10% total loss. The arithmetic shows what is at stake at that level: at −10%, the required recovery is +11.1%, still close to the loss. At −30% it would already take +42.9%, and at −50%, +100%. A ceiling set early keeps the recovery step in the zone where it stays in the same range as the loss · beyond it, every extra point makes it grow faster and faster.
Is drawdown measured from my deposit or from my peak?
From the highest point the account has reached · that is the usual definition. An account that started at 10,000, rose to 12,000 and came back to 9,000 is not down 10%: it is down 25% from its 12,000 peak. That is the number to enter in the calculator to know the gain that brings the account back to its high. Mind also the difference between balance (closed positions) and equity (open positions included) · most platforms show both, and the drawdown you live through is the equity one.
See also
Risk of ruin
Estimate the probability of losing your entire trading account from your win rate, risk-reward ratio and risk per trade. Instant result, no sign-up needed.
Portfolio risk
Add up the risk on all your open positions and see it as a percentage of your account. A simple way to check your total exposure, right in your browser.
Position size
Work out how many lots to open from your account size, risk percentage and stop loss distance in pips. Free, no sign-up, runs entirely in your browser.