Drawdown Calculator
See the gain you need to recover from a drawdown, and how much a losing streak would cost at your chosen risk per trade.
How to use the drawdown calculator
Enter a drawdown percentage to see the gain needed to get back to break-even. Then enter your risk per trade and a number of consecutive losses to see the total drawdown that losing streak would cause.
Why losses are harder to recover
Gain needed = drawdown ÷ (1 − drawdown)
| Drawdown | Gain needed to recover |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25.0% |
| 25% | 33.3% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 75% | 300% |
Losing streaks compound
A losing streak at fixed-percentage risk costs 1 − (1 − risk)^n, where n is the number of losses. Ten losses in a row at 1% risk cost about 9.6%. At 2% they cost about 18.3%, and at 5% about 40.1%. Even a strategy with a good win rate will have streaks like this, so set risk low enough to survive them.
Drawdown and prop firm rules
Prop firms enforce maximum and daily loss limits, and some use trailing drawdown. Read trailing vs static drawdown and how to pass a prop firm challenge.
Frequently asked questions
How much do I need to gain to recover a 50% loss?
100%. Halving an account means it must double to get back to where it started.
What is maximum drawdown?
The largest peak-to-trough fall in account equity before a new high is made, usually shown as a percentage.
How do I limit drawdown?
Risk a small fixed percentage per trade, cap daily losses and avoid raising size after a loss.
What drawdown is normal?
It depends on the strategy and risk per trade. Test your strategy's worst historical losing streak and make sure you could survive one larger than that.