Crypto futures PnL calculator: profit, loss and ROE
PnL is the result of a trade in USDT. ROE is the same result as a percentage of your margin. Enter entry, exit, margin, leverage and fee rate, and the calculator shows net profit or loss after fees on both entry and exit.
Contents
What the futures profit calculator shows
- Position size – margin × leverage. 100 USDT margin at 10x is a 1,000 USDT position.
- Profit/loss – the net result in USDT after entry and exit fees.
- ROE on margin – the net result as a percentage of margin. This is the number the exchange shows next to your position.
- Fees – what the exchange charges for opening and closing.
The calculator shows the net result straight away, not the nicer-looking number before fees.
Funding is not included because it depends on how long you hold. If the trade lasts more than a few hours, calculate it separately with the calculator on the funding rate page.
Formulas: PnL, ROE and fees
PnL for long and short
First the coin quantity: qty = margin × leverage ÷ entry. Then the result before fees:
- long: PnL = (exit − entry) × qty;
- short: PnL = (entry − exit) × qty.
A long profits when price rises, a short when it falls, and in both cases the size of the result is set by the coin quantity, meaning the leveraged position.
Fees are charged on both legs
Fees = (notional at entry + notional at exit) × rate. Exit notional is qty × exit price, so on a winning trade it is larger than at entry. The calculator applies one rate to both legs. If you enter with a limit order and exit at market, use the average of your maker and taker rates.
In the examples I use 0.055%, which is in the range of base taker fees on large exchanges. Check your exact rate on your account's fee page: it depends on VIP tier and order type.
PnL vs ROE
ROE = net PnL ÷ margin × 100%. PnL answers "how much money", ROE answers "how hard did the margin work". The same 2% price move gives about 2% ROE without leverage and about 19% at 10x. Exchanges label this field differently, as ROE, ROI or PnL%, but it is always calculated on margin.
Futures PnL examples
BTC long: price up 5%
These are the calculator defaults. Position 1,000 USDT, or 0.01667 BTC. Price moved from 60,000 to 63,000, so the result before fees is +50 USDT. Fees: 0.55 on entry and 0.58 on exit, 1.13 USDT in total. Net PnL +48.87 USDT, ROE +48.9%.
ETH short: price down 3%
Margin 200 USDT, 5x, position 1,000 USDT, or 0.333 ETH. Entry 3,000, exit 2,910. Before fees +30 USDT, fees 0.55 + 0.53 = 1.08 USDT. Net PnL +28.92 USDT, ROE +14.5%. Same position size as the BTC example, but twice the margin, so ROE is lower.
Losing long at 20x
Margin 100 USDT, 20x, position 2,000 USDT. Price went from 60,000 to 59,400, just −1%. Before fees −20 USDT, fees 2.19 USDT. Result −22.19 USDT, ROE −22.2%. Fees added more than 10% to the loss on a move of only one percent.
Table: the same price move at different leverage
| Leverage | Position | PnL before fees | Fees | Net PnL | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | 100 USDT | +2 USDT | 0.11 USDT | +1.89 USDT | +1.9% |
| 5x | 500 USDT | +10 USDT | 0.56 USDT | +9.44 USDT | +9.4% |
| 10x | 1,000 USDT | +20 USDT | 1.11 USDT | +18.89 USDT | +18.9% |
| 20x | 2,000 USDT | +40 USDT | 2.22 USDT | +37.78 USDT | +37.8% |
| 50x | 5,000 USDT | +100 USDT | 5.56 USDT | +94.44 USDT | +94.4% |
Same method as the calculator. Funding not included.
Fees grow with leverage because they are charged on the position, not the margin. At 50x one round trip costs 5.6% of margin. And remember the flip side: the same 2% move against you at 50x does not produce −94%. The position is liquidated earlier, at roughly −1.5%.
Break-even: how far price has to move
To get back to zero, price has to move about two fee rates. At 0.055% that is roughly 0.11%: a BTC long from 60,000 breaks even around 60,066, a short around 59,934. Leverage does not move this point, only the fee rate does.
- Enter with limit orders where you can: the maker rate is lower.
- Do not open and close in lots of small pieces, each fill is charged.
- When scalping for 0.3–0.5%, fees eat a third of the result, so build that into your take-profit.
On short trades fees are the main enemy, on longer ones funding joins in.
Stop-loss, take-profit and spot profit
For a spot trade set leverage to 1x and enter the purchase amount as margin, with your spot fee rate. The calculator also works as a stop-loss and take-profit calculator: enter the stop price as exit to see the loss, enter the target to see the profit.
It does not fit options, grid bots or staking: their result depends on premium, order grids or yield rates and needs different maths.
Common profit calculation mistakes
- Confusing ROE with price change. +50% ROE at 10x is only +5% in price.
- Counting the fee on entry only. Exit costs money too.
- Forgetting funding on trades longer than a day.
- Treating unrealised PnL as earned. While the position is open it is a mark-price number, not money.
The real result is what lands in your balance after closing, and it is always a little smaller than the nice number on an open position.
How longs and shorts work, and why a futures short behaves exactly like a long in reverse, is covered in long vs short in crypto futures.
Where to trade futures
All three exchanges below show unrealised PnL and ROE in the position panel, and realised PnL with fees and funding broken out in trade history. Check that the exchange is available in your country before registering.