| Loss, % | Gain needed to recover |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 70% | 233.3% |
| 90% | 900% |
What the calculator does
A drawdown is the fall in your account from its highest point to a later low point. The broader topic, including maximum drawdown, is covered on the Drawdown page.
The calculator above answers one question: after a loss of a given percentage, what percentage gain on the money that is left brings the account back to where it was? Enter the size of the drawdown, and it returns the loss recovery percentage.
Use it before you decide how much to risk, not only after a loss. Knowing how hard a deep hole is to climb out of is one of the clearest arguments for keeping losses small.
Ready to try it on a real or demo account?
Partner link · trading carries a high risk of loss
Why recovery needs a bigger gain than the loss
Losses and gains are measured on different bases.
- A loss is a percentage of the balance before the loss.
- The recovery gain is a percentage of the smaller balance after the loss.
The rule in words: gain needed = money lost ÷ money left.
Because the money left is always smaller than the starting balance, the percentage gain needed is always larger than the percentage lost. The gap is small for small losses and grows very fast as losses get deeper. If you lose half the account, the remaining half must grow by its own full size to get back. That is why a deep drawdown can take far longer to recover than it took to create.
Enter different drawdown sizes into the calculator to see the curve for yourself. The numbers rise slowly at first, then steeply.
Recovery table in plain terms
| Drawdown size | What remains | Gain needed to recover | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Most of the account | Slightly more than the loss | Usually recoverable with normal trading, if your method has a positive expectancy |
| Moderate | A clear majority | Noticeably more than the loss | Recovery takes many trades; pressure to "win it back" starts here |
| Large | Around half or less | Roughly equal to or more than the whole remaining balance | Recovery may take a long time even with a working method |
| Very deep | A small fraction | Many times the remaining balance | Realistic recovery is unlikely; the account is close to ruin |
For exact figures for your own situation, use the calculator at the top of this page.
How long recovery can take
The calculator tells you the gain needed, not how long it takes. Time depends on:
- Your expectancy: the average result per trade over many trades. See Trading expectancy. If expectancy is zero or negative, there is no recovery path, only more losses.
- Risk per trade: smaller risk means slower recovery, but also slower further losses. See Risk per trade.
- Costs: spreads, commissions and overnight swap fees are charged on every trade whether you win or lose. They make the real gain needed higher than the calculator shows.
- Win rate and reward to risk: see Break-even win rate and Risk-reward ratio.
No method guarantees that a drawdown will be recovered. A strategy that worked before can stop working, and markets do not owe you a return to your previous high.
Behavioural traps after losses
The maths above creates pressure. The bigger the hole, the more tempting it is to take actions that make it deeper. These are the most common traps.
Raising position size to win it back faster
After a loss, larger lots look like a shortcut. In practice, larger size on a smaller account means each loss now removes a bigger share of what is left. Martingale-style systems, where size grows after each loss, are an extreme version of this and can wipe out an account in a short losing streak. See Fixed fractional vs fixed lot and Kelly criterion for how sizing and drawdown interact.
Revenge trading and overtrading
Taking trades because you want the money back, not because your plan shows a setup, adds random trades with no edge. They add costs and usually add losses. A daily loss limit is a simple rule that forces a stop before emotion takes over.
Moving or removing the stop loss
Widening a stop to avoid taking a loss turns a planned loss into an unplanned, larger one. See Stop loss placement and Trading without stop loss.
Using more leverage
Leverage lets you control a position larger than your margin. It magnifies losses in the same way it magnifies gains. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money very fast, and in a drawdown there is less margin to absorb a move against you. See Effective leverage and Avoiding margin calls.
Chasing break-even
Fixating on getting back to the old high can make you hold losing trades, close winners early, or keep trading when you should pause. Your previous peak is a number in the past; the useful question is whether your next trade fits your plan.
Switching strategy after every loss
Abandoning a method after a normal losing run, then trying another, means you never collect enough results to know if anything works. A trading journal helps separate a normal losing streak from a method that has stopped working.
Practical rules that limit drawdown depth
Recovery is hardest when the hole is deep, so the most useful work happens before a drawdown starts:
- Fix your risk per trade as a small share of the account and size each position from the stop distance. See Position sizing and ATR position sizing.
- Count correlated positions as one larger risk. See Correlation risk.
- Set a maximum drawdown level at which you stop trading live and review. Practising on a demo account during a review period removes money pressure.
- Check Risk of ruin to see how risk per trade affects the chance of losing most of the account.
- Write all of this into a personal risk plan before you need it.
For the wider picture, see Risk management and Trading psychology. Other tools are on the Calculators page.
Frequent questions
What is a drawdown recovery calculator?
It calculates the percentage gain needed on your remaining balance to return to your previous balance after a loss of a given percentage.
Why does a loss need a larger gain to recover?
Because the recovery gain is measured on the smaller balance left after the loss. The gain needed equals the money lost divided by the money left.
Does the calculator include trading costs?
No. It shows the pure maths. Spreads, commissions and swaps raise the real gain needed, so treat the result as a minimum.
Can I recover from drawdown faster by trading bigger?
Bigger size speeds up both gains and losses. On a reduced account, it raises the chance of a deeper drawdown or losing the account. No sizing method guarantees recovery.
How do I know whether to keep trading after a drawdown?
Review your journal. If your recorded expectancy is still positive and the losses fit your normal range, the drawdown may be ordinary variance. If not, stop and reassess before risking more money.
Is a drawdown always recoverable?
No. A very deep drawdown can need a gain many times the remaining balance, which may not be realistic. Limiting how deep a drawdown can go matters more than planning the recovery.