Drawdown Recovery Calculator — % Gain to Break Even
Learn exactly what recovery % you need after any drawdown. A 50% loss requires 100% gain—calculate your specific recovery figure with precision.
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Losses and gains are not symmetric
A 50% loss does not require a 50% gain to recover. It requires a 100% gain. A 10% loss needs an 11.1% gain. A 90% loss requires a 900% gain. This asymmetry is why recovery difficulty accelerates as losses deepen.
Why the math matters
When you lose 50% of $100,000, you have $50,000 left. To get back to $100,000 requires doubling your remaining capital—a 100% gain on the smaller base. The formula is recovery = (1 / (1 - drawdown%) - 1) × 100. Each percentage point lost demands a proportionally larger percentage gain because you're restoring the same absolute amount from a shrinking pool.
Calculate what you need to break even
Enter any drawdown from 1% to 99.9%. The calculator shows the exact recovery percentage, the capital remaining after the loss, and the ratio—how many times larger your recovery gain must be than your loss percentage. The presets (10%, 20%, …, 90%) let you compare how recovery requirements scale across realistic drawdown scenarios.
What this tool does not cover
This is pure arithmetic for single drawdowns. It does not model the sequence of trades that created the loss, compounding over multiple drawdowns, or volatility's effect on recovery speed. It also excludes 100% losses (account wiped)—recovery from zero is mathematically infinite. For broader context, see the Risk / Reward Calculator or Sharpe Ratio Calculator.
How to use the Drawdown Recovery Calculator
Takes about a minute. No signup, no download, your data stays in your browser.
- 1Open the tool. Scroll up to the Drawdown Recovery Calculator above — it loads instantly in your browser, no install needed.
- 2Enter your values. The fields come pre-filled with realistic defaults so you can see how it works — replace them with your own numbers.
- 3Read the result. The output updates instantly. Copy or share it — nothing is uploaded to a server, everything stays on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about the Drawdown Recovery Calculator.
Why does a 50% loss require exactly 100% gain to break even?
When you lose 50% of your capital, you have half remaining. Doubling that smaller base back to your starting point requires a 100% gain on what's left. The formula is recovery = (1 / (1 - drawdown%) - 1) × 100. The absolute dollar amount stays the same, but the percentage gain needed grows as the denominator shrinks.
What if I lost 100% of my account?
The calculator excludes 100% drawdowns because mathematically they require infinite recovery—you cannot gain a percentage on zero. The maximum input is 99.9%. Anything approaching total loss will show extremely high recovery percentages.
Does this tool factor in how long recovery takes?
No. This calculates only the percentage gain needed, not the time or trading sequence required. A 50% loss requires a 100% gain whether it takes one trade or one year. Market volatility, holding periods, and trade timing are separate from the arithmetic.
How fast do recovery percentages grow with deeper losses?
Nonlinearly. A 10% loss needs 11.1% recovery, 50% loss needs 100%, 80% loss needs 400%, 90% loss needs 900%. Each additional percentage point of loss adds disproportionately more to the recovery requirement because you are always recovering the same absolute starting amount from a smaller remaining base.
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