Drawdown & Recovery Calculator

Measure a drawdown, see the gain needed to recover it, and find out how deep a losing streak takes your account at your risk per trade.

Your numbers
Result
Drawdown
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Gain needed to recover
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Drawdown after the streak
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Gain needed after the streak
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The drawdown formulas

Drawdown %        = (Peak − Trough) ÷ Peak × 100
Gain to recover   = Drawdown ÷ (1 − Drawdown)
Losing streak DD  = 1 − (1 − Risk per trade) ^ Number of losses

Why losses hurt more than gains help

After a 50% loss you need a 100% gain just to get back to where you started, because the gain is earned on a smaller balance. A 20% drawdown needs 25%; a 10% drawdown needs 11.1%. The table above shows the curve.

Losing streaks and risk per trade

Even good strategies hit losing streaks. At 2% risk per trade, 10 losses in a row is a drawdown of about 18.3%. At 5% it’s about 40%, which needs a 67% gain to recover. That’s why most risk rules keep risk per trade small. Because each loss is a percentage of a shrinking balance, the streak drawdown is a little less than risk × trades.

Set your risk with the position size calculator, check your edge with the win rate calculator, or see all trading calculators.

ChartWatch is independent and not affiliated with TradingView, any broker or exchange. This calculator uses only the numbers you enter and runs in your browser. Results are estimates before taxes and any costs you leave out. It is a calculation tool, not financial advice.

FAQ

How do I calculate drawdown?
Subtract the lowest balance from the peak balance, divide by the peak and multiply by 100.
How much do I need to gain to recover from a loss?
Gain needed = drawdown ÷ (1 − drawdown). A 20% loss needs 25%, a 50% loss needs 100%.
How much is 10 losing trades at 1% risk?
About a 9.6% drawdown, because each 1% loss is taken from a slightly smaller balance.
What is maximum drawdown?
The largest peak-to-trough fall in an account or strategy over a period. TradingView's Strategy Tester reports it for backtests.

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