Drawdown Recovery Calculator
A 50% loss requires a 100% gain to recover. Visualize the asymmetry of drawdown and recovery.
Results
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Common Drawdowns
| Drawdown % | Account Left | Recovery Needed |
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About the Drawdown Recovery Calculator
The Drawdown Recovery Calculator shows the gain you need to climb out of any drawdown — and why deeper losses get exponentially harder to recover. Enter a drawdown percentage and it returns the exact gain required to get back to break even, with a visual that makes the asymmetry obvious.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much gain do I need to recover a drawdown?
Recovery % = drawdown % ÷ (100 − drawdown %) × 100. A 20% drawdown needs a 25% gain to get back to even, a 50% drawdown needs 100%, and a 90% drawdown needs a 900% gain. The deeper the loss, the disproportionately larger the recovery required.
Why does a 50% loss require a 100% gain to break even?
After a 50% loss, $1,000 becomes $500. To return to $1,000 you must double the $500, which is a 100% gain. Losses and gains are not symmetric because the gain is calculated on the smaller surviving balance, not the original.
How do I limit drawdown in trading?
Keep risk per trade small (often 1% or less), cap total open risk, and use hard stops so no single trade or losing streak creates a deep hole. Because recovery cost grows non-linearly, avoiding large drawdowns matters far more than chasing big wins.