Profit & Loss Calculator
Simulate trades before you take them.
Input entry, exit, and lot size. Get the exact dollar P&L and pip movement — for longs or shorts. Perfect for journaling past trades, running what-if scenarios, or checking whether a setup is worth the risk.
For USD-quote pairs: pip size = 0.0001, pip value = $10 per standard lot. For JPY pairs: pip size = 0.01, pip value ≈ $6.67 at USD/JPY = 150.
What it is
A profit and loss calculator takes a trade's entry price, exit price, direction (long or short), lot size, and pip characteristics, and returns the exact dollar P&L plus the number of pips moved. It's what you use after a trade to verify your broker's numbers, before a trade to sanity-check your sizing, and during trade journaling to build a proper record.
When to use it
Three high-value moments: (1) during journaling, to verify your win/loss math and understand your R-multiples; (2) before entering a trade, to confirm the dollar outcome matches your risk plan; (3) when back-testing a new strategy, to quickly model what historical setups would have paid.
The formula
For a long trade (buy): Pips = (Exit − Entry) ÷ Pip size P&L = Pips × Pip value × Lot size For a short trade (sell): Pips = (Entry − Exit) ÷ Pip size P&L = Pips × Pip value × Lot size Example: Long EUR/USD at 1.0950, exit at 1.1000 1 standard lot, pip size 0.0001, pip value $10 Pips = (1.1000 − 1.0950) ÷ 0.0001 = 50 pips P&L = 50 × $10 × 1 = $500
How to use it
- 1. Pick your direction
Long if you bought, short if you sold. The calculator handles the sign flip automatically — you don't need to think about negatives.
- 2. Enter entry and exit prices
Use the actual fill prices from your broker, not the levels you planned. Slippage counts — the only P&L that matters is the one your broker records.
- 3. Enter position size in lots
Use whatever size you actually took. 0.37 lots is fine. 0.01 (micro) is fine. The math works at any scale.
- 4. Set pip size and pip value
0.0001 and $10 for USD-quote majors. 0.01 and ~$6.67 for JPY pairs at current rates. If you're unsure, use the Pip Value Calculator first.
- 5. Read the result
Green = profit, red = loss. The pip count tells you the move in the chart; the dollar number tells you the impact on your account.
Common mistakes
- ✗Using planned prices instead of actual fill prices. Slippage and spread matter — they turn +2R trades into +1.7R trades.
- ✗Forgetting to match pip size to pair type. USD/JPY uses 0.01, not 0.0001. Getting this wrong gives you a result 100x too big or too small.
- ✗Calculating in dollars without verifying the pip value matches your account currency. If your account is in EUR, USD P&L needs a conversion.
- ✗Journaling only winning trades. Every losing trade is data — journal them too, with the exact numbers.