Break-Even Calculator
See the exact gain you need to get back to even after a loss — and how buying more at today's price would lower your average and your break-even. Works for stocks, ETFs, and crypto.
What this calculator shows
Your break-even price is your average cost per unit, so the gain you need is measured from today's price back up to it: (average − current) ÷ current. That is always more than the loss you took, because the gain is measured against the reduced price. The average-down mode adds a buy at today's price and recomputes the weighted average. Fees, commissions, spreads, and taxes are not modeled.
Inputs
Enter your average price and today's price. Units held are optional — they turn on the dollar figures.
Question
How big a gain do I need from today's price to get back to even?
What you paid per unit on average — your cost basis.
What one unit trades at today.
Share or bookmark this scenario.
- Loss so far
- 30%
- Gain needed to break even
- 42.9%
- Break-even price
- $100.00
- Unrealized P/L
- -$3,000.00
$100.00 average → $70.00 now
From $70.00 back to $100.00
Your average price per unit
$7,000.00 now vs $10,000.00 invested
- Gain needed to break even
- Your position
How far down you are runs along the bottom; the gain that undoes it runs up the side. The line starts close to the diagonal and pulls away from it — past 50% down, each extra point of loss costs more than a point of recovery.
Gain needed at each depth of loss
Every 5% of loss, the price it implies against your $100.00 average, and the gain that undoes it.
| If you're down | Price from $100.00 | Gain needed to break even |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $95.00 | 5.3% |
| 10% | $90.00 | 11.1% |
| 15% | $85.00 | 17.6% |
| 20% | $80.00 | 25% |
| 25% | $75.00 | 33.3% |
| 30% | $70.00 | 42.9% |
| 35% | $65.00 | 53.8% |
| 40% | $60.00 | 66.7% |
| 45% | $55.00 | 81.8% |
| 50% | $50.00 | 100% |
| 55% | $45.00 | 122.2% |
| 60% | $40.00 | 150% |
| 65% | $35.00 | 185.7% |
| 70% | $30.00 | 233.3% |
| 75% | $25.00 | 300% |
| 80% | $20.00 | 400% |
| 85% | $15.00 | 566.7% |
| 90% | $10.00 | 900% |
You’re down 30%, so you need a 42.9% gain from $70.00 to get back to $100.00.
Why the gain is bigger than the loss
Your 30% loss is measured against your $100.00 average, but the recovery is measured against the $70.00 you have left — a smaller base. That is the whole reason 30% down needs 42.9% up.
The deeper the hole, the steeper the climb
The requirement accelerates: 10% down needs 11.1%, 30% needs 42.9%, 50% needs 100%, and 80% needs 400%. Below about half, every further point of loss costs more than a point of recovery — which is why avoiding large drawdowns matters more than chasing large gains.
What actually lowers your break-even
Only two things move it: buying more at a lower price, which pulls your average down, and income like dividends, which reduces your net cost. Nothing else — waiting does not change the gain you need, it only changes how long you wait for it. Switch to average-down mode above to price the first option.
What that is in money
100 units at $100.00 cost you $10,000.00 and are worth $7,000.00 today — -$3,000.00 unrealized. Nothing is locked in until you sell; the figure moves with the price.
Every figure here comes from the prices you entered and ignores fees, commissions, spreads, and taxes. Real costs would put your true break-even slightly above the price shown.
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Try the How Much Can I Buy CalculatorHow this calculator works
An educational look at the arithmetic of getting back to even — not a forecast, and not a view on whether any asset will recover.
Break-even is your average price
You are back to even when the price returns to your average cost per unit. That single number is your break-even price, whether you bought once or a hundred times.
Gain needed = (average − current) ÷ current
The gap between your average and today's price, measured against today's price. Bought at $100, now $70: ($100 − $70) ÷ $70 = 42.9%.
In percentage terms: loss ÷ (1 − loss)
The same result from the loss alone. A 30% loss needs 0.30 ÷ 0.70 = 42.9%; a 50% loss needs 0.50 ÷ 0.50 = 100%. Always more than the loss, and increasingly so.
Averaging down is a weighted average
New average = (units × old average + new cost) ÷ (units + new units). Adding below your average pulls it down, so your break-even falls with it; adding above raises both.
Fees and taxes are not included
Commissions, spreads, slippage, and any tax treatment of a realized loss are outside this model. They would push your real break-even a little higher than the figure shown.
This is one of several educational models on Rionux. See how we model these projections across all our tools.
Break-even, loss recovery, and averaging down
One piece of arithmetic answers all three questions — how far you need to climb, why the climb is steeper than the fall, and what buying more would do to it.
How much do I need to break even?
You break even when the price gets back to your average cost per unit, so the gain you need is the gap between the two divided by today’s price: (average − current) ÷ current. If your average is $100 and the price is $70, that is $30 ÷ $70 = 42.9%. Note what the calculation is not divided by: your original $100. Dividing by the price you have now, rather than the price you paid, is the whole reason the answer is 42.9% and not 30%.
Loss recovery: the gain needed after a drop
Expressed as percentages alone, the gain needed to recover a loss of L is L ÷ (1 − L). Losses and gains are asymmetric because each is measured against the balance you have at the time: a 50% fall takes $100 to $50, and getting from $50 back to $100 is a doubling. The requirement accelerates as the loss deepens, which is why limiting large drawdowns does more for a long-term result than chasing large gains.
| Loss | Gain needed to break even |
|---|---|
| 10% | 11.1% |
| 20% | 25% |
| 30% | 42.9% |
| 50% | 100% |
| 80% | 400% |
| 90% | 900% |
Averaging down: your new average price and break-even
Averaging down means buying more of something you already hold at a price below your average. Because your average is the weighted average of everything you have paid, the new buy pulls it down — and your break-even price falls with it. Worked through: 50 shares at an average of $12 cost $600. Adding 100 shares at $10.80 costs $1,080, so you hold 150 shares that cost $1,680 in total, an average of $11.20. The gain needed from $10.80 drops from 11.1% to 3.7%.
What it does not do is make a recovery more likely. The same buy that lowers your break-even also raises the amount you have committed to an asset that has already fallen, so a further decline costs more in dollars than it otherwise would. Buying above your average has the opposite effect — it averages you up, raising both your average and your break-even.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming a 20% loss needs only a 20% gain. It needs 25%, because the gain is measured against the reduced price. At 50% down the gap is much wider: 100%, not 50%.
- Treating averaging down as guaranteed recovery. It lowers the bar and raises your exposure. Those are two separate consequences of one decision, and only the first one is arithmetic.
- Averaging up by accident. Adding at a price above your average raises your average and your break-even — worth checking before assuming a new buy helps.
- Ignoring fees and taxes. Neither is modeled here. Trading costs raise the price you actually need, and the tax treatment of a realized loss is a separate question entirely.
- Anchoring on the break-even price. It is a fact about what you paid, not a fact about the asset. Whether an investment is worth holding does not depend on the price you happened to buy at.
Related concepts
The measures behind a recovery: what a return actually is, and how far prices move along the way.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about breaking even after a loss and about averaging down.
How much do I need to gain to break even after a loss?
More than you lost. The gain you need is the gap between the current price and your average price, divided by the current price: gain = (average − current) ÷ current. If you bought at $100 and the price is now $70, you need ($100 − $70) ÷ $70 = 42.9% to get back to even, not 30%. The shortcut in percentage terms is gain = loss ÷ (1 − loss).
Why does a 50% loss need a 100% gain?
Because the loss and the gain are measured against different starting points. A 50% drop takes $100 down to $50, so the loss is measured against $100. The recovery is measured against the $50 you have left, and getting from $50 back to $100 is a doubling — a 100% gain. Every percentage move is calculated on the balance you have at the time, which is why the deeper the hole, the steeper the climb: down 80% needs +400%, and down 90% needs +900%.
What is averaging down and how does it change my break-even?
Averaging down means buying more of something you already own at a price below your current average. Because your average price is the weighted average of everything you have paid, adding shares at a lower price pulls it down — and since your break-even price is your average price, your break-even falls with it. That reduces the gain you need from here. It also increases the amount you have invested in an asset that has fallen, so it lowers the bar without making the recovery any more likely. This is educational information, not advice.
What is my new average price if I buy more?
It is the total cost of everything you own divided by the total units: new average = (existing units × existing average + new cost) ÷ (existing units + new units). For example, 50 shares at an average of $12 is $600. Adding 100 shares at $10.80 costs $1,080, so you hold 150 shares that cost $1,680 in total — a new average of $11.20. Enter your own numbers in the average-down mode above to see your figure.
Does averaging down guarantee I'll recover?
No. Averaging down lowers your average price and therefore the percentage gain you need, but it does nothing to the asset itself. It also means more money is committed to something that has already fallen, so if the price keeps falling, the loss is larger in dollar terms than it would have been. The calculator shows what the arithmetic does to your break-even under the assumptions you enter; it makes no claim about what the price will do next.
Does this calculator include fees or taxes?
No. It works purely from the prices and units you enter, and deliberately ignores commissions, spreads, slippage, and any tax treatment of a realized loss. Real trading costs would raise the price you need slightly above the break-even shown here, so treat the figures as an educational baseline rather than an exact target.
Does this work for crypto?
Yes. The math is asset-neutral — it only needs an average price, a current price, and a unit count, so it works the same for stocks, ETF units, and crypto. Because crypto is fractional by design, the average-down mode is often easier to apply there: any dollar amount converts cleanly into units at the current price.
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Educational use only
Educational purposes only. Calculator results are estimates based on assumptions and user inputs. They are not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results.