Risk reward calculator and breakeven win rate

How to use it

1. Choose how to enter the trade: as amounts (what you lose at the stop and what you make at the target, in your account currency) or as prices (entry, stop loss and target). 2. If you use prices, put the stop below the entry for a buy and above it for a sell. The target goes on the other side. The tool tells you if the sides do not match. 3. Optional: enter your win rate, the share of trades you win. The tool then shows the average result per trade. 4. Optional: enter your costs per trade in R, the share of your risk that spread and commission take. 0.05 means costs equal 5% of the risk. 5. Read the result. Copy it, or copy a share link that holds only your inputs.

What the result means

Risk to reward compares the loss at the stop with the gain at the target. Risking $500 to make $1,000 is 1 to 2. The amount you risk is often called 1R, so a win here earns 2R and a loss costs 1R.

The breakeven win rate is the share of trades you must win for wins and losses to cancel out. At 1 to 1 it is 50%. At 1 to 2 it is 33.3%. At 1 to 3 it is 25%. With costs, every win shrinks and every loss grows, so the breakeven becomes (1 plus costs) divided by (1 plus the reward ratio).

The average result per trade, also called expectancy, is your win rate times the gain, minus your loss rate times the loss, all in R. In amounts mode the tool also shows it in money and over 100 trades. It assumes every trade has the same stop and target, which real trading rarely does, so treat it as a check on your plan, not a promise.

A second example: gold, entered as prices

A buy on gold at 4,000.00, with a stop at 3,992.00 and a target at 4,020.00.

• Risk: 4,000.00 minus 3,992.00 is 8.00.
• Reward: 4,020.00 minus 4,000.00 is 20.00.
• Ratio: 20.00 divided by 8.00 is 2.5, so 1 to 2.5.
• Breakeven win rate: 1 divided by 3.5 is 28.6%.

Now add costs of 0.1R. The breakeven becomes 1.1 divided by 3.5, which is 31.4%. At a 35% win rate, a win earns 2.5 minus 0.1, which is 2.4R, and a loss costs 1 plus 0.1, which is 1.1R. The average trade is 0.35 times 2.4, minus 0.65 times 1.1: 0.84 minus 0.715, which is 0.125R. If the trade is sized to risk $1,000, that is about $125 a trade on average. Without costs it would be 0.225R, so costs take close to half of the edge here.

Prices mode gives the ratio in R only. To turn the stop into a size, use the lot size calculator, or plan the size, the ratio and today's loss limit on one screen with the trade planner.

Common mistakes

Leaving out costs. Spread and commission raise the breakeven win rate, most of all on short trades with small targets, where costs are a large share of the move.

Moving the stop after entry. A stop moved further away changes the ratio you planned. The trade you calculated is no longer the trade you hold.

Judging the ratio on its own. A 1 to 3 trade with a 20% win rate loses money. The ratio only means something next to the win rate you actually reach.

Counting targets that are rarely hit. A far target looks good on paper. If price seldom gets there, your real win rate falls and the average result with it.

Trading a fixed size. If the lot size stays the same while the stop distance changes, 1R is a different amount on every trade, and the math stops adding up.

Ignoring losing streaks. Lower win rates bring longer runs of losses. On a challenge, a streak can reach the daily or maximum loss limit before you reach the profit target. Test your numbers in the challenge pass probability simulator.

What to check at your firm

• Costs. Some firms charge commission on each lot, others build it into the spread. Use your own figures for the cost input.
• Short holding times. Some firms do not count trades held for only a few seconds, which limits very small targets.
• News rules. A news trading rule can stop you opening or closing trades near big releases, which affects where your stop and target can sit.
• Risk per trade. Some firms cap how much one trade may lose, or ask for a stop on every position.

Results depend on the inputs you enter, and firms' rules differ, so check your own firm's rules before you trade.

Running a prop firm? Read How to start a prop firm in 2026: tech, legal setup and a 90 day launch plan.