Profit and loss on a trade is the price difference multiplied by the size and by the value of one price unit, minus costs. This calculator does that for shares, contracts and lots, then shows what is left after commissions and fees, what it is worth as a percentage of the account, and what it is worth in R.
Profit and loss calculator
Set the price-move value to 1 for shares, to the tick value divided by the tick size for futures (for example $1.25 ÷ 0.25 = $5 on Micro E-mini S&P 500), and to your pip value × 10,000 for a four-decimal forex pair. Educational tool, not advice, and it does not calculate tax.
The formula, one line at a time
Net: gross − commissions − exchange, clearing and regulatory fees − financing.
In R: net ÷ the dollar amount that was at risk when you entered.
The only part that varies between markets is the middle term. A share moves a dollar and you make a dollar per share. A futures contract moves a point and you make whatever the exchange says a point is worth. A forex lot moves a pip and you make the pip value. Everything else is identical, which is why one calculator handles all three.
Three worked examples
Stocks
Long 200 shares at $41.20, out at $42.05. The move is $0.85, so gross is 0.85 × 200 = $170.00. Take off $2.40 of round-turn commission and fees and the net is $167.60. On a $10,000 account that is 1.68%, and if the entry risked $100 it is a 1.68R result.
Futures
Long 3 Micro E-mini S&P 500 contracts, entering at 5,412.00 and exiting at 5,418.00. The move is 6.00 index points. Micro E-mini S&P 500 futures move in minimum increments of 0.25 index points worth $1.25 per tick (CME Group contract specifications), so a 1.00-point move is worth $5.00 per contract. Gross is 6.00 × 3 × $5.00 = $90.00, less roughly $4 to $8 in round-turn commissions and exchange fees.
Forex
Short one mini lot of EUR/USD at 1.0842, covering at 1.0818. That is 24 pips in your favour, and a mini lot is $1 per pip, so gross is $24.00. Subtract the spread you paid on entry and any commission; the pip value calculator handles the per-pip figure for pairs that do not end in USD.
The costs the gross number hides
On US equities the fees are small individually and public, which makes them easy to check and easy to underestimate. Two apply on the sell side of every trade:
- FINRA Trading Activity Fee — $0.000166 per share sold, capped at $8.30 per trade (FINRA Schedule A, Section 1).
- SEC Section 31 fee — $20.60 per million dollars of covered sales, effective 4 April 2026 (FINRA Information Notice, 17 March 2026). Rates are reset periodically, so check the current figure.
- Commission and spread — the largest of the three for most retail traders, and the one that scales with how often you trade rather than how much you make.
None of these will decide a single trade. Fifty round turns a week is a different story: friction is a fixed tax on activity and a variable one on profit, which is the arithmetic behind how many trades a day is too many.
Why R belongs next to the dollars
A dollar figure tells you what happened to the balance. It does not tell you whether the trade was any good, because the same decision produces a different number on a different account. R fixes that: it divides the result by the amount you had at risk, so a 2R win is a 2R win at any account size.
Logging both is what makes a record readable a year later. Twenty trades in dollars on a growing account is a chart of your deposits. Twenty trades in R is a chart of your judgement, and it is the input expectancy needs. Keep it in the trading journal alongside the reason for entry.
Quick reference: what a 1.00 move is worth
| Instrument | Unit | Value of a 1.00 move | Set the multiplier to |
|---|---|---|---|
| US stock or ETF | 1 share | $1.00 | 1 |
| Micro E-mini S&P 500 | 1 contract | $5.00 per index point | 5 |
| E-mini S&P 500 | 1 contract | $50.00 per index point | 50 |
| Forex standard lot | 100,000 units | $100,000 per 1.00 of rate | 100000 |
| Forex mini lot | 10,000 units | $10,000 per 1.00 of rate | 10000 |
The forex rows look alarming until you remember that a 1.00 move in EUR/USD is 10,000 pips. The multiplier is large because the price unit is enormous relative to how the pair actually moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate profit and loss on a trade?
Take the exit price minus the entry price for a long, or the entry price minus the exit price for a short, multiply by the position size and by the value of one price unit, then subtract all costs. On 200 shares bought at 41.20 and sold at 42.05, the gross figure is 0.85 multiplied by 200, which is 170 dollars. Commissions and regulatory fees come out of that to give the net result.
How do you calculate profit and loss on futures?
Convert the price move into ticks, multiply by the tick value and by the number of contracts. A Micro E-mini S and P 500 contract moves in 0.25 index-point ticks worth 1.25 dollars each, so a 6-point move is 24 ticks, worth 30 dollars per contract. Three contracts therefore make 90 dollars gross, before the round-turn commission and exchange fees are deducted.
What is the difference between gross and net profit on a trade?
Gross profit is the price difference multiplied by the size. Net profit is what is left after commissions, exchange and clearing fees, regulatory fees, spread and financing. The gap between the two is small on a single large trade and large on many small ones, which is why an active scalper can show a positive gross record and a negative account balance over the same period.
Should I track my results in dollars or in R?
Track both, but judge yourself in R. R is one unit of risk, so a 2R result is the same quality of trade whether the account is 2,000 dollars or 200,000. Dollars tell you what happened to the balance; R tells you whether the decisions were any good, and it makes a run of trades comparable even as the account size changes underneath them.
Bottom line
Gross P&L is arithmetic anyone can do in their head. Net P&L, as a percentage of the account and expressed in R, is the number that actually tells you how the month went. Run every closed trade through all four figures and the picture stops flattering you. Tax treatment is a separate question and varies by jurisdiction — day trading taxes covers the shape of it, and a licensed tax professional should cover your specific case. To size the next trade rather than measure the last one, use the position size calculator, and to judge the plan before you take it, use the risk to reward calculator.