Drawdown recovery calculator

A drawdown recovery calculator shows how much gain is needed to recover a loss. After a fall the account has less capital to rebuild with, so getting back to the peak always takes a larger percentage gain than the loss. Enter the loss and, optionally, your risk per trade.

Loss recovery table: gain needed and losing streaks

Loss	Gain needed to recover	Losses in a row at 1% risk	Losses in a row at 2% risk
5%	5.3%	6	3
10%	11.1%	11	6
15%	17.6%	17	9
20%	25.0%	23	12
25%	33.3%	29	15
30%	42.9%	36	18
40%	66.7%	51	26
50%	100.0%	69	35
60%	150.0%	92	46
75%	300.0%	138	69
90%	900.0%	230	114

How to use it

Enter the loss as a percentage of the account’s peak value, for example 20 for an account that fell from $25,000 to $20,000.
Read the gain needed to recover: the percentage the remaining account has to earn to return to the peak.
Optionally enter your risk per trade to see how many losing trades in a row, each losing that share of the account left, produce the same drawdown. The table shows common losses at 1% and 2% risk per trade.

The formula

Account left = 1 − loss

Gain needed = loss ÷ (1 − loss). A 20% loss leaves 80% of the account, which must gain 20 ÷ 80 = 25% to return to the peak. The gain needed grows faster than the loss: a 50% loss needs 100%, a 75% loss 300%.

Losing trades in a row = ln(1 − loss) ÷ ln(1 − risk per trade), rounded up. Each loss is a fixed share of the account left (fixed fractional sizing), so the losses compound and each one costs slightly fewer dollars than the one before.

Worked example

Illustrative numbers: a $25,000 account falls to $20,000, a 20% loss. The $20,000 left has to gain $5,000, which is 25% of $20,000, to return to $25,000.

At 1% risk per trade it takes 23 losing trades in a row to reach that 20% drawdown; at 2% it takes 12. A 50% drawdown needs a 100% gain to recover and takes 69 consecutive losses at 1% risk, or 35 at 2%. Commissions and slippage are not included.

Questions

How much gain is needed to recover a 50% loss?

A 100% gain. Half the account is left, so it has to double to return to the peak. In general the gain needed is the loss divided by what is left: 50 ÷ 50 = 100%.

What is the formula for drawdown recovery?

Gain needed = loss ÷ (1 − loss), with both as decimals. A 10% loss needs about 11.1%, a 30% loss about 42.9% and a 60% loss 150%.

Why are losses harder to recover than gains?

Because the recovery starts from a smaller base. A 20% loss is measured against the peak, but the 25% recovery gain is measured against the 80% that is left. The deeper the drawdown, the wider that gap, which is why many traders focus on keeping drawdowns shallow.

How many losing trades does it take to reach a 20% drawdown?

With each loss costing 1% of the account left, 23 losses in a row; at 2% per trade, 12. Twenty losses at 1% each cost about 18.2% rather than 20%, because each loss is taken from a smaller account.

Is anything I enter saved?

No. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is sent to Clear Tape or stored.

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From the calculation to the record

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