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Drawdown Recovery Calculator

Get the percentage gain needed to recover from a drawdown — from a loss percentage, or a peak and current balance — plus the number of trades it would take at a given per-trade return. The formula is shown.

Direct answer

The recovery gain after a drawdown is DD / (1 - DD), not the same percentage as the loss. A 20% drawdown needs 0.20 / 0.80 = 25% to recover. A 50% drawdown needs 100%, and a 90% drawdown needs 900%.

Drawdown inputs

Optional. If supplied, recovery trades are rounded up because partial trades do not recover the account.
required gain = DD / (1 - DD) · trades = ceil(ln(1/(1-DD)) / ln(1+g))

Recovery result

Gain needed to recover—
Drawdown—
Trades to recover—
Lost amount—
Current balance—
A loss and an equal percentage gain do not cancel because the base shrinks after the loss.
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How it works

Why drawdown recovery is nonlinear

Drawdown recovery is nonlinear because the account base gets smaller after a loss. Losing 20% leaves 80% of the prior peak, so the recovery gain is measured from the smaller 80% base. That is why "lose X%, make X% back" is false.

The formula

Use drawdown as a decimal dd:

required gain = dd / (1 - dd) = 1 / (1 - dd) - 1

If you enter peak and current balance, the tool first calculates dd = (peak - current) / peak. It can also show the lost amount and current balance.

Recovery trades

If each recovery trade compounds at a positive return g, the number of trades needed is:

n = ln(1 / (1 - dd)) / ln(1 + g)

The displayed value is rounded up with ceil(n). For a 20% drawdown and 2% per trade, ceil(ln(1/0.8) / ln(1.02)) = 12.

Worked examples

A 10% drawdown needs 11.11% to recover. A 20% drawdown needs 25%. A 30% drawdown needs 42.86%. A 50% drawdown needs 100%. A 90% drawdown needs 900%.

Common mistakes

  • Confusing percentages with decimals. The formula uses 0.20 for a 20% drawdown, not 20.
  • Assuming equal percentages cancel. A 20% loss followed by a 20% gain leaves 0.8 × 1.2 = 0.96, still below the peak.
  • Ignoring the 100% case. At a 100% drawdown the denominator is zero, so the required gain is divergent and the tool marks it as not recoverable.

Frequently asked questions

How much gain is needed after a 20% drawdown?
A 20% drawdown needs 0.20 / 0.80 = 25% to recover.
How much gain is needed after a 50% drawdown?
A 50% drawdown needs 0.50 / 0.50 = 100%. The account must double from the reduced base to return to the old peak.
Why does a 10% loss need more than a 10% gain?
After a 10% loss, the account is at 90% of the prior peak. A 10% gain on 90% only reaches 99%, so the exact recovery gain is 11.11%.
How are recovery trades calculated?
The tool uses ln(1/(1-dd)) / ln(1+g) and rounds up. For 20% drawdown and 2% per trade, the result is 12 trades.
What happens at 100% drawdown?
The recovery denominator is zero. The required gain is mathematically divergent, so the tool marks it as not recoverable instead of crashing.

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