What the calculator does
A lead trader's ROI on a leaderboard is not your ROI. Between their number and your balance sit three things: the profit share you pay them, the trading fees on every copied order, and the order in which wins and losses arrive. This calculator puts those three on the table so you can see the gap before you commit real money.
It works month by month. In each month your allocation either gains the "winning month" percentage or loses the "losing month" percentage. Losing months are spread evenly through the period, based on how many out of ten you expect. Fees are deducted every month. Profit share is charged only when your net profit climbs above its previous peak — the high-water mark used by most platforms.
Worked example
Say you allocate $1,000 to a trader who gains 6% in a good month and loses 5% in a bad one, with four bad months out of ten. Profit share is 10% and fees average 0.5% of the allocation per month. Over 12 months the gross result looks fine. After fees and profit share the result is noticeably smaller — and if you change the losing months from four to five, the whole year can turn flat or negative. That sensitivity is the real lesson: small changes in a trader's hit rate matter far more than the headline ROI.
Set profit share to 0%, note the result, then set it to 30%. Next, double the fees. You will usually find that fees on a high-frequency trader cost more than the profit share does.
Drawdown recovery table
Losses and gains are not symmetrical. The deeper the hole, the harder the climb out. Keep this table in mind when you set a stop-copy loss limit.
| Loss on allocation | Gain needed to break even | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| -10% | +11.1% | Normal noise for most crypto strategies. |
| -20% | +25% | Needs a solid run of good months to recover. |
| -30% | +42.9% | Many followers stop copying here — often at the worst moment. |
| -50% | +100% | The trader has to double the remaining capital. |
| -75% | +300% | Realistically, the allocation is gone. |
Inputs, one by one
Allocation
The amount you assign to one trader. Most exchanges set a minimum, and copy positions are funded from this pool only. Spreading money over two or three traders with different styles usually smooths the ride; see our copy trading strategies guide.
Winning and losing months
Do not plug in a trader's best 30-day ROI. Look at their history over several months, if the platform shows it, and estimate a typical good month and a typical bad month. If you only have a short history, be conservative. Our guide on how to choose a trader explains which numbers to trust.
Profit share
On exchange copy trading products the rate is usually set by the lead trader within limits defined by the platform. Rates of around 10% are common, and some products allow higher. Always check the exact figure on the trader's profile, because it can change. More in our profit sharing explainer.
Fees
Every copied order pays the platform's trading fee, and perpetual futures positions may also pay or receive funding. A scalper that turns over its capital many times a month can easily generate fees of 1–3% of the allocation per month. A swing trader may generate a fraction of that.
Tracking ROI once you are live
The calculator is for planning. Once you copy for real, track the numbers that matter in a simple spreadsheet or your platform's copy dashboard:
- Net PnL after fees and profit share per trader, not just the trader's own ROI.
- Your maximum drawdown from the peak of each allocation.
- Number of copied trades and average holding time — a sudden change in style is a warning sign.
- Leverage actually used on your copied positions.
- Follower count and assets under management of the trader; rapid growth can change how they trade.
If you want to feel how these numbers move in real time, open the copy trading simulator and copy two strategies side by side.
This tool shows the outcome of the inputs you choose. It does not predict what any trader will do. Crypto trading can lose money quickly, and leveraged trading can lose all of it.
Three scenarios to try
To get a feel for how sensitive copy trading results are, run these three scenarios with a $1,000 allocation over 12 months and compare the net result:
| Scenario | Winning month | Losing month | Losing months / 10 | Share · Fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steady trader | +4% | -3% | 3 | 10% · 0.3% |
| Aggressive trader | +15% | -14% | 4 | 20% · 1.5% |
| Scalper | +6% | -4% | 4 | 10% · 3% |
You will usually find that the aggressive trader has the most dramatic chart but not necessarily the best ending balance, and that high fees can quietly turn a decent scalper into a losing copy. These are illustrative inputs, not data about real traders.
Limitations of this calculator
- Real returns do not alternate neatly; streaks of losing months are common and make drawdowns deeper.
- Profit share settlement timing on real platforms can differ from the monthly settlement modelled here.
- Fees are modelled as a percentage of equity; on real platforms they depend on trade size, leverage and fee tier.
- It does not model liquidation. For that, use the simulator, which tracks leveraged positions on live prices.
Use it to compare scenarios and set realistic expectations, not to predict an outcome.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate copy trading profit after profit share?
Take the gross profit the trader made on your allocation, subtract trading fees, then subtract the profit share percentage applied only to new net profit above your high-water mark. The calculator above does this month by month.
What is a high-water mark in copy trading?
It is the highest net profit level your copy has reached. Profit share is only charged when your profit goes above that level again, so you do not pay twice for recovering the same losses.
Why does a 50% loss need a 100% gain to recover?
Because the gain is calculated on a smaller base. $1,000 minus 50% is $500, and $500 has to double to get back to $1,000. That asymmetry is why limiting drawdown matters more than chasing returns.
Are the results guaranteed?
No. The calculator only shows what a given set of assumptions would produce. Real copy trading returns vary month to month and can be negative.
How do I calculate ROI on copy trading?
ROI is your ending balance minus your starting allocation, divided by the starting allocation. For copy trading, use the balance after trading fees, funding and profit share — not the lead trader's displayed ROI. The calculator on this page does that month by month.
What is a realistic monthly return for copy trading?
There is no reliable typical number. Returns vary widely between traders and months, and many followers lose money. Rather than targeting a monthly return, decide what drawdown you can accept and look for traders whose history fits it, then test conservative scenarios here.
Does the calculator include leverage?
Indirectly. The monthly return inputs represent the result on your allocation, which already includes the effect of any leverage the trader uses. Liquidation is not modelled; use the copy trading simulator for that.
Can I use this calculator for forex or stock copy trading?
Yes. The maths of allocation, monthly returns, profit share with a high-water mark and fees is the same for any market. Only the typical values you enter will differ.
