Forex profit equals price move times lot size times contract size, then converted to account currency. For a long 1 lot EUR/USD from 1.0850 to 1.0900, gross profit is $500 before spread and commission costs.
Type the entry, type the exit, pick the direction. The calculator returns the gross P&L in your account currency. Use it pre-trade to verify the math on a planned setup, or post-trade to confirm your broker filled and closed at the levels you expected.
Profit/Loss Calculator
Why post-trade verification matters more than retail thinks
Every closed trade should match the calculator’s pre-trade expectation within spread and commission tolerance. When it does not, the cause is one of three things. The broker filled at a worse price than the chart showed (slippage on the order). The broker applied a non-standard contract size on a synthetic instrument. Or the calculator inputs were wrong, usually the wrong contract size assumed for gold or oil.
Tracking the gap between expected and actual P&L over 50-100 trades surfaces real broker quality. A broker that consistently fills at 1-2 pips of slippage on entry costs more over the year than the average retail trader pays in commissions. The desks that take broker selection seriously run this check monthly.
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Frequently asked questions
How is forex profit calculated?
Profit equals (exit price minus entry price) times lot size times contract size, then converted to account currency at the prevailing rate. For a long 1 lot EUR/USD from 1.0850 to 1.0900: (1.0900 minus 1.0850) × 1 × 100,000 = $500.
Does the calculator handle short positions?
Yes. Select Sell as the direction and the calculator inverts the math, so a sell from 1.0900 to 1.0850 returns the same $500 profit.
Why is my actual P&L different from the calculator?
Three usual reasons: spread cost on entry (typically 0.1 to 2 pips depending on broker), swap rate on overnight positions (positive or negative depending on direction and pair), and commission on raw-spread accounts (typically $3 to $7 per lot per round trip). The calculator returns gross P&L before these costs.
How are gold and oil P&L calculated?
Gold (XAUUSD) is typically 100 ounces per standard lot, so a $1 move on 1 lot returns $100. Oil (USOIL or WTI) is typically 1,000 barrels per standard lot, so a $1 move on 1 lot returns $1,000. Always check your broker spec for variations.
Should I include spread and commission in the calculator?
The calculator returns gross P&L for simplicity. For net P&L, subtract spread cost (number of pips × pip value) and commission per round trip from the gross figure. On a 30-pip trade with a 1-pip spread on a raw account with $7 commission per round trip, net is gross minus $10 minus $7 = gross minus $17.
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