How is net P&L calculated?

Gross P&L = (exit − entry) × quantity for a long (mirrored for a short). Net P&L subtracts total fees and commissions.

What is an R multiple?

R multiple expresses your result in units of initial risk. If you risked $100 and made $250, that is a +2.5R trade. It needs a stop to compute.

Does this work for short trades?

Yes — for a short, gross P&L = (entry − exit) × quantity, so profits accrue as price falls.

Any commissions, spread cost or platform fees for the round trip; enter the total so net P&L reflects the real result.

Why is my percentage return different from my R multiple?

Percentage return is measured against capital deployed (entry × quantity); R multiple is measured against initial risk (entry − stop) × quantity — different denominators.

Can I use this for partial exits?

Enter the quantity actually closed and its exit price, then run it again for each partial exit and sum the net P&L.

Risk & Money Management

Profit & Loss Calculator

Calculate trade profit and loss from entry, exit, quantity and direction, including fees, percentage return and R multiple when a stop is provided.

Trade profit and loss (P&L) is the difference between exit and entry price multiplied by quantity, minus fees — the realised result of a closed trade.

Net profit / loss

$1,000.00

Gross P&L: $1,000.00
Return: 10%
R multiple: —

Worked example

A trader buys 100 shares at $50 and sells at $56, paying $20 total in fees, with a stop that had been set at $48.

Gross P&L: ($56 − $50) × 100 = $600
Net P&L: $600 − $20 fees = $580
Percent return: $580 ÷ ($50 × 100) = 11.6%
R multiple: $580 ÷ (($50 − $48) × 100) = +2.9R

The trade nets $580, an 11.6% return on capital deployed, and +2.9R against the original $2 stop distance.

How this is calculated

gross P&L = (exit − entry) × quantity for a long, and the mirror for a short. Net P&L subtracts your total fees.

Return is net P&L over the capital deployed at entry. If you supply a stop, the R multiple shows the result in units of initial risk: R = netP&L ÷ (perUnitRisk × quantity).

When to use this calculator

Use this after closing a trade to get the true net result — gross P&L minus round-trip fees — plus the percentage return on capital deployed. It works for longs and shorts, and quoting the result in R multiples makes trades with different sizes and stop distances directly comparable.

It is also useful before exit as a what-if tool: enter your open position and a candidate exit price to see what the trade would net after costs, which helps when deciding between scaling out and closing in full.

Journal-keeping traders get the most from the R multiple output. A trade that made $580 against $200 of initial risk is +2.9R; tracked over dozens of trades, the average R is a cleaner performance measure than raw dollar totals.

Common mistakes

Forgetting fees on both legs (entry and exit), understating the true net P&L.
Mixing up direction — a short trade's gross P&L formula is the mirror image of a long's.
Quoting an R multiple without a stop — it needs the original stop distance to mean anything.

Frequently asked questions

How is net P&L calculated?: Gross P&L = (exit − entry) × quantity for a long (mirrored for a short). Net P&L subtracts total fees and commissions.
What is an R multiple?: R multiple expresses your result in units of initial risk. If you risked $100 and made $250, that is a +2.5R trade. It needs a stop to compute.
Does this work for short trades?: Yes — for a short, gross P&L = (entry − exit) × quantity, so profits accrue as price falls.
What counts as fees?: Any commissions, spread cost or platform fees for the round trip; enter the total so net P&L reflects the real result.
Why is my percentage return different from my R multiple?: Percentage return is measured against capital deployed (entry × quantity); R multiple is measured against initial risk (entry − stop) × quantity — different denominators.
Can I use this for partial exits?: Enter the quantity actually closed and its exit price, then run it again for each partial exit and sum the net P&L.