Profit Calculator

Profit Calculator: Estimate Trading Profit And Loss

Pauline Laurore
P. Laurore Last updated: 13 March 2025

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Table of Contents
  • What Is Profit in Trading?
  • Why Use a Trading Profit Calculator?
  • How Does Our Trading Profit Calculator Work?
  • How to Use a Forex Trading Profit Calculator?
  • How to Use a Crypto Trading Profit Calculator?
  • Other Essential Trading Calculators
  • Key Considerations for Australian Traders

Before entering a trade, it's essential to define your risk level and set a realistic profit target. Our trading profit calculator helps you estimate potential profits or losses instantly, ensuring smarter trading decisions.

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What you'll learn in this guide

What Is Profit in Trading?

In trading, profit is the gain or loss from a position based on price movements. Whether you buy (long) or sell (short), your profit depends on how the asset's price changes over time.

How Profit & Loss Work

For a long (buy) position:
Profit = Selling price − Buying price
Loss = Buying price − Selling price

For a short (sell) position:
Profit = Buying price − Selling price
Loss = Selling price − Buying price

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For example

Why Use a Trading Profit Calculator?

Most Australian trading platforms (such as CommSec, CMC Markets, and IG Markets) automatically display your profit/loss when a position is closed. However, using a profit calculator before entering a trade allows you to:

  • Plan trades more effectively by knowing potential profits/losses upfront
  • Adjust your risk management strategy based on expected returns
  • Compare different trading scenarios before making a decision

A trading profit calculator (also known as a trade return calculator) is particularly useful for Forex and cryptocurrency traders, where market volatility can impact profits quickly.

How Does Our Trading Profit Calculator Work?

Our trading profit and loss calculator helps you determine how much you can gain or lose based on the opening and closing prices of a trade.

To use the trading profit calculator, enter:

  • Trading instrument – Forex pair, stock, commodity, or cryptocurrency
  • Deposit currency – The currency of your trading account (AUD, USD, EUR, etc.)
  • Trade direction – Buy (long) or Sell (short)
  • Lot size or investment amount – Position size (e.g., standard, mini, or micro lots)
  • Opening price – The price at which the position was opened
  • Closing price – The price at which the position is closed (or stop-loss/take-profit level)

Profit Calculation Formula:

Profit = (Lot size × Opening price) − (Lot size × Closing price)

Our calculator provides an instant estimate, but real trading profits may also be affected by:

  • Broker commissions
  • Overnight swap fees
  • Spreads (difference between buy/sell price)

How to Use a Forex Trading Profit Calculator?

For Forex traders, a profit calculator helps determine how much you can earn or lose based on exchange rate movements.

Key Inputs for Forex Profit Calculation:

  • Currency pair (e.g., AUD/USD, EUR/AUD, GBP/AUD)
  • Account currency (AUD, USD, EUR, etc.)
  • Trade size (standard lots, mini lots, or micro lots)
  • Opening and closing price
  • Trade direction (Buy/Sell)
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For example

How to Use a Crypto Trading Profit Calculator?

A crypto profit calculator helps traders estimate profits and losses when buying or selling Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets.

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Other Essential Trading Calculators

Lot Size Calculator

  • Helps determine the optimal position size based on account balance and risk tolerance.
  • Prevents overleveraging and helps with money management.

Position Size Calculator

  • Helps determine how much capital to allocate per trade based on risk management rules.
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Key Considerations for Australian Traders

  • Trading Platforms & Regulations – In Australia, Forex and CFD trading is regulated by ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission). Ensure your broker is ASIC-licensed.
  • Leverage Limits – Australian traders face leverage restrictions (e.g., max 30:1 for Forex majors, 2:1 for crypto) to protect retail investors.
  • Tax Implications – In Australia, profits from trading are subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT). Keep track of your trades for tax reporting.
  • Market Hours – Forex trading operates 24/5, but stock and crypto markets follow specific hours. Be aware of Sydney market times and global time zone differences.

Whether you trade Forex, stocks, or crypto, knowing how much you can earn (or lose) per trade is essential for long-term success.

To get started, use our free Trading Profit Calculator today and take control of your trades with confidence!

P. Laurore
Finance expert
Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.

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