Break-even calculator
Every trade starts behind. This adds up how far behind - spread, commission and financing - and converts it into the pips needed just to get out flat.
What the number means
The break-even distance is the pips of favourable movement your costs consume before the first pip of profit. A strategy whose typical winner is twenty pips pays a very different share of its edge to a 2.9 pip break-even than to a 0.8 pip one - the same strategy can be viable at one broker and not at another.
Time is a cost here too. Each night held adds financing, so the break-even distance of a held trade drifts wider the longer it stays open. A swap credit runs the other way and can put a trade ahead at entry - rare, but the arithmetic handles it.
Worked example
One lot of EURUSD: 1 pip of spread, $7 commission, −$6 swap, held two nights.
- Costs: $10 spread + $7 commission + $12 financing = $29.00
- At $10 per pip, the trade must gain 2.9 pips to exit flat
The unit test suite pins these exact figures.
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<iframe src="https://ticksprout.com/tools/break-even?pair=EURUSD&lots=1&spread=1&comm=7&swap=-6&nights=2¤cy=USD&rate=1&embed=1" width="100%" height="780" style="border:0" title="Break-even calculator" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<a href="https://ticksprout.com/tools/break-even">Break-even calculator by Tick Sprout</a>Related tools
- Broker fees comparison
The honest total across two brokers' fee structures for the same trade.
EUR/USD 1 lot, 5 nights → A £25 vs B £27, A cheaper
- Spread cost calculator
What a spread costs across a month and a year at your trade frequency and size.
EUR/USD 0.8 pips, 1 lot, 20 trades → $160/month
- Swap cost calculator
What overnight financing adds up to across a holding period, triple-swap nights included.
−$7/night, 10 nights (1 triple) → −$84