Risk Reward Ratio Calculator
Get the reward-to-risk ratio of a trade and the win rate it needs to pay off.
Calculate My RatioThe risk/reward ratio compares what you stand to gain with what you stand to lose on a trade. If you risk 100 to make 300, the ratio is 3 to 1. It is one of the few things you know before a trade is placed, and it determines how often you need to win for the trade idea to pay.
A higher ratio lowers the win rate you need. At 1 to 1 you need to win more than half your trades. At 2 to 1 you need only about one in three, and at 3 to 1 about one in four. The reverse is also true: a ratio below 1 means you need to win more often than you lose just to break even.
A good ratio on paper does not guarantee anything, because the ratio only counts if the trade actually runs to its target. Targets that are rarely reached lower the real win rate, and a stop that is moved or ignored changes the real risk. The ratio you plan and the ratio you realize are two different numbers.
This calculator gives you the planned ratio and the break-even win rate. To see the ratio you actually realized, compare your average win with your average loss in the break-even win rate calculator, or upload your history to the trading performance analyzer.
Reward : risk (long)
3.00 : 1
Win rate needed to break even
25.00%
Expectancy at your win rate
+0.80 R per trade
R is one unit of risk: the distance from entry to stop. Ignores fees and slippage.
A calculator uses numbers you type in. To see what your own trades actually show, upload your trade history.
Analyze my tradesHow it is calculated
Reward to risk
The distance from entry to target divided by the distance from entry to stop.
Break-even win rate
1 divided by (1 plus the ratio). At a ratio of 2 that is 33.3%, meaning you win one trade in three and the result is zero.
Expectancy in R
Your win rate times the ratio, minus your loss rate. R is one unit of risk, so +0.2 R means the average trade earns a fifth of what it risks.
Long and short
The direction is read from your numbers: for a long the stop sits below entry and the target above, and for a short it is the other way round.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good risk reward ratio?
There is no single good ratio. It depends on your win rate: a strategy that wins often can work with a ratio below 1, and one that wins rarely needs a high ratio. The useful question is whether your ratio and your real win rate together are profitable.
What does expectancy in R mean?
R is one unit of risk, the distance from entry to stop. An expectancy of +0.2 R means that, on average, each trade earns 20% of what you risk, if your win rate and ratio hold. It is a long-run average and not a prediction for the next trade.
Does it include fees?
No. The ratio uses your exact entry, stop and target prices. Fees and slippage lower the reward and raise the risk a little, so a trade with a thin ratio can look worse once costs are counted.
Why does it reject my stop or target?
For a long trade the stop must sit below your entry and the target above it. For a short, it is the other way round. If your numbers fit neither, the calculator asks you to check them rather than guess a direction.
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Holdy Lab content is educational and is not financial advice. Results describe the data you provide; they do not predict future results.