Forex Profit Calculator
A forex profit calculator works out the profit or loss of one trade from its open and close prices. Profit = (close − open) × contract size × lots, reversed for a sell, so 0.10 lot of EURUSD bought at 1.08500 and closed at 1.09000 makes $50.
How do you calculate profit on a forex trade?
Profit = (close price − open price) × contract size × lots for a buy, and the same with the sign reversed for a sell. The answer comes out in the quote currency, the second currency of the pair. If your account is held in another currency, the calculator converts it at the exchange rate you enter.
The same result can be found in pips: the number of pips the price moved in your favour × the pip value of your position. The pip value calculator shows what one pip is worth for any position size.
How much do you make on one EURUSD trade?
Buying 0.10 lot of EURUSD at 1.08500 and closing at 1.09000 makes $50: a 50-pip move × $1 per pip. In the formula, (1.09000 − 1.08500) × 100,000 × 0.10 = 0.00500 × 10,000 = $50. EURUSD is quoted in US dollars, so a USD account needs no conversion at all.
| Position size | Calculation | Profit on a 50-pip rise |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | 0.00500 × 100,000 × 1.00 | $500 |
| 0.10 lot | 0.00500 × 100,000 × 0.10 | $50 |
| 0.01 lot | 0.00500 × 100,000 × 0.01 | $5 |
Had the same 0.10 lot been a sell, the trade would have lost $50. How buying and selling each profit from a move is covered in going long and short, and lots and pips in lots, pips and pip value.
How do you calculate profit on a sell trade?
A sell (short) trade makes money when the price falls, so its profit is (open − close) × contract size × lots. Selling 0.20 lot of GBPUSD at 1.27000 and closing at 1.26250 makes 0.00750 × 100,000 × 0.20 = $150, a 75-pip move in your favour at $2 per pip.
Choose Sell in the calculator and enter the prices in the order they happened: the open price first, then the close price. The sign of the result tells you whether the trade gained or lost.
How do you calculate profit when the pair is not in USD?
When the quote currency differs from your account currency, work out the profit in the quote currency first, then convert it at the exchange rate when you close. Buying 1 lot of USDJPY at 150.00 and closing at 151.00 makes 1.00 × 100,000 = ¥100,000. At 1 USD = 151 yen, that is ¥100,000 ÷ 151 = $662.25.
The same applies to any account that is not in dollars: buying 0.50 lot of GBPUSD at 1.2500 and closing at 1.2600 makes $500, and MT5 converts every result into your account currency at the live rate; the country guides show local examples.
How do you calculate profit on gold?
For XAUUSD the profit is the dollar change in the gold price × the number of ounces you hold, and ounces = lots × contract size. With 100 ounces per lot, buying 0.10 lot at 4,000.00 and closing at 4,010.00 makes $10 × 10 ounces = $100. Choose XAUUSD in the calculator to fill those values in.
The XAUUSD lot size calculator works the other way, from the money you want to risk to a gold lot size, and how to trade gold covers the MT5 steps.
What does each input mean?
Enter the direction, the open and close prices and the position size; the instrument presets fill in the contract size, pip size and quote currency. Your account currency sets the currency of the result, and an exchange rate box appears only when a conversion is needed.
- Instrument: fills in example contract size, pip size and quote currency for common symbols. Choose Other to enter your own.
- Account currency: the currency your account is held in. The profit or loss is shown in it.
- Direction: Buy (long) profits when the price rises; Sell (short) profits when it falls.
- Position size (lots): how many lots the trade was.
- Open price and close price: the price the trade was opened at and the price it was closed at, or the price you are testing.
- Contract size: the number of units in 1.00 lot, for example 100,000 for most currency pairs and 100 ounces for gold.
- Pip size: the price step counted as one pip, used for the pips line only.
- Quote currency: the currency the price is quoted in.
- Exchange rate: the rate between the quote currency and your account currency at the time you close, from your platform.
What does the profit figure leave out?
The result is the price profit of one trade only; spread, commission and swap are not deducted. MetaTrader 5 shows the spread as the gap between the buy and sell prices, and a trade opened and closed at the prices you see already has the spread inside it.
- Commission and overnight swap depend on your account. The trading cost calculator adds them up for a trade.
- The presets are generic market conventions, not the specification of any account. Check the symbol's contract size in MetaTrader 5's Specification window and enter it.
- The exchange rate is the one you enter. Nothing you enter is stored.
Frequently asked questions
How much profit is 100 pips?
It depends on the position size. On EURUSD in a USD account, 100 pips is $1,000 on 1 lot, $100 on 0.10 lot and $10 on 0.01 lot, because one pip is worth $10, $1 and $0.10 on those sizes.
How much is a 0.01 lot trade worth per pip?
On EURUSD and other pairs quoted in US dollars, 0.01 lot is worth $0.10 per pip, so a 50-pip move is $5. On gold with 100 ounces per lot, 0.01 lot is 1 ounce, worth $1 for each $1 move in the price.
Does a forex profit calculator include the spread?
Not as a separate figure. If you enter the actual open and close prices from your trade, the spread is already in them: a buy opens at the higher ask price and closes at the lower bid price. Commission and swap are added on top.
Why is my MT5 profit slightly different from the calculator?
MetaTrader 5 converts the profit at the live exchange rate when the trade closes and also shows commission and swap. Enter the same contract size and the same rate at close, and the price profit matches.
Can I use the calculator for a trade that is still open?
Yes. Enter the current price as the close price to see what the open trade would make or lose if it were closed at that price now.
Sources
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Market Watch (accessed 27 October 2026): the symbol specification shows the contract size, digits, tick size and the profit currency in which a symbol's profit is calculated. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/market_watch
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Basic Principles of Trading Operations (accessed 27 October 2026): a security is generally bought at the Ask price and sold at the Bid price. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/general_concept
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), CFTC Glossary (accessed 27 October 2026): a pip is the smallest price unit of a commodity or currency. https://www.cftc.gov/LearnAndProtect/AdvisoriesAndArticles/CFTCGlossary/index.htm
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