MMarginal
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Risk/Reward Calculator

Check whether a trade's potential reward actually justifies the risk before you take it.

Risk
0.0050
Reward
0.0100
R:R ratio
1 : 2.00

Breakeven win rate at this ratio: 33.3% — the minimum win rate needed for this ratio to be profitable over time, before costs.

Risk/reward ratio compares how much you stand to lose against how much you stand to gain on a single trade, based on where you've placed your stop loss and take profit relative to your entry price. It's expressed as risk to reward — a 1:2 ratio means you're risking one unit to potentially make two.

On its own, the ratio doesn't tell you whether a trade is good. A 1:3 ratio sounds attractive, but if the setup only wins 15% of the time, it will still lose money over a large enough sample. That's why this calculator also shows the breakeven win rate — the minimum percentage of trades you'd need to win for that specific ratio to net zero, before spreads, commissions, or slippage.

Comparing your ratio against your actual, tracked win rate — not a hoped-for one — is what turns this number from a nice-to-know into a decision tool. If your strategy historically wins 40% of trades, you need better than a 1:1.5 ratio just to stay profitable, and meaningfully better than that once costs are factored in.

Use this before entering a trade, not after. Setting the stop and target first, then checking the ratio, keeps the decision grounded in the chart rather than in how the trade is already performing.

FAQ

What's a good risk/reward ratio?
There's no universally 'good' ratio — it depends on your win rate. A 1:2 ratio only needs to win about 34% of trades to break even, while a 1:1 ratio needs roughly 50%. The right ratio is one your actual win rate supports.
How is breakeven win rate calculated?
Breakeven win rate = 100 / (1 + reward-to-risk ratio). It's the minimum percentage of trades you'd need to win, before fees and slippage, for the strategy to net zero over time.
Does a high risk/reward ratio guarantee profitability?
No. A favorable ratio only helps if your win rate is realistic for that target. An overly ambitious take-profit level that's rarely hit can look great on paper while performing poorly in practice.