Calculate your exact profit or loss on any stock trade, including brokerage fees.
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Your real profit on a stock trade is more than the price difference. It's the total you received when selling, minus the total you paid when buying, minus any fees or commissions charged on either side of the trade.
Break-even sell price = Buy Price + (Fees ÷ Shares).
You buy 100 shares at $50, sell them at $65, and pay $10 in total fees.
Same purchase, but you sell at $45 instead. Proceeds = $4,500, so net result = $4,500 − $5,000 − $10 = −$510, a return of −10.2%. Fees always add to a loss; they never soften it.
To break even on this trade, you'd need to sell at $50 + ($10 ÷ 100) = $50.10 per share.
Fixed fees hurt small trades far more than large ones. Here's the same $10 in total fees at different trade sizes, each with a 5% price gain:
| Amount invested | Gain before fees (5%) | Net after $10 fees | Return after fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| $200 | $10.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| $1,000 | $50.00 | $40.00 | 4.0% |
| $5,000 | $250.00 | $240.00 | 4.8% |
| $20,000 | $1,000.00 | $990.00 | 4.95% |
Many brokers now advertise commission-free stock trades, but other costs can still apply: small regulatory fees on sales, currency conversion fees on foreign shares, and the bid-ask spread. Enter whatever your broker's trade confirmation shows in the fees field. The same logic applies to any sale — see how payment fees eat into small transactions in our guide to reducing payment fees.
Return percentage lets you compare trades of different sizes fairly, while dollar profit tells you the actual cash impact. A 50% return on $200 is less money than a 5% return on $10,000. Neither accounts for time: a 10% gain over one month is far better than 10% over three years. To compare holding periods, use annualized return: (1 + Return)365 ÷ Days Held − 1.
If you bought the same stock several times at different prices, use your average cost per share as the buy price. Average cost = total amount paid for all shares ÷ total shares. For example, 50 shares at $40 plus 50 shares at $60 is $5,000 for 100 shares, an average of $50.
Results are before tax. In the US, gains on shares held one year or less are short-term and taxed at ordinary income rates, while gains on shares held longer than a year are long-term and usually taxed at lower rates. Other countries have different rules. The calculator also excludes dividends received while you held the shares. For exact tax obligations, consult a tax professional.