Drawdown Calculator
See how a loss changes your balance and how much growth is needed to return to where you started.
Gain required to recover
25.00%
- Starting balance
- USD 10000.00
- Amount lost
- USD 2000.00
- Balance remaining
- USD 8000.00
- Amount to recover
- USD 2000.00
How this calculation works
How much growth would the remaining balance need to return to the starting balance?
Formula in plain language
- Amount lost = starting balance × drawdown percentage ÷ 100, or the entered loss amount.
- Remaining balance = starting balance − amount lost.
- Drawdown (%) = amount lost ÷ starting balance × 100.
- Recovery gain (%) = amount lost ÷ remaining balance × 100.
What the terms mean
- Starting and remaining balance
- The chosen reference amount before the loss and the smaller amount left afterward. Use a consistent reference; deposits and withdrawals are not modeled.
- Different bases
- The loss percentage uses the starting balance, while the recovery percentage uses the remaining balance.
Worked example
This is a fixed teaching example, separate from your current inputs.
Choose USD, starting balance 1,000 and drawdown 20 with the percentage unit selected.
- Amount lost: 1,000 × 20% = USD 200.
- Remaining balance: 1,000 − 200 = USD 800.
- Recovery gain: 200 ÷ 800 × 100 = 25%.
- Check: 800 × 1.25 = 1,000.
Example result: USD 800.00 remains; recovering USD 200.00 needs a 25.00% gain.
What the result means
If a 1,000-unit savings pot loses 200, you need to add back 200 to a smaller 800-unit pot. This is why a 20% loss needs more than a 20% recovery gain. Zero loss needs zero recovery.
What this does not tell you
A 100% loss leaves zero: percentage growth alone cannot rebuild it, so the tool rejects total loss. Recovery arithmetic says nothing about whether or when a recovery will happen.