Calculators
Drawdown & Recovery
Down 30%? You need +43% just to get back to even. A tiny tool that makes the brutal maths of losses impossible to ignore.
A loss of 30% needs a +42.9% gain to recover.
Recovery gain vs. drawdown
The gain required to break even accelerates as losses deepen.
Notable values
| Loss | Gain to recover |
|---|---|
| 5% | +5.3% |
| 10% | +11.1% |
| 20% | +25% |
| 30% | +42.9% |
| 40% | +66.7% |
| 50% | +100% |
| 60% | +150% |
| 75% | +300% |
| 90% | +900% |
Losses and the gains needed to undo them are not symmetric. Give back 10% and a modest +11.1% puts you whole again, but a 50% drawdown demands a full +100% just to break even, and a 90% collapse needs a staggering +900%. The deeper the hole, the disproportionately bigger the climb out, which is why protecting against large drawdowns matters far more than chasing a little extra upside, and why professionals obsess over risk and position sizing. Learn more in maximum drawdown.
Learn how it works
Five worked examples. Read a couple before you dive in, try to answer first, then reveal the solution.
A 10% loss needs an 11.1% gain
You lose 10% of your account. What percentage gain do you need to get back to even?
Formula: recovery gain = 1 ÷ (1 − L) − 1, where L is the loss as a decimal.
Show solution
Recovery = 1 ÷ (1 − 0.10) − 1 = 1 ÷ 0.90 − 1 = 1.111 − 1 = +11.1%.
After a 10% loss you are at 90 cents on the dollar, and 90 has to grow back to 100, that is an 11.1% gain, not 10%. You always need a slightly bigger percentage up than the percentage you lost, because the gain is measured on the smaller, post-loss balance.
20% down needs 25% up
How much gain is needed to recover from a 20% loss?
Show solution
Recovery = 1 ÷ (1 − 0.20) − 1 = 1 ÷ 0.80 − 1 = 1.25 − 1 = +25%.
Lose 20% and you are at 80. To turn 80 back into 100 you must add 20 on a base of 80, which is 25%. The gap between the loss (20%) and the required gain (25%) is already noticeable.
30% down needs 42.9% up
What gain is needed to recover from a 30% loss?
Show solution
Recovery = 1 ÷ (1 − 0.30) − 1 = 1 ÷ 0.70 − 1 = 1.4286 − 1 = +42.9%.
Down 30% leaves you at 70; climbing from 70 back to 100 takes a 42.9% gain. Notice the gap is widening fast, a 30% loss already needs a recovery nearly half again as large as the loss itself.
50% down needs 100% up, you must double
The classic case: how much gain undoes a 50% loss?
Show solution
Recovery = 1 ÷ (1 − 0.50) − 1 = 1 ÷ 0.50 − 1 = 2 − 1 = +100%.
Lose half and you must double what is left just to break even. This is the number people remember: a 50% drawdown requires a 100% gain, which can take years. It is why avoiding deep losses matters more than chasing big gains.
90% down needs a 900% gain
The extreme case: what gain recovers a 90% loss, and why does the required gain accelerate?
Show solution
Recovery = 1 ÷ (1 − 0.90) − 1 = 1 ÷ 0.10 − 1 = 10 − 1 = +900%.
Down 90%, you have 10 cents left, and turning 10 back into 100 is a 10-fold move, a 900% gain.
Why it accelerates: each extra bit of loss shrinks the base you have to grow back from, so the required gain does not rise in a straight line, it explodes. Losses and gains are not symmetric: a −50% followed by a +50% does not get you back (it leaves you at 0.75, still down 25%). Protecting capital on the downside is mathematically far more valuable than an equal-sized gain.
What you'll learn
Why losses and the gains needed to undo them are not symmetric, and why avoiding deep drawdowns matters more than chasing upside.