Fee to risk calculator
This calculator shows what share of the risk you are taking is spent on trading costs. Enter your entry, stop, fee and slippage, and it returns round-trip cost as a percentage of the stop distance, plus the smallest stop that keeps costs under a limit you choose. Tight stops are where this ratio gets large.
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The limit is yours, not a recommendation. The point is to see how much of the risk you are taking is spent on costs before price has moved at all. Tight stops are where this ratio gets large.
How it works
The risk on a trade is the distance from entry to stop. The cost is what you pay to get in and out: a fee on each side plus an allowance for slippage on each side. The calculator adds the fee and slippage percentages for both sides, applies the total to the entry price to get a cost per unit, and divides it by the stop distance.
The result is the cost as a percentage of the risk. A ratio of 10% means that for every 1.00 you put at risk, 0.10 goes on costs before price has moved at all. The tool also works backwards to find the stop distance at which the ratio equals the limit you entered, which is the smallest stop that stays within it.
The limit is your own input. This is deliberate. What counts as too much cost depends on your strategy and your edge, and the calculator does not pretend to know.
How to read the result
Read the headline ratio first, then the verdict against your limit. If you are above your limit, the last row tells you how wide the stop would need to be to get back under it, which you can compare with how far price normally moves on your timeframe.
Notice how the ratio changes as you tighten the stop. Costs are roughly fixed per unit while the risk shrinks, so halving the stop distance doubles the ratio. This is why tight-stop setups that look excellent on reward-to-risk can be unprofitable after costs.
If the minimum stop that meets your limit is wider than you would normally use, you have found a setup your costs do not support at your chosen limit. Either the costs, the limit or the setup has to change.
The example loaded above
With an entry of 100, a stop of 99, a fee of 0.05% per side and slippage of 0.03% per side, the total is 0.16% of the entry price, a cost of 0.16 per unit. The stop is 1.00 away, so costs are 16% of the risk. Against a 10% limit that is above it, and the smallest stop that would meet the limit is 0.16 divided by 0.10, which is 1.60. The numbers are made up, to show the method.
What this tool does not do
- It cannot tell you the right limit. That depends on your strategy and your edge.
- Slippage is an estimate you supply. Real slippage varies with liquidity, order size and market conditions, and it is worst when you most want a good fill.
- It treats fee and slippage as percentages of the entry price on both sides. Real schedules can differ by tier, order type and instrument.
- It does not include funding, borrowing costs or tax.
Educational only. AKQX is software only. It is not a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser or Research Analyst and gives no investment advice. This calculator does arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It does not tell you what to trade, how much to risk or whether any setup is sound. See the risk disclosure.
Questions about fee to risk calculator
What is a fee-to-risk ratio?
It is the round-trip cost of a trade as a percentage of the amount you are risking. It tells you how much of your risk is spent on getting in and out before price has done anything.
Why do tight stops make this ratio worse?
Because costs are roughly fixed per unit while the stop distance shrinks. Halve the stop and the same cost becomes twice as large a share of the risk.
What limit should I use?
There is no right answer for everyone. Pick one deliberately, test your strategy to see how its edge compares, and revisit it. The tool uses whatever limit you enter.
Does AKQX use a fee-to-risk limit?
Yes. AKQX has a fee-to-risk breaker that refuses a trade where estimated cost is large relative to the risk taken, alongside a minimum stop distance. This tool lets you explore the same idea with your own numbers.
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