Your profit on a leveraged futures trade is the price move times the position size (notional), not just your margin. Notional = margin × leverage. For a long: PnL = (exit − entry) ÷ entry × notional. For a short, it flips: you profit when price falls. Return on margin = PnL ÷ margin — leverage multiplies both your gains and your losses, which is why liquidation matters. Check your liquidation price and size with the position size calculator before entering.
The formula is (exit − entry) ÷ entry × leverage × collateral. On 10x with $100 collateral, a 3% move is a 30% gain on your margin — $30. Looks good. Subtract a round-trip taker fee of 0.11% on $1,000 notional and you keep $28.90. At 20x the math gets better faster but so does the distance to liquidation.
Unrealized PnL is what the exchange shows you. Realized is what hits your wallet when you close. They're the same math but the psychological gap between them causes most of the bad decisions — taking profits too early on winners, holding losers because "it's not a loss until I close."
This calculator uses realized logic: entry, exit, both provided. If you want to see PnL at different hypothetical exits, use the PnL scenario calculator instead.
Enter your entry price and the exit price you want to evaluate.
Enter the margin (collateral) you posted and the leverage multiplier used.
Read the resulting profit or loss in dollars, plus ROI on your margin.
Re-run with a lower exit price (or the reverse direction) to see the downside case.
The theory behind it
On a leveraged futures position, your margin is the collateral you post and notional size is margin multiplied by leverage. Price moves apply to the notional, not to the margin.
For a long, PnL equals notional multiplied by the percentage change from entry to exit; for a short, the sign is reversed. A 2% move against $100 of margin at 10x leverage is a $20 loss — 20% of the collateral.
Return on margin is therefore leverage multiplied by the price change percentage. Higher leverage does not change the dollar PnL of a fixed notional; it changes how much collateral is at risk behind it, and how small a move is needed to wipe that collateral out.
Frequently asked questions
Does higher leverage increase my profit?
It increases notional size for the same margin, so both profit and loss scale up proportionally. The dollar PnL depends on notional and price move, not on leverage by itself.
Why is my ROI so much larger than the price move?
ROI is measured against your margin, not the full position. At 20x leverage, a 1% favorable price move is roughly a 20% return on margin, and a 1% adverse move is roughly a 20% loss.
Are trading fees and funding included?
No — this calculator shows gross PnL from the price difference. Taker fees, maker rebates, and perpetual funding payments will shift your actual result, especially on positions held for a long time.
New to this? Start with our free trading academy — every lesson links to a calculator.