Average down calculator

Enter every fill to see the average entry, the break-even price and how the loss at your stop grows with each add.

Long · 100 / 100 / 200 shares · stop 38.0loss at stop −2,300.00

avg 43.75 400 shares after 3 fills. At the 38.0 stop: −2,300.00, up from −1,200.00 with the first fill alone.

Fills taken3 of 3

Stop38.0

Made-up prices, before costs. Averaging down is a bet that price comes back, placed with more size each time it does not.

Read as text

A long bought in three fills: 100 shares at 50, 100 at 45, 200 at 40, with a stop planned at 38. The prices are illustrative.
After each fill the average entry falls: 50.00, 47.50, 43.75. The price needed to break even falls with it.
The loss at the stop grows with each add: −1,200.00, −1,900.00, −2,300.00, before costs.
Buying all 400 shares at 50 would lose −4,800.00 at the same stop: the adds cost less than a full position at the top, and far more than the position you started with.
With 3 fills and the stop at 38.0: 400 shares averaged at 43.75, −2,300.00 if the stop is hit.

Direction

Market

Multiplier (units per 1 size)

1 for shares or coins; a futures contract's value per 1.00 of price.

Fill 1

Fill 1 price

Fill 1 size

Fill 2

Fill 2 price

Fill 2 size

Fill 3

Fill 3 price

Fill 3 size

Current price (optional)

Stop price (optional)

Target profit (optional)

Commission and fees (optional)

Total for the whole position. It moves the break-even price.

Average entry

43.75

Total size 400 over 3 fills. Break-even before costs: 43.75.

At 42.00: −700.00.

A profit of 500.00 needs a price of 45.00.

Loss if the stop at 38.00 is hit, after each fill (before costs)
After fill	Total size	Average	P/L at stop
1	100	50.00	−1,200.00
2	200	47.50	−1,900.00
3	400	43.75	−2,300.00

Each add against the position moves the average down, but it is more size on a trade that is already losing: the loss at the same stop grows with every fill.

The math — average price = Σ(price × size) ÷ Σ size

Averaging down, step by step

100 shares at 50, 100 at 45 and 200 at 40, stop at 38: the average falls, the loss at the stop grows.

After fill	Total shares	Average entry	P/L at the 38 stop
1	100	50.00	−1,200.00
2	200	47.50	−1,900.00
3	400	43.75	−2,300.00

Break-even and target with all three fills

A long position bought in three fills: 100 shares at 50, 100 at 45 and 200 at 40, with a stop planned at 38. After each fill the average entry falls, and so does the price needed to break even. The loss if the stop is hit grows.

With all three fills the position is 400 shares averaged at 43.75. At 42 it is −700.00; it breaks even at 43.75 before costs, and a profit of 500 needs 45.00.

What averaging down does to risk

The first fill alone loses 1,200.00 at the stop; all three lose 2,300.00.

Compared with buying it all at the top

Averaging down is a bet that the price will come back, placed with more size each time it does not. The first fill alone would lose 1,200.00 at the stop; all three lose 2,300.00. Buying all 400 shares at 50 would have lost 4,800.00 at the same stop, so the adds cost less than a full position at the top, but far more than the position you started with. The loss to plan for is the one with every add included; the position size calculator shows what a loss at a stop is as a share of your account. Grid and martingale EAs average down automatically; Are grid and martingale EAs safe? shows where that ends when a trend does not pull back.

Averaging down on forex and gold

Choose a symbol in the calculator and sizes become lots, with money in your account currency.

After fill	Total lots	Average entry	P/L at the 1.0850 stop
1	0.10	1.10000	−$150.00
2	0.20	1.09750	−$250.00
3	0.40	1.09375	−$350.00

The EURUSD example, worked

Sizes become lots, with money in your account currency through the same pip value and conversion as the pip value calculator. The table is an illustrative EURUSD long on a USD account.

At 1.0920 the 0.40-lot position is −17.5 pips, −$70.00, at $4.00 a pip. A profit of $100 needs 1.09625. For gold, check the contract size and which price step your platform calls a pip before reading the pip figures.

What the numbers leave out

Spread, swap and slippage, unless they are in your fill prices or the costs field.

Costs and currency conversion

The average and the P/L use the fill prices you enter. Spread, swap and slippage are not counted unless they are in those prices or in the costs field. A base-currency forex account converts at the exit price, so its break-even and target prices are solved exactly for that conversion; any other account uses the rate you enter as if it stayed fixed.

Method and privacy

Method: Average price = Σ(price × size) ÷ Σ size. P/L = (price − average) × direction × size × multiplier, converted to your account currency for forex and gold. Break-even and target prices include the costs you enter; spread, swap and slippage left out are not counted.

Calculations run entirely in your browser — nothing you type is uploaded. Copy and download actions save your calculation locally. The site may record coarse tool actions under its privacy policy, without inputs, results, file contents or filenames.

Common questions

How do I calculate my average price after averaging down?

Multiply each fill's price by its size, add the results and divide by the total size. Buying 100 shares at 50, 100 at 45 and 200 at 40 costs 5,000 + 4,500 + 8,000 = 17,500 for 400 shares, an average of 43.75. A larger later fill pulls the average further toward its price.

What price do I need to break even?

Before costs, the average price: 43.75 in that example. Costs move it: 20 of commission spread over 400 shares adds 0.05, so a long breaks even at 43.80 and a short at 43.70. For a forex or gold position the calculator converts costs from your account currency first.

How do I find the price for a profit target?

Divide the profit you want by the total size, then add it to the average for a long or subtract it for a short. A profit of 500 on 400 shares averaged at 43.75 needs 43.75 + 500 ÷ 400 = 45.00 before costs. At 42 the same position shows a loss of 700.

Does averaging down reduce risk?

No. It lowers the average price, so a smaller bounce reaches break-even, but every add is more size on a position that is already losing. With a stop at 38 in the example, the loss at the stop is 1,200 after the first fill, 1,900 after the second and 2,300 after the third. The loss to plan for is the one with every add included.

How does averaging down work in forex?

The same way, in lots. Long EURUSD 0.10 lot at 1.1000, 0.10 at 1.0950 and 0.20 at 1.0900 averages 1.09375 on 0.40 lot, $4 a pip on a USD account. At 1.0920 it is 17.5 pips and $70 down. With a stop at 1.0850, the loss at the stop grows from $150 after the first fill to $250 and then $350.

Is averaging down the same as dollar-cost averaging (DCA)?

Not quite. Dollar-cost averaging buys a fixed amount of money on a schedule whatever the price; averaging down adds only after the price has moved against you. The average uses the same formula: with a fixed amount, size = amount ÷ price, so 1,000 at 50 and 1,000 at 40 buys 20 + 25 = 45 shares at an average of 44.44.

Does it work for a short position?

Yes. Choose Sell (short): the average is the same size-weighted price, but adding to a losing short means selling higher, which raises the average, and profit comes from a fall. Selling 100 at 40 and 100 at 45 averages 42.50, and a profit of 500 needs 42.50 − 500 ÷ 200 = 40.00.

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