Your current account size
Average monthly gain
1–120 months
Additional monthly contribution
Monthly profit taking
The Power of Compounding in Trading
Compounding is reinvesting your profits so they generate further returns. A 5% monthly return doesn't mean 60% per year — it means approximately 79.6% because each month's gain is calculated on the growing balance, not just the original amount.
Reality check: consistent monthly returns are extremely difficult to achieve. Professional fund managers average 10–20% per year. If your projected returns seem too good to be true, they probably are. Use this tool for goal setting, but keep expectations realistic.
Realistic monthly returns for skilled retail traders range from 2–8%. Anything consistently above 10% monthly is exceptional and rare. Many profitable traders average 3–5% monthly, which compounds to 42–80% annually — far better than traditional investments.
A balanced approach works best. Many traders reinvest a portion (e.g. 70%) and withdraw the rest. This lets your account grow while providing income. The withdrawal field in this calculator lets you model this.
This calculator assumes a constant monthly return, which is unrealistic. Real trading has winning and losing months. Think of the monthly return as your average over time, not what you'll make every single month.