Impermanent loss calculator
Providing liquidity to a 50/50 pool means the pool keeps rebalancing your two tokens as their prices move. Enter what you deposited and how much each token's price changed: the calculator shows the impermanent loss in percent, what the pool position is worth and what the same tokens would be worth if you had just held them. Trading fees are not included.
Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
- Enter the value you deposited (both tokens together, in any currency).
- Enter the price change of token A and token B since the deposit, in percent. A stablecoin is 0%.
- Read the impermanent loss, the value in the pool and the value if held.
For a 50/50 constant-product pool (x · y = k), with price changes a and b:
- Price ratio change k = (1 + a) ÷ (1 + b)
- Impermanent loss = 2√k ÷ (1 + k) − 1
- Value if held = deposit ÷ 2 × (1 + a) + deposit ÷ 2 × (1 + b)
- Value in the pool = deposit × √((1 + a) × (1 + b))
| Price ratio change |
Impermanent loss |
| 1.25× |
−0.62% |
| 1.5× |
−2.02% |
| 2× |
−5.72% |
| 3× |
−13.40% |
| 5× |
−25.46% |
Worked example
You deposit 1,000 into an ETH/USDC pool. ETH doubles (+100%), USDC stays at 0%.
- k = 2 ÷ 1 = 2, so IL = 2 × 1.4142 ÷ 3 − 1 = −5.72 %.
- Held: 500 × 2 + 500 = 1,500.00.
- In the pool: 1,000 × √2 = 1,414.21, which is 85.79 less than holding, but still 414.21 more than you put in.
Tips
- A fall hurts as much as the same ratio rise: a 50% drop of one token (k = 0.5) also gives −5.72%.
- Pairs that move together (two stablecoins, or a token and its wrapped version) have little impermanent loss.
- Pools with other weights (80/20) or concentrated liquidity follow different formulas; this calculator is for 50/50 constant-product pools.
Frequently asked questions
What is impermanent loss?
It is the difference between the value of your tokens in a liquidity pool and the value they would have if you had kept them in your wallet. When one token's price moves relative to the other, the pool sells some of the rising token and buys the falling one, so you end up with less of the winner.
What is the impermanent loss formula?
For a 50/50 constant-product pool, IL = 2√k ÷ (1 + k) − 1, where k is how much the price ratio of the two tokens changed. If token A doubles against token B, k = 2 and IL = 2√2 ÷ 3 − 1 = −5.72%.
Why is it called impermanent?
If prices return to the ratio they had when you deposited, the loss disappears. It becomes permanent when you withdraw while the ratio is different.
Do trading fees cover the loss?
Sometimes. The pool pays you a share of trading fees, which this calculator leaves out. Compare the fees you expect to earn over the same period with the shortfall shown here.
Does it matter if both tokens rise?
Only the ratio matters for the percentage. If both tokens rise by the same amount, there is no impermanent loss; if one rises more than the other, there is.