Forex Compounding Calculator: Growth Table by Period

This free forex compounding calculator shows what a trading balance would grow to if a chosen average return repeated for a set number of periods. It is pure arithmetic, not a forecast. Enter a starting balance, an assumed return per period, and an optional deposit, and the tool prints the period-by-period math. Real trading returns vary widely, so treat every figure below as an illustration of the formula, not a projection of what any account will do.

What compounding actually is

Compounding is one line of arithmetic repeated. Each period, the balance is multiplied by one plus the assumed return, and any deposit is added on top. The next period starts from that new, larger balance, so earlier gains are themselves part of the base. Nothing else is going on. The formula is balance = balance × (1 + r) + deposit, applied once per period, and this calculator simply runs that loop and prints every step so you can check the math yourself.

The pre-filled example reads like this. Start with 10,000 and assume a 2% average return each month for 12 months, with no deposits. The loop produces 12,682.42, a gain of 2,682.42. Note what that sentence actually says: if a 2% average happened every single month, the arithmetic gives this figure. It does not say a 2% month is normal, typical, or achievable. The number is a property of the formula, not a prediction about any trader, indicator, or system.

How to use this forex compounding calculator

1. Enter your starting balance.
2. Enter the average return per period you want to model. This is an assumption you supply, not something the tool knows or endorses.
3. Set the number of periods, up to 120, and pick months or weeks as the label.
4. Add an optional deposit per period if you plan to fund the account on a schedule.
5. Press Calculate. The table lists the start balance, gain, deposit, and end balance for every period.

Run it several times with different inputs. Try 1%, then 0%, then a negative value, and watch how far the final figure swings. That exercise teaches more than any single run, because it shows how sensitive the curve is to the one number you had to assume. A model is only as honest as its inputs.

Why real results do not look like the table

The table climbs in a smooth curve because the model applies the identical return every period. Live trading does not work that way. Returns arrive unevenly: a strong month, two flat ones, then a losing streak. Most traders do not achieve smooth monthly returns; losing months break the curve. Variance also means that two accounts with the same average return can end in very different places, because the order of good and bad periods interacts with deposits and withdrawals.

Drawdowns are the sharpest difference between the model and reality. A 20% loss needs a 25% gain just to return to the starting point, and the required recovery grows faster than the loss that caused it. You can check those figures with our drawdown calculator. This is why controlling the size of each individual loss with a position size calculator usually matters more to long-term compounding than squeezing out a slightly higher average return. The curve in the table survives only if the losing periods stay small.

Compounding vs fixed-risk position sizing

You do not need a separate procedure to compound a trading account. If you risk a fixed percent of the current balance on every trade, sizing compounds by itself. After a run of gains, 1% of the balance is a larger cash amount, so positions grow in step with the account. After losses, that same 1% shrinks, so positions contract and the drawdown slows down. Fixed-lot sizing does neither: it ignores the balance entirely, which stalls growth on the way up and accelerates damage on the way down.

The practical takeaway is simple. Pick a rules-based method, size every trade from the current balance, and let the arithmetic in this tool describe the rest. If you want defined entry, exit, and stop rules to apply that sizing to, browse our library of MT4 trading systems. Remember that withdrawals, costs, and taxes also bend the curve in ways a constant-return model cannot show, which is one more reason to read the output as an illustration.

FAQ

Is 2% per month a realistic return?

No fixed number can be promised as realistic. Real results vary widely from trader to trader and from month to month, and a large share of retail traders lose money over time. The 2% default exists only to demonstrate the arithmetic. Test any assumption against your own tracked results on a demo or small live account, not against a hope.

Should I compound my gains or withdraw them?

That is a personal decision, not a math question. Leaving gains in the account lets future position sizes grow, but it also means any later drawdown hits a larger balance. Withdrawing on a schedule takes cash off the table and flattens the curve. Many traders blend the two: withdraw a fixed share at set intervals and let the rest compound.

How do regular deposits change the curve?

Deposits raise the balance directly, and every later period then applies the assumed return to that larger base. For small accounts in the early periods, deposits usually contribute more than the assumed return does. Run the tool once with the deposit field at zero and once with a monthly amount, and compare the total deposits row against the total gain row to see the split.

Can I rely on these projections when planning my trading?

No. The tool shows what the formula produces from assumptions you typed in, and nothing more. Live trading involves variance, spreads, slippage, and losing periods that a constant-return model cannot capture. Treat the output as an illustration of compounding arithmetic, because results are not guaranteed; past performance is not indicative of future results.

Related tools: atr position size calculator, risk reward calculator and breakeven calculator, plus the full free forex tools directory.