SesTrading · Answers

Profit calculator for gold and forex

By Saad El Soussi, UAE-authorized finfluencer · Updated 2026-11-08

Profit or loss = (close price − open price) × position size for a buy, and (open − close) × size for a sell, in the quote currency, then converted into your account currency. 0.10 lots of gold (10 ounces) bought at $3,950 and sold at $3,980 makes 30 × 10 = $300. 0.20 lots of EUR/USD bought at 1.0800 and closed at 1.0850 makes 50 pips × $2 per pip = $100. Spread, commission and overnight swap come off that. The calculator below works for a US-dollar account.

Instrument

Direction Lot size

Open price Close price

Quote currency (the second one) Dollar rate of that currency at the close

Account balance in US dollars (optional) Amount risked on the trade in US dollars (optional, for the R multiple)

The formula, instrument by instrument

Gold (XAU/USD): each lot is 100 ounces, so every $1 of price movement is $100 per lot. Profit = (close − open) × lots × 100 for a buy. 0.05 lots sold at $3,980 and bought back at $3,990 = (3,980 − 3,990) × 5 = −$50.
Pairs with the dollar second (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD, NZD/USD): profit = price difference × lots × 100,000, already in dollars. 0.20 lots × (1.0850 − 1.0800) × 100,000 = 0.0050 × 20,000 = $100.
Pairs with the dollar first (USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD): the difference is in yen, francs or Canadian dollars, so divide by the close price. 0.50 lots of USD/JPY bought at 150.00 and closed at 149.20: (149.20 − 150.00) × 50,000 = −¥40,000 ÷ 149.20 = −$268.10.
Cross pairs (EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY): the difference is in the second currency; convert it at that currency's dollar rate at the close. 0.10 lots EUR/GBP from 0.8500 to 0.8530 with GBP/USD at 1.3000: 0.0030 × 10,000 = £30 × 1.30 = $39.

The pip value calculator gives the same arithmetic per pip, which is handy for planning a trade before you know the close price.

Worked examples checked by hand

Trade	Calculation	Result
Buy 0.10 lot gold 3,950 → 3,980	(3,980 − 3,950) × 10 oz	+$300
Sell 0.05 lot gold 3,980 → 3,990	(3,980 − 3,990) × 5 oz	−$50
Buy 0.20 lot EUR/USD 1.0800 → 1.0850	0.0050 × 20,000	+$100
Sell 1.00 lot GBP/USD 1.3000 → 1.2960	0.0040 × 100,000	+$400
Buy 0.50 lot USD/JPY 150.00 → 149.20	−0.80 × 50,000 = −¥40,000 ÷ 149.20	−$268.10
Buy 0.10 lot EUR/GBP 0.8500 → 0.8530 (GBP/USD 1.30)	0.0030 × 10,000 = £30 × 1.30	+$39

What the gross figure leaves out

Spread. You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, so a trade starts slightly negative. A 1-pip spread on 0.20 lots of EUR/USD costs $2; a $0.30 spread on 0.10 lots of gold costs $3. The calculator uses the prices you type, so type the actual fill prices to include it.
Commission. Some account types charge per lot per side instead of, or on top of, a wider spread; the amount is in the account specification.
Swap. A financing charge or credit for every night a position stays open, shown per lot per night on the platform. Over a multi-week trade it can be a noticeable share of the result, especially on buy positions in gold when interest rates are high.
Currency conversion. If your account is not in dollars, the broker converts the result at its rate, usually with a small margin.

Think in R, not in dollars

The useful way to read a result is as a multiple of what you risked. If you risked $80 (0.10 lots of gold with an $8 stop) and made $300, the trade was +3.75R; the losing trade above was −1R if the stop was $10 on 0.05 lots. Over many trades the question is whether the average R per trade is positive. The break-even win rate for a strategy whose winners are R times its losers is 1 ÷ (1 + R): with 1R targets you need to win more than 50 % of the time, with 2R targets 33.3 %, with 3R targets 25 %. A plan that wins 40 % of trades with 2.5R winners makes 0.40 × 2.5 − 0.60 × 1 = +0.4R per trade on average, before costs; the same plan with 1R winners loses 0.40 − 0.60 = −0.2R per trade. How far gold normally moves, and therefore how far a target can sensibly be, is on the gold trading strategy page.

Profit as a share of the account

A $300 gain is 6 % of a $5,000 account and 0.6 % of a $50,000 account. The risk per trade should be set as a share of the account first (1 % is the usual rule for beginners, see the lot size calculator), and the profit then follows from the R multiple. Doing it the other way round, choosing a dollar profit you want and sizing up until the position could deliver it, is how most accounts end. Most retail CFD accounts lose money: 74 to 89 % according to ESMA's review of national regulators' data (27 March 2018).

See real results, including the losses

We publish the week's VIP gold trades and their results in our public Telegram channel, losing trades included, each with its entry, stop loss and targets. Open our bot to see how it works. It answers in English.

Open the SesTrading botOn Telegram

Questions people ask

How do I calculate profit on a gold trade?

Price difference × lots × 100 ounces. Buy 0.10 lot at $3,950, close at $3,980: 30 × 10 = $300. For a sell, reverse the prices: sold at 3,980, bought back at 3,990 = −$10 per ounce = −$50 on 0.05 lots.

How much is 100 pips worth?

100 pips × the pip value. On one lot of EUR/USD ($10 per pip) that is $1,000; on 0.10 lot $100; on 0.01 lot $10. On USD/JPY at 150 one lot is $6.67 per pip, so 100 pips is about $667.

Why is my profit lower than the calculator shows?

Spread, commission and swap. The calculator shows the gross result between the two prices you type. If you type the real fill prices (ask when buying, bid when selling) the spread is already included.

What is a good profit per trade?

There is no fixed number. Judge trades by the R multiple (profit ÷ amount risked) and by whether you followed the plan, not by dollars. A plan that averages +0.3R to +0.5R per trade after costs over hundreds of trades is a good plan.

Can I use this for a euro account?

Yes: divide the dollar result by the EUR/USD price. $300 at 1.0800 is €277.78. Your platform shows the converted figure exactly.

Authorized in the UAESaad Nizar El Soussi, founder of SesTrading, is listed by the UAE Capital Market Authority as an authorized finfluencer (entry 193, added 24 September 2026). Check the official list.