Profit Factor Calculator
Measure gross profit against gross loss to judge a strategy at a glance.
Please note: Trading carries substantial risk of loss. These calculators are planning tools, not trading advice, and no position sizing method prevents losses.
What the Profit Factor Calculator does
Profit factor divides everything you made by everything you lost. A value of 1.5 means you earn $1.50 for every $1.00 lost. It is the quickest single-number health check on a trading system.
Formula
Profit factor = Gross profit ÷ Gross lossNet profit = Gross profit − Gross loss
Inputs explained
| Input | Unit | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross profit | selected currency | Yes | Sum of all winning trades. Accepts more than 0. |
| Gross loss | selected currency | Yes | Sum of all losing trades, as a positive number. Accepts more than 0. |
| Total trades | number | Optional | Accepts 1 or more. |
| Currency | one of 10 options | Optional | — |
How to use it
- Choose Currency.
- Enter Gross profit and Gross loss.
- Optionally add Total trades.
- Select Calculate.
Worked example
A year of trading produced $48,000 in wins and $32,000 in losses.
- Gross profit
- 48000
- Gross loss
- 32000
48,000 ÷ 32,000 = 1.5 profit factor, net $16,000.
Frequently asked questions
Is a higher profit factor always better?
Not necessarily. Very high figures often come from small samples or over-optimised backtests. A stable 1.6 across hundreds of trades beats a fragile 3.0 across twenty.
Method and sources
Method. Gross profit divided by gross loss across the trades entered.
Assumptions
- The sample covers a complete period rather than a selected stretch.
Limitations
- A single ratio ignores sequence and size. The same profit factor can come from steady small gains or from one outlier that rescued a losing record, and only the first is repeatable.
- Very high figures over few trades usually indicate a short sample or a survivorship effect rather than an edge.