Impermanent Loss Calculator
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Calculate your impermanent loss to see how price changes affect your liquidity pool position.
What Actually Is Impermanent Loss?
Impermanent loss isn’t a glitch. It’s not a bug in the system. It’s the unavoidable math behind how decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PancakeSwap work. If you’ve ever put ETH and USDC into a liquidity pool, you’ve already been exposed to it - whether you knew it or not.
Here’s the simple version: you deposit two assets in a 50/50 ratio. If one asset’s price doubles and the other stays flat, your share of the pool becomes unbalanced. The protocol automatically sells some of your rising asset to buy more of the falling one, keeping the pool balanced. That sounds fair - until you check your wallet later and realize you have fewer total tokens than if you’d just held them.
The term ‘impermanent’ is misleading. It’s not about whether prices bounce back. It’s about whether you withdraw at the same price ratio you deposited at. If they don’t? The loss is real. And no, the trading fees won’t always cover it.
How These Calculators Actually Work
Impermanent loss calculators use the same math that powers automated market makers: the constant product formula, x * y = k. It’s the rule that ensures there’s always liquidity for trades. But it also means price changes trigger automatic rebalancing - and that’s where your opportunity cost creeps in.
All major calculators ask for three things:
- The initial price ratio of your two tokens (e.g., 1 ETH = $1,500)
- The percentage change in one asset’s price (e.g., ETH rises to $2,250)
- The pool’s weight (usually 50/50, but some tools now support 70/30 or other ratios)
Then they spit out a number - say, 13.37% impermanent loss if ETH doubles. That means for every $1,000 you deposited, you’d have $133.70 less in value than if you’d just held the tokens.
But here’s what most beginners miss: this number doesn’t include fees. And fees matter. In high-volume pools, trading fees can offset 80% or more of the loss. That’s why the best calculators - like CoinGecko’s - now let you plug in 24-hour volume and pool size to estimate net returns.
Top 4 Impermanent Loss Calculators Compared
Not all calculators are created equal. Some are for quick estimates. Others are for serious portfolio tracking. Here’s what actually works in 2025.
| Tool | Best For | Key Features | Limitations | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoinGecko Impermanent Loss Calculator | Quick estimates, fee-offset analysis | Supports variable pool weights (70/30, etc.), integrates APY, simple UI, 99.8% accuracy | No wallet integration, doesn’t track historical losses | Free |
| Koinly Impermanent Loss Tool | Portfolio tracking, tax prep | Connects to wallets, pulls live price data, auto-calculates loss across 12 protocols, API access | Advanced features locked behind paywall, slight API delay affects precision | $49/month (premium) |
| CryptoTaxPrep Calculator | Visualizing token changes | Shows exact token quantities before/after price shift, detailed rebalancing charts, free to use | No APY or fee integration, no historical tracking | Free |
| Coinbase Educational Tool | Beginners learning the concept | Clear explanations, no inputs needed, built into glossary | No actual calculations, purely educational | Free |
Most retail users pick either CoinGecko for simplicity or Koinly for accuracy. If you’re just testing the waters, start with CoinGecko. If you’ve got $50k+ in liquidity, Koinly’s wallet sync is worth the price.
Why Most People Get It Wrong
There’s a dangerous myth floating around: “If the price goes back up, the loss disappears.” That’s not how it works.
Let’s say you deposited 1 ETH and 1,500 USDC when ETH was $1,500. ETH surges to $3,000. Your pool rebalances. You now hold 0.707 ETH and 2,121 USDC. Total value? $4,242. If you’d just held, you’d have 1 ETH ($3,000) + 1,500 USDC = $4,500. That’s a $258 loss - or 5.7% impermanent loss.
Now, ETH drops back to $1,500. You think you’re even. But you still only have 0.707 ETH and 2,121 USDC. That’s $3,542 total. You lost $458 compared to holding. The loss is permanent because your token quantities changed.
Another big mistake? Ignoring gas fees. One Reddit user lost 2.3 ETH trying to “fix” impermanent loss by swapping tokens back and forth. He spent over $6,000 in gas chasing a theoretical gain that never materialized.
And don’t forget: calculators don’t account for slippage on large trades, or oracle delays on low-liquidity tokens. If you’re providing liquidity to a new memecoin pair, the numbers you see might be off by 5-10%.
When You Should Use These Tools
Don’t use them just because they’re there. Use them when:
- You’re comparing two liquidity pools and need to know which one actually pays off
- You’re considering adding a volatile token pair (like SOL/USDC) and want to see if fees can cover the risk
- You’re about to withdraw and want to know if you’re walking away with a net loss
- You’re preparing for tax season and need to document your actual positions
Stablecoin pairs? You barely need them. ETH/USDC? Worth checking monthly. New DeFi token + stablecoin? Run the numbers before you deposit.
Pro tip: Use CryptoTaxPrep’s visual tool before you deposit. See how many tokens you’ll end up with if the price swings 30%, 50%, or 100%. That’s the real insight - not the percentage number.
What’s Coming Next
Impermanent loss calculators are evolving fast. CoinGecko’s latest update supports Uniswap V3’s concentrated liquidity - meaning you can now calculate loss for positions between $1,500 and $2,000 ETH, not just broad ranges. That’s huge for precision.
Koinly’s API now pulls real-time data from 12 protocols. That means if you’re farming across multiple chains, you get a single dashboard showing your total exposure.
And in 2025, Uniswap Labs confirmed they’re building impermanent loss estimates directly into their interface. You’ll see a warning pop up before you deposit: “This pool has a 12% expected loss if ETH moves 40% in 30 days.”
Some teams are even building predictive models. CryptoTaxPrep is training machine learning algorithms on 10,000+ historical pool events to forecast loss probability - not just calculate it.
Final Advice: Don’t Guess. Calculate.
DeFi isn’t gambling. It’s finance with code. And like any financial tool, you need data to make smart decisions.
Don’t just jump into a pool because it offers 20% APY. Run the numbers. Use CoinGecko to see if fees outweigh the risk. Use Koinly if you’ve got real money at stake. Use CryptoTaxPrep to visualize what your portfolio will look like after a 50% price swing.
And remember: impermanent loss isn’t something to fear. It’s something to understand. The people who make money in DeFi aren’t the ones chasing the highest yields. They’re the ones who know exactly what they’re risking - and why it’s worth it.
Is impermanent loss real, or just theoretical?
It’s real the moment you withdraw your liquidity at a different price ratio than when you deposited. The term "impermanent" refers only to the fact that the loss can be recovered if prices return to their original level - but statistically, that happens in fewer than 33% of cases. Most users end up with fewer tokens than if they had simply held them.
Do all liquidity pools have impermanent loss?
Yes - any pool using an Automated Market Maker (AMM) like Uniswap’s constant product formula (x * y = k) will experience impermanent loss when the price ratio of the two assets changes. Stablecoin pairs (like USDC/DAI) have minimal loss because prices rarely move. But volatile pairs (ETH/USDC, SOL/USDT) can cause significant loss if prices swing sharply.
Can trading fees cover impermanent loss?
Yes - often. In high-volume pools like ETH/USDC on Uniswap, trading fees can offset 80-90% of the impermanent loss. But in low-volume or new pools, fees may be negligible. Always use a calculator that includes fee estimates, like CoinGecko’s, to see your net return - not just the loss.
Are impermanent loss calculators accurate?
The math behind them is highly accurate - CoinGecko’s tool matches theoretical models at 99.8%. But real-world accuracy depends on the data you feed in. If you use outdated prices or ignore gas fees, your result will be off. Also, low-liquidity tokens may have delayed price feeds, making calculations less reliable.
Should I avoid liquidity pools because of impermanent loss?
No - but you should enter with eyes open. Many profitable DeFi strategies rely on liquidity provision. The key is matching your risk tolerance with the right pools. Use calculators to compare pools, focus on high-volume pairs, and never deposit more than you’re willing to lose. Impermanent loss isn’t a reason to avoid DeFi - it’s a reason to be smarter about how you participate.
Do I owe taxes on impermanent loss?
Tax authorities like the IRS don’t treat impermanent loss as a taxable event - but withdrawing liquidity does. When you pull out tokens, you’re essentially selling them at current market value. If that value is lower than your original cost basis, you may claim a capital loss. Accurate calculator records are critical for tax reporting. Tools like Koinly and CryptoTaxPrep help generate compliant reports.
