The short version
To estimate a round-trip trade, include the cost to buy, the cost to sell, and any network fees. Slippage is the difference between an expected execution price and the actual execution price. A trade’s own effect on a pool’s quote is often called price impact; it can contribute to the final difference, but the terms are not identical. Uniswap Labs explains the distinction ↗.
A higher sell price than buy price does not guarantee a profit after costs. FadeIt’s crypto profit calculator lets you model fees and your own slippage assumptions without fetching live quotes.
Model both sides of the trade
For the simplified calculator model, the entered buy amount is the trade principal before fees. Buy slippage adjusts the reference buy price upward; sell slippage adjusts the reference sell price downward. Fees are added to the buy principal and deducted from sale proceeds.
Net P&L = net sale proceeds − total buy outlay − network costs
Actual venues may deduct fees differently, and execution can depend on order type, route, pool depth, timing, and protocol rules. Check the exchange or wallet’s own preview before submitting a transaction.
Worked example
Suppose the trade principal is $100, the reference buy price is $1, and the planned reference sell price is $1.10. Enter a 0.5% slippage estimate on each side, a 0.3% buy fee and sell fee, and $1 of round-trip network costs.
Under those assumptions, the estimated buy execution is $1.005, so about 99.50 tokens are acquired. The estimated sell execution is $1.0945. After the 0.3% sale fee, the sale proceeds are about $108.58; total outlay is $101.30 including the buy fee and network costs. The estimated net gain is about $7.28.
This example is only arithmetic. If the actual execution price, fees, network costs, or token rules differ, the outcome changes too.
Break-even sell price
The break-even price is the quoted exit price that would make estimated proceeds equal total outlay under the same cost assumptions. More costs raise that break-even point. It is not a suggested target or a prediction that the market will trade there.
Slippage is an estimate, not a guaranteed buffer
In a decentralized exchange, a larger trade relative to available pool liquidity can change the quoted execution price. Between a quote and execution, the market can also move; transaction ordering and other conditions can matter. A fixed percentage typed into a calculator cannot reproduce a live route quote or guarantee the fill.
Thinly traded tokens can be especially difficult to exit at the displayed price. The CFTC advises against buying new or thinly traded digital tokens based on social-media tips or sudden price spikes. Read the CFTC’s pump-and-dump advisory ↗
Costs this estimate leaves out
- Token-specific buy or sell taxes
- Changing gas or network costs beyond the amount entered
- Failed, delayed, or partially filled transactions
- Taxes on gains
- Dynamic pool pricing, routing, MEV, and other venue-specific execution behavior
Use the crypto profit and break-even calculator to make a what-if estimate, then compare it with the actual fee schedule and transaction preview. It does not tell you whether to trade.
Related: Market cap vs. FDV, explained.