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SCUTA

Interactive tool

Compounding Calculator

Replay the snowball trade by trade, log what actually happened against the projection, and keep daily and weekly loss limits in view before a lucky streak looks like a method.

Illustrative only. Outputs are not forecasts, fills, or advice. Risk disclosures

How to use · Compounding Calculator

Replays the compound effect trade by trade: set a starting balance and a fixed % gain per trade, then press play to watch the snowball roll, with milestones, an equity curve and an editable target-vs-actual ledger you can group by day, week or month.

Steps

  1. 01Set starting capital, the fixed % gain you are modelling per trade and how many trades to project. Preset chips give quick values.
  2. 02Press play to animate the curve trade by trade, or scrub the timeline. Cycle the speed (1×, 2×, 4×) and toggle log scale for the steep tail.
  3. 03Optionally arm a max loss limit (daily, weekly or both) as a % of the period's opening balance or a flat dollar cap. The tool tracks your logged results against each and warns you to cool down before one bad day snowballs.
  4. 04Log real results in the trade ledger and adjust each trade's date (one per weekday by default; stack several on the same date to model real sessions).
  5. 05Switch the ledger view to Day, Week or Month to read the same run aggregated per period, and use Share link to hand someone the exact scenario.

Reading the output

Snowball / equity curve
Balance after each trade. The curve is flat early and explodes late. That late steepness is compounding, and it is why a normal scale can mislead.
Performance stats
Final balance, total multiple and return, and the milestones (2×, 5×, 10×…) the projection crosses.
Loss limit banner
How much of your daily and/or weekly loss limit the logged results have consumed, one banner per armed limit. Quiet while losses are small, a warning when you approach the limit, and a stop-trading alert once it is breached.
Trade ledger
Projected balance per trade beside an editable Date and Actual column. The Day, Week and Month views fold the same trades into read-only period totals.

Tips

  • This projects constant returns, and no strategy returns a fixed % every trade. Treat it as intuition for the curve's shape, not a forecast.
  • Real daily edges run about 1–5%. Numbers like 20% a day balloon to fantasy totals within days; that is the point of the risk banner.
  • Set a max loss limit. Compounding is symmetric, so capping the damage of a red day matters more than squeezing the green ones.
  • Log scale straightens exponential growth so the early trades stay readable next to the tail.

Compounding is the most seductive math in trading, and a fantasy at scale. At 20% a day, $8k becomes $200k+ in 18 days. Real daily edges run 1–5%, and a single bad day resets the snowball. Use this to feel the curve, not to plan a retirement.

Inputs

$
%

Max loss limit

%
%

Percent of the balance at the start of each day or week. Only logged results count.

Balance · trade 20

$26,937

1.3×

Trade 20 / 20100%
CompoundedSimple growth

Final balance

$26,937

Total profit

+$6,937

Total return

35%

Multiplier

1.3×

Trades to 2×

—

Trade ledger

Log real results in Actual and adjust dates; several trades can share a date.

TradeDateStartObjectiveTargetActualEnd
1—$20,000$300$20,300$20,300
2—$20,300$305$20,605$20,605
3—$20,605$309$20,914$20,914
4—$20,914$314$21,227$21,227
5—$21,227$318$21,546$21,546
6—$21,546$323$21,869$21,869
7—$21,869$328$22,197$22,197
8—$22,197$333$22,530$22,530
9—$22,530$338$22,868$22,868
10—$22,868$343$23,211$23,211
11—$23,211$348$23,559$23,559
12—$23,559$353$23,912$23,912
13—$23,912$359$24,271$24,271
14—$24,271$364$24,635$24,635
15—$24,635$370$25,005$25,005
16—$25,005$375$25,380$25,380
17—$25,380$381$25,760$25,760
18—$25,760$386$26,147$26,147
19—$26,147$392$26,539$26,539
20—$26,539$398$26,937$26,937

Questions this tool usually raises

What is compounding in trading?
Compounding means each trade's gain is calculated on the new, larger balance: profits earn profits. At a fixed % per trade the balance grows exponentially, slowly at first and then explosively, which is why the equity curve hooks upward at the end.
Bn=B0×(1+r)nB_n = B_0 \times (1 + r)^n
Are these returns realistic?
No, and that is the lesson. The tool holds the gain rate constant, but no real strategy returns a fixed percentage every trade or day. Sustainable daily edges are roughly 1–5%; anything like 20% a day produces fantasy balances within weeks. Use it to feel the curve, not to plan returns.
What does the max loss limit do?
It caps net realized losses per day, per week, or both at once, like a funded account that enforces a daily and an overall loss limit together. The limit can be a percentage of the balance at the start of that period (so it scales as the account compounds) or a flat dollar amount. As you log actual results in the trade ledger, the tool nets them per period: at 80% of a limit it warns you to size down, and once a limit is breached it tells you to stop trading until the next period. With both armed, a brutal single day can breach the daily limit while the week still looks calm. Trades you haven't logged never trigger an alert.
What is the trade ledger for?
It lists the projected balance at every trade with an editable Date and Actual column. Log your real results to see whether you are keeping pace with the projection, and date each trade as you go; several trades can share one date. The Day, Week and Month views then aggregate the same run per period, blending your real results with the projection for trades you haven't logged yet.
Can I share or save a scenario?
Yes. Share link copies a URL with your inputs encoded, so anyone who opens it lands on the exact same scenario. Your inputs are also saved locally in your browser between visits.
Why use log scale?
On a normal axis, exponential growth crushes the early steps into a flat line next to the towering tail. Log scale turns constant-percentage growth into a straight line, so every step stays readable.