Impermanent Loss Calculator
Estimate impermanent loss from providing liquidity to a 50/50 AMM pool, and calculate whether trading fee income offsets the cost.
2.00x of original price
1.00x of original price (set to 0% for stablecoin)
Quick Presets
Fee Income Analysis
Check pool APR on DefiLlama Yields
Impermanent Loss
5.72%
$85.79 less than holding
LP Position Value
$1414.21
If Held (No LP)
$1500.00
Breakeven Fee APR (30d holding period)
69.6%
Pool must earn at least this fee APR to offset IL over 30 days
Tip: Enter the pool's fee APR above to see whether fee income offsets the impermanent loss. Find current pool APRs on DefiLlama Yields.
IL Reference Table
Impermanent loss at various price ratios for a 50/50 pool (Token A vs stablecoin). Dollar values based on your $1,000 deposit.
| Price Ratio | Price Change | IL % | IL Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1x | 90% decrease | 42.50% | $233.77 |
| 0.2x | 80% decrease | 25.46% | $152.79 |
| 0.3x | 70% decrease | 15.73% | $102.28 |
| 0.5x | 50% decrease | 5.72% | $42.89 |
| 0.75x | 25% decrease | 1.03% | $8.97 |
| 1x | No change | 0.00% | $0.00 |
| 1.25x | 25% increase | 0.62% | $6.97 |
| 1.5x | 50% increase | 2.02% | $25.26 |
| 2x | 100% increase | 5.72% | $85.79 |
| 3x | 200% increase | 13.40% | $267.95 |
| 4x | 300% increase | 20.00% | $500.00 |
| 5x | 400% increase | 25.46% | $763.93 |
| 7.5x | 650% increase | 35.56% | $1511.39 |
| 10x | 900% increase | 42.50% | $2337.72 |
What is Impermanent Loss?
Impermanent Loss (IL) is the difference between holding tokens in a liquidity pool versus simply holding them in your wallet. It occurs because AMM pools automatically rebalance as prices change, selling the appreciating asset and buying the depreciating one.
The loss is called "impermanent" because it only becomes permanent when you withdraw. If prices return to their original ratio, the loss disappears.
The Formula
For a 50/50 constant product AMM pool:
Where price_ratio is the relative price change between the two assets.
Is LP Still Worth It?
The key question for investors is whether fee income exceeds impermanent loss. Use the fee income section above to model this. Key factors:
- High-volume pools generate more fees, making IL easier to offset
- Correlated pairs (like ETH/stETH) have minimal IL since prices move together
- Stablecoin pairs (USDC/USDT) have near-zero IL — check current yields on DefiLlama Yields
- Longer holding periods give fees more time to accumulate against one-time IL
- Concentrated liquidity (Uniswap v3) amplifies both fees and IL
Key Insights
- IL depends on the relative price change between the two tokens, not absolute price movements
- If both tokens move in the same direction by the same percentage, there is no impermanent loss
- IL is symmetric: a 2x increase causes the same IL as a 50% decrease
- Trading fees earned can offset IL—high volume pools may still be profitable despite IL
- Stablecoin pairs (like USDC/USDT) have minimal IL since prices stay close to 1:1
Related Tools
- Stablecoin Yield Screener — Compare yields that don't carry impermanent loss risk (data from DefiLlama)
- APR to APY Calculator — Convert between APR and APY for accurate yield comparisons
- Position Size Calculator — Size your LP positions based on risk tolerance
- Real Yield Guide — Understand sustainable yield sources in DeFi