Partial Close Calculator
See what closing part of a position realises, and the price the remainder must reach for the whole trade to break even.
Closing part of a position changes the arithmetic for everything that is left, and working out that change is what this partial close calculator does. The profit or loss on the closed portion is banked and cannot change, and it becomes a cushion — or a burden — that the remainder carries.
Formula: recovery break-even = entry +/- (remaining costs - realised) / units left
Your figures
Size before closing anything.
Must be less than the original size.
Optional — values the remainder and blends the result.
What closing the remainder will cost.
Results
Recovery break-even
US$90.00
on the remaining 100 units
- Realised on the closed part
- +US$1,000.00
- Units remaining50.00% of the position was closed.
- 100
- Recovery break-even priceBelow your entry — banked profit has bought the remainder room.
- US$90.00
- Floating on the remainder
- +US$1,500.00
- Blended result nowRealised plus floating, less the costs still to come.
- +US$2,500.00
- Price the remainder must reach to match holdingWhere you would have been had you not closed any of it.
- US$120.00
What this means
Closing 50.00% of the position realised +US$1,000.00, which changes what the remainder has to do. The whole trade is now level if the rest closes at US$90.00 — better than your entry, because the banked profit has bought the remainder room to move against you.
- Assumes the closed tranche filled at the price entered. Partial closes in a fast market often fill worse than intended.
- Costs are split between the closed part and the remainder. Each close is charged separately, so a position closed in several pieces costs more than one closed at once.
- Says nothing about whether closing early was right. It shows the arithmetic consequence, not the decision.
Recovery break-even: US$90.00
The link reopens this calculator with the same numbers. Nothing you enter is sent to a server.
Continue with these figures
About the Partial Close calculation
The most useful consequence is the recovery break-even price: the level at which the whole trade, taken together, ends level. Bank a profit and it moves in your favour, sometimes a long way below your original entry for a long. Close at a loss and it moves against you.
That single number is the mechanical basis for the widespread habit of taking some off the table. Traders who take partial profit to reduce position size mid-trade, rather than closing out entirely, are relying on that number whether or not they have worked it out. It is worth seeing precisely rather than assuming.
Partial Close formula
units remaining = original − closed
realised = move to close price × units closed − closed costs
floating = move to current price × units remaining
blended now = realised + floating − remaining costs
required move = (remaining costs − realised) ÷ units remaining
recovery B/E = entry + required move (long)
= entry − required move (short)- realised
- Locked in on the closed tranche. Cannot change.
- floating
- Unrealised on what is still open. Changes with the market.
- recovery break-even
- Where the remainder must close for the whole trade to be level.
The realised amount enters the formula with a negative sign, which is why banked profit pulls the break-even price towards you and a realised loss pushes it away. Bank $1,000 with 100 units left and the remainder can fall $10 per unit below entry before the trade as a whole is losing.
The proportion closed matters as much as the price. Closing a small slice at a good price barely moves the break-even, because the realised amount is divided across a large remainder. Closing most of the position moves it a long way.
The comparison against holding answers the question people actually worry about afterwards: where would I have been if I had left it alone? It is reported so the decision can be assessed rather than second-guessed.
Partial Close: a worked example
A long of 200 units at 100.00, closing 100 units at 110.00, with the market now at 115.00.
- Units remaining100 — 50% closed
- Realised10.00 × 100 = $1,000
- Cushion on the remainder1,000 ÷ 100 = 10.00 per unit
- Recovery break-even100.00 − 10.00 = 90.00
- Floating on the remainder15.00 × 100 = $1,500
- Blended result now$2,500
$1,000 is banked and the remaining 100 units can fall to 90.00 — ten points below the original entry — before the trade as a whole is at break-even.
How to use the Partial Close calculator
- Enter the original size and how many units you closed — closing half a position is the common case, but any fraction works, and the closed amount must be less than the original.
- Enter the price the partial actually filled at, not the price you intended.
- Add the current price to see the floating result on the remainder and the blended position.
- Split costs between the closed tranche and what closing the remainder will cost.
- Read the recovery break-even price. It is the level that now matters, and it is not your entry.
Limitations of the Partial Close calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Assumes the closed tranche filled at the price entered. Partial closes in a fast market often fill worse than intended.
- Costs are charged per close, so a position closed in several pieces costs more in total than one closed at once. Split them realistically.
- Assumes the remainder is still the same instrument at the same entry. Averaging in after a partial close changes the effective entry and this no longer applies.
- Shows the arithmetic consequence of a decision already made. It does not assess whether closing early was the right call.
Frequently asked questions about Partial Close
If I close half a position, why is the break-even below my entry price?
Because the profit already banked on the closed tranche offsets a loss on what is left. With $1,000 realised and 100 units remaining, the remainder can lose $10 a unit before the whole trade is level — so break-even sits ten points below entry.
Does taking partial profit reduce my risk?
It reduces the amount still exposed and moves the break-even in your favour, so the worst case for the trade as a whole improves. It also reduces what the trade can make if the move continues. This calculator shows the first effect; the scale-out calculator shows the second.
What if I closed the partial at a loss?
Then the break-even moves against you and the remainder has to work harder than the original trade ever did. The calculator flags this, because it is the case where the instinct to 'take something off' has made the position worse rather than better.
How is this different from the scale-out calculator?
Scale-out plans several exits before the trade. This one takes a partial close that has already happened and recalculates what the remainder now needs. Planning versus managing.
Should I move my stop to the recovery break-even?
That is a decision this calculator does not make. What it gives you is the correct level to move it to if you want the trade as a whole to scratch — which is usually not your original entry, and that is the point.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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