Price Ladder Calculator
See what a position is worth across a range of prices — your stop, target, R multiples and any levels you add.
A single profit figure answers one question. This price ladder calculator answers the one traders actually have: what is the profit at different prices across the range the market might plausibly reach? Every rung is a what-if — what if price stalls short of the target, what if it gaps straight through the stop.
Formula: profit at each level = (level - entry) x units - costs
Your figures
In units of the instrument.
Optional — anchors the R scale and adds R rungs.
Optional — shows the equity that results at each level.
Price ladder
Levels on the ladder
6
from US$95.00 to US$115.00
- US$115.00 · Target+15.00% from entry · +3.00R · equity US$11,500.00
- +US$1,500.00
- US$110.00 · +2R+10.00% from entry · +2.00R · equity US$11,000.00
- +US$1,000.00
- US$108.00 · Your level+8.00% from entry · +1.60R · equity US$10,800.00
- +US$800.00
- US$105.00 · +1R+5.00% from entry · +1.00R · equity US$10,500.00
- +US$500.00
- US$100.00 · Entry0.00% from entry · 0.00R · equity US$10,000.00
- US$0.00
- US$95.00 · Stop-5.00% from entry · -1.00R · equity US$9,500.00
- -US$500.00
What this means
The ladder shows what this position is worth across 6 price levels, from the worst on the list to the best. The stop and target frame a 3.00 : 1 trade. Break-even sits at US$100.00 — that is the level the position is genuinely level at, not the entry. Every price here is one you entered; nothing is fetched, so the same ladder works for planning a trade and for reviewing one afterwards at the prices that actually occurred.
- Assumes the whole position closes at the level shown. Scaling out produces a blended result the scale-out calculator handles.
- Costs are applied at every rung, which is why break-even sits away from the entry.
- R rungs only appear when a stop is supplied, because the stop is what defines one unit of risk.
Levels on the ladder: 6
The link reopens this calculator with the same numbers. Nothing you enter is sent to a server.
Continue with these figures
About the Price Ladder calculation
The levels that matter are already implied by the trade. The stop, the break-even, the entry, the target, and the R multiples either side of it are all derived from figures you have already decided. A trade scenario ladder simply puts them in the order the market would meet them and prices each one.
Every price comes from you. Nothing is fetched, which means the same scenario calculator works three ways: planning a trade before it is placed, managing one that is open, and reviewing one afterwards at the prices that actually occurred.
Price Ladder formula
profit at a price = (price − entry) × units × FX − costs (long)
= (entry − price) × units × FX − costs (short)
break-even = entry ± costs ÷ (units × FX)
R multiple = profit ÷ risk to the stop
R rungs sit at entry ± (risk per unit × R)- rung
- One price level on the ladder, with what the position is worth there.
- R
- One unit of risk — the distance from entry to stop.
- break-even
- Where the position is level after costs. Not the entry.
Rungs are ordered as the market would encounter them — best outcome first for a long, and the reverse for a short — so the ladder reads as a path rather than a list of unrelated numbers.
Where two levels coincide, the more informative label wins. A target that happens to sit exactly on +2R reads as the target; a level you typed by hand that lands on +2R reads as +2R, because learning that your level is exactly two units of risk away is information you did not have.
Costs are subtracted at every rung, which is why the break-even sits away from the entry rather than on it. That gap is the clearest single argument for including costs in a plan at all.
Price Ladder: a worked example
A long of 100 units at 100.00 with a stop at 95.00 and a target at 115.00, on a $10,000 account.
- Risk per unit|100 − 95| = 5.00
- Target at 115.00+$1,500 · +3.00R · equity $11,500
- +2R at 110.00+$1,000 · equity $11,000
- +1R at 105.00+$500 · equity $10,500
- Entry at 100.00$0 · equity $10,000
- Stop at 95.00−$500 · −1.00R · equity $9,500
Six levels, ordered as the market would meet them. Adding $50 of costs moves break-even to 100.50 and shifts every rung down by $50.
How to use the Price Ladder calculator
- Enter the entry, direction and position size. That alone produces a ladder.
- Add the stop to anchor the R scale — without it, R rungs cannot be placed because one unit of risk is undefined.
- Add the target to have it marked on the ladder.
- Add costs to see break-even appear away from your entry, where it actually belongs.
- Add your own levels for anything else that matters: support, resistance, a gap, a round number, or the price the trade actually reached. Each one becomes another rung on the trade scenario ladder.
Limitations of the Price Ladder calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Assumes the whole position closes at the level shown. Scaling out produces a blended result the scale-out calculator handles.
- Says nothing about the probability of reaching any level. It prices outcomes, it does not weight them.
- Assumes each level fills at its price. Gaps skip levels entirely, and a stop can fill well beyond its price in a fast market.
- R rungs only appear with a stop, because a stop is what defines one unit of risk.
Frequently asked questions about Price Ladder
Why does break-even sit away from my entry?
Because the trade started behind by the cost of opening it. Entry is where the position began; break-even is where it has recovered those costs. Moving a stop to your entry price still closes at a loss, which is the practical reason this distinction matters.
Why are R rungs missing?
Because no stop was supplied. R is measured against the distance from entry to stop, so without a stop there is no scale to measure against. Add one and the R rungs appear.
Can I use this to review a trade I already closed?
Yes, and it is one of the better uses. Enter the trade as it was and add the prices that actually occurred as your own levels. You get the full path priced out, including the levels you did not act on.
Why is my level labelled +2R rather than as my own?
Because it sits exactly two units of risk from your entry, and that is worth knowing. The rung is still there with its price and result — only the label changed to the more informative one.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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