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How to Use the Calculator
- Amount staked: the value you stake at the start.
- Staking APY: the yearly rate your exchange or validator quotes. Rates change often, so use the one shown for your own stake.
- Time staked: how long the stake stays in place.
- Rewards compound: how often rewards are added to the stake: daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. With “Not compounded”, simple interest is paid on the original amount.
- Add every month: optional. Extra tokens bought and staked at the end of each month.
- Token price change over the period: optional. It is applied to the whole position at the end.
How Staking Returns Are Calculated
The future value equals the amount staked multiplied by (1 + rate ÷ n), raised to the power of n × years. Here n is the number of times rewards compound in a year, 365 for daily.
For example, $10,000 staked at 5% for three years with daily compounding grows to about $11,618. With rewards paid out and not restaked, the total would be $11,500. Compounding added about $118.
How to Read the Result
- Effective APY: what the quoted rate becomes once compounding is applied. A 5% rate compounded daily is an effective 5.13%. Platforms quote whichever of the two numbers looks better, so check which one you are shown.
- Compounding added: how much more you end with by restaking rewards. It is the gap between the two lines on the chart.
- Rewards run-rate: what the current balance earns per day, week, month and year. These figures grow as the balance compounds.
What the Estimate Leaves Out
Staking rewards are paid in tokens, not dollars. If the token falls 20% over the period, the $11,618 in the example is worth about $9,295, whatever the rate was. The calculator also assumes a fixed rate, while real rates change. Slashing, validator downtime, platform commission, the waiting time to unstake and taxes are not modelled.
For how staking works on Ethereum, read our Ethereum staking guide. For other ways to earn on crypto you hold, see passive income with crypto.