How long a drawdown really costs you.
Assumes a steady monthly return no real strategy delivers — the point is the asymmetry: losses cost more time than they took to happen.
Educational tool only — not financial advice. Verify figures with your broker.
The Drawdown Recovery Time Calculator is an educational tool that shows two things about a drawdown: the percentage gain needed to climb back to your prior peak, and roughly how many months that recovery would take at an assumed steady monthly return. It answers the question 'if I'm down X%, how long does breaking even actually take?'
The break-even gain is drawdown ÷ (1 − drawdown): a 30% loss leaves 70% of capital, so it needs 30/70 ≈ 42.9% to recover. The recovery time solves the compounding equation (1 + monthly return)^months = 1 ÷ (1 − drawdown), i.e. months = ln(1/(1−drawdown)) ÷ ln(1 + monthly return).
Because the gain is measured against the smaller remaining balance. Losing 50% leaves half your money, and doubling that half (a 100% gain) is what returns you to the start — this asymmetry is the core lesson of a drawdown recovery time calculator.
It depends entirely on the return you actually earn afterward. This tool shows the months implied by one assumed steady rate, but a real equity curve is uneven and typically takes longer than the smooth number suggests.
Mathematically yes, a higher assumed rate shortens the modeled time — but a higher target return usually means more risk and more drawdowns, so the assumption itself may be unrealistic.
Keep in mind: The month figure assumes a constant monthly return that no real strategy delivers; the point is the asymmetry — losses cost more time to undo than they took to happen — not a prediction of when you'll actually recover.