DeFi Yield Calculator – Crypto APY & APR Investment Returns | SoCalSolver

Calculate DeFi yields, APY vs APR, staking returns, liquidity farming gains, and impermanent loss. Estimate crypto investment returns with gas fees and compounding.

DeFi (Decentralized Finance) yields represent heterogenous opportunities with material differences in economics, risks, and tax treatment. This calculator provides reproducible, well-documented estimates of net returns by converting APR to APY (including continuous compounding), applying fees, estimating slippage and impermanent loss (IL), and calculating tax liabilities.

Key practical insight: always compare APY (accounting for compounding) and model fees up front. For small positions, fixed entry/exit gas fees often dominate. Use the break-even metric provided here to assess whether a strategy is economically viable for your ticket size.

This tool is accompanied by documented methodology, source citations, a validation report for the math implemented, and author credentials to support transparency and reproducibility.

Investment Amount (USD)

Enter the amount you plan to invest in USD. Larger amounts may have better economies of scale but higher absolute fees. · Min 10 · Max 10000000

Token Type

Choose the token you'll invest. Stablecoins have lower impermanent loss risk in AMM pools.

APR Rate (%)

Annual Percentage Rate offered by protocol. Examples: 3-7% stablecoin lending, 4% ETH staking, 20-100% yield farming. · Min 0.01 · Max 500

Compounding Frequency

How often interest is compounded. 'Continuous' uses the continuous compounding formula A = Pe^(rt).

Investment Period (days)

How long you plan to keep funds invested. Longer periods amplify compounding effects. · Min 1 · Max 3650

Entry Gas Fee (USD)

One-time fee to enter the position. Ethereum mainnet: $20-$200. Layer 2: $0.01-$5. · Min 0 · Max 5000

Exit Gas Fee (USD)

One-time fee to exit/withdraw from position. Typically same as entry fee. · Min 0 · Max 5000

Periodic Maintenance Fee (USD)

Fee for periodic transactions (claim rewards, rebalance). Only if applicable. · Min 0 · Max 1000

Periodic Fee Frequency (days)

How often periodic maintenance occurs. Default: monthly (30 days). · Min 1 · Max 365

Slippage/Trading Loss (%)

Loss from price impact when entering/exiting. Stablecoin pools: 0.1-0.5%. Volatile pairs: 1-5%. · Min 0 · Max 10

Calculate Impermanent Loss?

Impermanent Loss occurs when token prices diverge in AMM pools. Most relevant for Uniswap V3, Balancer, Curve.

Price Change Ratio (Token A : Token B)

Ratio of final price to initial price for one of the tokens. Example: 1.5 = 50% price increase. 0.8 = 20% decrease. · Min 0.1 · Max 10

Income Tax Rate (%)

Your marginal tax rate on yield income. Varies by jurisdiction: US 10-37%, EU 15-45%. Leave 0 if tax-exempt. · Min 0 · Max 50

Tax Treatment

Tax treatment affects your effective after-tax return. Consult a tax professional.

DeFi Protocol

Select the protocol or strategy. Unknown protocols carry higher risk.

Risk Level

Higher yields often correlate with higher risk. Yields >50% APY should raise red flags.

Results

Principal Investment (USD)

$10,000.00

APR Rate (%)

500.00%

Compounding Frequency

—

Time Period (days)

365

Time Period (years)

Compounding Periods per Year

—

APY Rate (Annual Percentage Yield) (%)

—

Final Balance (before fees)

—

Total Yield Earned (USD)

—

Total Gas Fees (USD)

$100.00

Slippage Loss (USD)

$50.00

Total Fees & Costs (USD)

—

Final Balance (after all costs)

—

Net Yield Earned (after fees)

—

Gross ROI (%)

—

Net ROI (after fees) (%)

—

Daily Earnings (gross)

—

Daily Earnings (net of fees)

—

Effective APY (after fees) (%)

—

Break-Even Days (cover gas fees)

—

Is Investment Profitable?

—

Include Impermanent Loss?

—

Price Change Ratio (for IL)

Impermanent Loss (%)

0.00%

Impermanent Loss (USD)

—

Final Balance (with IL)

—

Net Profit (with IL)

—

ROI with IL (%)

—

Tax Rate (%)

0.00%

Tax Liability (USD)

—

Final Balance (after tax)

—

Net Profit (after tax)

—

Net ROI (after tax) (%)

—

Risk Score (1-10)

Protocol Risk Level

—

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Methodology

APR is treated as the nominal annual rate. APY depends on compounding frequency. For discrete compounding: APY = (1 + APR/n)^n – 1, where n is compounding periods per year. For continuous compounding: APY = e^{APR} – 1 (APR expressed as decimal). Both paths are implemented and validated.

Final balance uses A = P × (1 + r/n)^(n×t) for discrete compounding and A = P × e^{r×t} for continuous compounding (r in decimal, t in years). The calculator supports negative APR inputs (protocol decay) and validates convergence between discrete and continuous formulas.

Gas fees and periodic operational costs are applied deterministically based on user entries. Slippage reduces initial capital by the supplied percent. Impermanent loss uses standard equal-value AMM IL formula for 50:50 pools: IL% = (2 × √price_ratio)/(1 + price_ratio) – 1. For concentrated liquidity or non-50:50 pools, IL behavior differs — see references.

Tax treatment is user-specified and treated as a marginal-rate deduction on net yield; jurisdictional variations are discussed in the documentation. All major claims link to external sources (protocol docs, DeFi Llama, IRS) which are listed in references.

Worked examples

Example 1: Stablecoin Lending on Aave – $10,000 USDC for 1 Year

Alice deposits $10,000 USDC on Aave offering 5% APY with daily compounding. Gas fees: $50 entry, $50 exit, no periodic fees. Slippage: 0%. Time: 365 days. Calculation uses discrete compounding path. Results summarized with net ROI, break-even, and tax impact.

Example 2: ETH Staking via Lido – $50,000 ETH for 2 Years

Bob stakes $50,000 worth of ETH through Lido liquid staking (3.5% APY, daily compounding). Gas fees and slippage included; continuous compounding can be toggled for theoretical comparison. Tax and break-even included.

Example 3: Uniswap V3 Liquidity Pool – $5,000 ETH/USDC for 90 Days

Carol provides liquidity in a Uniswap V3 pool. The example demonstrates how IL, fees, and slippage can convert an advertised APR to a net loss—underscoring the need for scenario testing.

Key takeaways

Comprehensive DeFi Yield Calculator with documented methodology, author credentials, and validation artifacts.

Supports discrete and continuous compounding with validated formulas and unit tests.

Accounts for gas fees (entry, exit, periodic), slippage, impermanent loss for 50:50 AMM pools, and tax liabilities.

Includes risk scoring, sensitivity analysis guidance, references to protocol docs and data sources, and a formal validation report link.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between APR and APY, and why does it matter?

APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the nominal rate; APY (Annual Percentage Yield) accounts for compounding. This calculator converts APR to APY automatically, including a continuous compounding option, to give an accurate comparison of yields.

Are my gas fees really a deal-breaker for small investments?

Yes—gas fees can make small ticket sizes uneconomical. The tool computes break-even days and recommends scenario testing with the sensitivity module. See methodology and sensitivity examples for recommended thresholds.

Glossary

APR (Annual Percentage Rate): The annual interest rate without compounding. If a protocol offers 20% APR, it means 20% nominal annual return absent compounding.
APY (Annual Percentage Yield): The effective annual return including compounding. For continuous compounding APY = e^{APR} – 1 (APR as decimal).
Impermanent Loss (IL): A relative loss that arises when token prices diverge in AMM pools versus simply holding the tokens. Calculated using the standard 50:50 AMM formula in this tool; concentrated liquidity differs.

Sources & references

Useful links

Related calculators

External resources

Quality & oversight

Last review: Dec 6, 2025
Model version: v1.0
Reviewed by: Ugo Candido; Reviewer

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