Stock Profit Calculator
Enter your buy and sell prices, number of shares and any commissions to see your profit and return.
Stock profit is your total proceeds from selling minus your total cost of buying, including commissions on both sides. Multiply shares by the sell price and subtract the sell fee for proceeds; multiply shares by the buy price and add the buy fee for cost. Profit divided by cost is your percentage return.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter the price you paid per share, the price you sold at, and the number of shares. Add any commissions your broker charged on the buy and on the sell — many brokers are now commission-free, in which case leave these at zero.
The calculator returns your net profit in dollars and your return as a percentage of what you invested. You enter the prices yourself; the tool does not fetch live quotes, so it works for planning a hypothetical trade or reviewing one you have already made.
How the Calculation Works
Your total cost is what you paid for the shares plus the commission to buy them. Your total proceeds are what you received for the shares minus the commission to sell them. Profit is proceeds minus cost.
The percentage return divides that profit by your total cost, which is the amount you actually put at risk. Including both commissions matters on small trades, where fees can turn a small gain into a loss.
profit = (sell × shares − sell fee) − (buy × shares + buy fee)
Worked Example
You buy 100 shares at $50 with a $5 commission, so your cost is 100 × 50 + 5 = $5,005. You sell at $65 with a $5 commission, so your proceeds are 100 × 65 − 5 = $6,495.
Profit is 6,495 − 5,005 = $1,490. The return is 1,490 ÷ 5,005 = 29.77% on the amount invested.
What the Result Means
The dollar profit is your take-home gain after fees. The percentage return lets you compare this trade against others and against benchmarks, regardless of how much you invested.
Remember this is a pre-tax figure. Capital gains tax applies to a profitable sale, and the rate depends on how long you held the shares and your income, so your after-tax profit will be lower.
Assumptions and Limitations
- Uses the prices you enter — it does not pull live market quotes
- Profit is before tax; capital gains tax reduces your actual take-home
- Does not account for dividends received while holding
- Assumes a single buy and a single sell at one price each
Who Uses a Stock Profit Calculator
Investors and traders use this to work out the profit and percentage return on a stock trade, including buy and sell commissions. Run it before selling to see your true net gain, or afterward to track performance across trades. It helps you compare outcomes, plan a target exit price, and understand how fees eat into a return — especially on smaller or frequent trades.
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Open calculator →Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate profit on a stock?
Subtract your total cost, including the buy commission, from your total proceeds, after the sell commission. For 100 shares bought at $50 and sold at $65 with $5 fees each way, profit is $1,490.
How do I find my percentage return?
Divide your profit by the total amount you invested, including the buy commission, then multiply by 100. A $1,490 profit on a $5,005 cost is a 29.8% return.
Does this use live stock prices?
No. You enter the buy and sell prices yourself, so the tool works with no live data. That makes it useful for planning a trade or checking one you have already closed.
Is the profit before or after tax?
Before tax. A profitable sale is usually subject to capital gains tax, and the rate depends on your holding period and income, so your after-tax profit will be lower than the figure shown.
Do commissions really matter?
On large trades they are small, but on small trades a $5 fee each way can wipe out a modest gain. That is why the calculator includes both the buy and sell commissions.
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