Staking yield calculator

Staking is locking up a proof-of-stake coin to help secure its network, and in return you earn a reward paid in that same coin. The headline number you'll see quoted is an APY — an annual percentage yield. This calculator takes the amount you staked, the APY you enter, the length of time and whether rewards compound, and works out roughly what the position could be worth at the end. It runs entirely on the figures you type. There's no live feed and no hidden assumption, so changing the rate or the duration shows you exactly how sensitive the result is.

It helps to know the difference between APR and APY. APR is the simple annual rate with no compounding. APY assumes your rewards are added back and start earning too, so for the same headline rate APY ends up slightly higher. The Simple option here uses straight APR-style math — reward equals amount times rate times years. The Monthly compound option adds rewards back twelve times a year, which is closer to how many platforms credit them. Over one year at a modest rate the gap is small; over several years it grows. Neither version predicts anything — they just show two ways the same rate can play out.

The honest part is what the calculator can't know. A quoted APY is a snapshot, not a fixed contract. It moves with how much of the coin is being staked across the network, with protocol changes, and on exchanges with whatever rate they choose to offer that week. Many products also have a lockup, so your coins are not instantly available, and some networks have slashing, where a portion of a stake can be lost if the validator behaves badly. None of that shows up in a tidy percentage. Treat the output as a what-if, not a forecast.

There's a bigger risk underneath all of it: price. A reward paid in a coin that falls 30% can still leave you with less money than you started with. Earning 5% in a token does not protect the value of that token. If staking is new to you, our guide to spot versus other products and the dollar-cost averaging explainer are useful background on holding through that volatility. To check fees on the trade that gets you the coin in the first place, the fee calculator turns them into a number.

Before you stake

• Use the provider's current quoted APY, not last month's — rates drift.
• Check the lockup period; locked coins can't be sold if the market drops.
• Find out whether slashing applies and who bears it.
• Remember the reward is paid in the coin, so its cash value rides on the price.
• Read this number as one scenario, never as money you're owed.