Arbitrage Profit Calculator

Enter buy price, sell price, quantity, fees, and costs to calculate your net arbitrage profit, return on investment, and break-even sell price.

Created by Luis GonzalezLast updated: June 15, 2026

How to Use This Calculator

1
Enter Buy Price ($)
Input the price per unit when purchasing the asset in the lower-priced market.
2
Specify Sell Price ($)
Provide the price per unit when selling the asset in the higher-priced market.
3
Input Quantity
Enter the number of units you plan to buy and sell in this arbitrage trade.
4
Set Buy-Side Fee (%)
Input the transaction or brokerage fee on the buy side, as a percentage of the total buy cost.
5
Set Sell-Side Fee (%)
Input the transaction or brokerage fee on the sell side, as a percentage of the total sell revenue.
6
Enter Taxes ($)
Provide any fixed tax amount applied to the arbitrage profit (e.g., capital gains tax).
7
Input Other Costs ($)
Enter any additional fixed costs like transport, storage, or transfer fees.
8
Review Your Results
Examine the Net Profit, ROI, Break-Even Sell Price, and Price Spread cards. The Insights panel shows gross vs net comparison, fee breakdown, cost efficiency, and break-even buffer.

Example Calculation

A trader identifies an arbitrage opportunity to buy 1,000 units of an asset at $100.00 and sell them at $105.00. They incur 0.50% fees on both sides, $2.00 in taxes, and $1.00 in other costs.

Buy Price ($)

100.00 $

Sell Price ($)

105.00 $

Quantity

1,000

Buy-Side Fee (%)

0.50 %

Sell-Side Fee (%)

0.50 %

Taxes ($)

2.00 $

Other Costs ($)

1.00 $

Results

Net Profit

$3,972.00

Return on Investment

3.93%

Break-Even Sell Price

$101.03

Price Spread

5.00%

Insights card shows costs absorb 20.

Tips

Account for Slippage

At 1,000 units, even 0.1% slippage on the $100 buy price adds $100 to costs, dropping net profit from $3,972 to $3,872. For large orders or illiquid markets, factor 0.1-0.5% slippage into Other Costs.

Fees Are 99.7% of Your Costs

Buy and sell fees ($1,025) dwarf taxes ($2) and other costs ($1) in this example. Reducing fees from 0.50% to 0.25% would save $512.50 and boost net profit to $4,484.50 — a 12.9% improvement.

Watch the Break-Even Buffer

Break-even is $101.03 — the spread can narrow from $5.00 to $1.03 before the trade turns unprofitable. That's a 79% buffer, but in volatile markets spreads can collapse in seconds.

Use History to Compare Trades

Each calculation is saved automatically. Click the clock icon to compare profitability across different price spreads, fee structures, or trade sizes.

The Arbitrage Profit Calculator determines your net profit, ROI, and break-even price for cross-market trades. Trading 1,000 units at $100 buy / $105 sell with 0.50% fees on both sides, $2 in taxes, and $1 in other costs yields $3,972 net profit — a 3.93% ROI. Costs ($1,028) absorb 20.6% of the $5,000 gross profit, with fees ($1,025) accounting for 99.7% of total costs.

The Financial Mechanics of Arbitrage Profit

The core of arbitrage profit calculation lies in meticulously accounting for all costs incurred during the simultaneous buy and sell transactions. A slight price discrepancy can quickly erode if fees, taxes, and other operational expenses are not fully integrated into the analysis. This calculator systematically deducts these costs from the gross profit to reveal the true net gain.

The logic follows these steps:

total buy cost = buy price × quantity
total sell revenue = sell price × quantity
total buy fees = (buy-side fee / 100) × total buy cost
total sell fees = (sell-side fee / 100) × total sell revenue
total costs = total buy fees + total sell fees + taxes + other costs
gross profit = total sell revenue - total buy cost
net profit = gross profit - total costs
return on investment (ROI) = (net profit / (total buy cost + total costs)) × 100
break-even sell price = buy price + total costs / quantity

This comprehensive approach ensures that every financial element is considered, providing an accurate picture of the arbitrage opportunity's viability.

💡 Understanding your net profit on specific transactions helps in evaluating overall revenue streams. For instance, creators might use similar principles to optimize earnings with our Twitch Subscription Revenue Calculator.

Worked Example: Identifying a Profitable Arbitrage Trade

Consider a financial firm that spots a temporary price difference for a stock listed on two different exchanges.

Buy Price: $100.00 per unit
Sell Price: $105.00 per unit
Quantity: 1,000 units
Buy-Side Fee: 0.50%
Sell-Side Fee: 0.50%
Taxes: $2.00
Other Costs: $1.00

First, calculate total buy and sell values: total buy cost = $100.00 × 1,000 = $100,000.00 total sell revenue = $105.00 × 1,000 = $105,000.00

Next, calculate fees: total buy fees = (0.50 / 100) × $100,000.00 = $500.00 total sell fees = (0.50 / 100) × $105,000.00 = $525.00

Sum all costs: total costs = $500.00 + $525.00 + $2.00 + $1.00 = $1,028.00

Calculate gross and net profit: gross profit = $105,000.00 - $100,000.00 = $5,000.00 net profit = $5,000.00 - $1,028.00 = $3,972.00

The net profit for this arbitrage trade is $3,972.00.

💡 Understanding the profitability of specific transactions is key for business success. For online course creators, our Udemy Revenue Calculator provides similar insights into net earnings after platform fees.

Identifying and Executing Arbitrage Opportunities

Businesses and traders continuously scan various markets—including forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and equities—to identify fleeting arbitrage opportunities. These discrepancies arise from temporary market inefficiencies, often caused by differences in information flow, liquidity, or trading volumes across exchanges. Successful execution demands extreme speed, often requiring automated trading systems, to capitalize on the price difference before it disappears. Critical considerations include not only the price spread but also the impact of transaction costs (brokerage fees, network fees in crypto), potential slippage, and regulatory compliance, especially for cross-border trades which may involve complex tax implications or exchange controls. A net profit margin of at least 0.1-0.5% after all costs is typically sought for high-frequency arbitrage to be viable.

Direct vs. Triangular Arbitrage Calculations

While this calculator focuses on direct arbitrage—exploiting a price difference for a single asset between two markets (e.g., buying Bitcoin on Exchange A and selling on Exchange B)—there's also triangular arbitrage, which involves three different currencies or assets. Triangular arbitrage capitalizes on exchange rate discrepancies between three currencies in the forex market. For example, if the exchange rates for USD/EUR, EUR/GBP, and GBP/USD are out of sync, a trader can start with USD, convert it to EUR, then convert EUR to GBP, and finally convert GBP back to USD, ending up with more USD than they started. The conceptual formula involves multiplying the exchange rates: if (USD/EUR) * (EUR/GBP) * (GBP/USD) does not equal 1, an opportunity exists. This more complex form of arbitrage requires even faster execution and sophisticated algorithms to identify and exploit the fleeting mispricings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is arbitrage profit?

Arbitrage profit is the gain from buying an asset at a lower price in one market and selling at a higher price in another. In this example, buying 1,000 units at $100 and selling at $105 produces $5,000 gross profit. After $1,028 in costs (fees, taxes, other), net profit is $3,972 — a 3.93% ROI.

Why does net profit differ so much from gross profit?

Gross profit ($5,000) only accounts for the price spread. Net profit ($3,972) deducts all costs: buy fees ($500), sell fees ($525), taxes ($2), and other costs ($1). These $1,028 in costs absorb 20.6% of the gross — making net profit calculation essential before executing any trade.

What is a price spread in arbitrage?

The price spread is the percentage difference between buy and sell prices relative to the buy price. A $5 spread on a $100 buy is 5.00%. Wider spreads provide more buffer against costs — at 5%, this trade stays profitable even if costs quadruple. Below 1-2%, fees alone can eliminate the opportunity.

What does break-even sell price mean?

Break-even sell price ($101.03) is the minimum you must sell at to cover the buy price plus all costs. With a $105 sell price, you have a $3.97/unit buffer — the spread can narrow by 79% before the trade becomes unprofitable.

How do fees impact arbitrage viability?

Fees ($1,025) are 99.7% of total costs in this example. At 0.50% per side, fees on a $100,000 buy and $105,000 sell total $1,025. Reducing fees to 0.25% would save $512.50, boosting net profit from $3,972 to $4,484.50 — a 12.9% improvement.

What ROI is considered good for arbitrage?

This trade's 3.93% ROI is solid for a near-instantaneous trade. High-frequency arbitrage targets 0.1-0.5% per trade but executes thousands daily. For manual trades, 2-5% ROI after all costs is generally viable. Below 1%, execution risk and slippage can easily eliminate the profit.