In trading, every decision comes with a cost or a reward. That’s where PnL, short for Profit and Loss, comes into play. It’s the most fundamental metric used by traders from all levels to measure trading performance over a specific period or set of trades.
At its core, PnL refers to how much you’ve gained or lost, expressed either in dollar terms or as a percentage of your capital. It reflects your ability to manage risk, capitalize on opportunities, and maintain consistency traits that are especially important when trading under evaluation rules set by proprietary firms.
Why Tracking Profits and Losses Matters
If you’re not tracking your trades, you’re not really trading; you’re gambling. A consistent review of profit and loss isn’t just about knowing whether you’re up or down; it helps you identify what works, what doesn’t, what the maximum drawdown is, and where your strategy needs improvement.
For prop traders, PnL is a key metric used not only to measure performance but to assess your suitability for funded capital. Most firms expect traders to maintain a positive PnL ratio, follow risk parameters, and show consistent results. Your ability to track and interpret your PnL can make or break your trading career.
Realized vs. Unrealized PnL: Understanding Open and Closed Positions
When reviewing a trader’s performance, it’s essential to understand the distinction between realized and unrealized PnL. Both play different roles in strategy evaluation and capital allocation.
What is Realized PnL?
Realized PnL is the actual profit or loss that becomes final after a trade is closed. Once you exit a position, whether it’s a single trade or a group of trades, the result is considered “realized.” This value appears in your account balance and is used to assess your trading performance. It applies whether you’re in a prop firm evaluation, already funded, or trading a personal account.
Example of a closed position
Suppose you buy 1 standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.1000 and close the trade at 1.1050. The price has moved 50 pips in your favor. If you’re trading a standard lot, where 1 pip equals $10, your realized PnL would be:
50 pips × $10 = $500 profit
This $500 profit is added to your account balance after deducting any applicable fees, commissions, or slippage that may have occurred during the trade.
What is Unrealized PnL?
Unrealized PnL, also known as paper profit or loss, represents the potential gain or loss from an open position or a group of open positions. It is based on the difference between the entry price and the current market price, multiplied by the total position size. Since the trades are still open, the profit or loss is not locked in and can change at any moment with market movement.
Example of an open position
Suppose you go long 2 lots of gold (XAU/USD) at $3,250 per ounce, and the current market price has increased to $3,320. Each standard lot represents 100 ounces, giving you a total position size of 200 ounces.
To calculate PnL for open positions, simply multiply the difference between the current price and entry price by the total number of units:
($3,320 − $3,250) × 200 = $14,000 profit
This $14,000 is your unrealized profit. Since the position remains open, this amount is not guaranteed. If the price of gold moves lower, your profit could decrease, or even turn into a loss if it falls below your entry price.
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Equity vs. Balance: What’s the Difference?
In trading, especially with prop firms, it’s important to understand the difference between balance and equity.
Your balance shows the total value of your account based on closed trades only. It reflects your realized profit or loss and stays unchanged while trades are still open.
Equity, on the other hand, includes both your balance and the unrealized PnL from any open positions. It updates in real time as the market moves, giving you a live view of your account’s current value.
This difference matters when it comes to drawdown rules. Some prop firms calculate drawdown based only on your balance, while others use your equity, often at a specific time of da,y to determine if you’ve breached the limit.
This is especially common in daily drawdown models or trailing drawdown rules, where the lowest equity value within a trading day, or compared to peak equity, can trigger a violation. Even if your trade recovers later, the earlier dip may still count.
Understanding how your firm defines and monitors drawdown, whether through balance or equity, is crucial for managing risk and protecting your evaluation or funded account.
Types of PnL: Price-Based and Percentage-Based
Understanding the different ways to calculate and interpret PnL is essential for evaluating your trading performance and making informed decisions. PnL, or Profit and Loss, can be measured in two primary formats: price-based and percentage-based. Each format offers deeper insights into your risk exposure, trading consistency, and return potential.
Price-Based PnL (Monetary Terms)
This is the most direct way to express profit or loss: in actual currency units. It tells you how much money you made or lost on a trade.
Formula: PnL = (Exit Price − Entry Price) × Quantity − Fees
- Entry Price: The price at which you entered the position
- Exit Price: The price at which you closed it
- Quantity: Number of units (shares, lots, contracts, etc.)
- Fees: Commissions, slippage, spreads, and other costs
This method gives a clear dollar-based outcome and is used in most broker dashboards to show both realized and unrealized PnL for open and closed positions.
Example: You buy 10 shares at $50 and sell them at $55. Ignoring fees, your PnL is:
(55 – 50) × 10 = $50 profit
Price-based PnL is ideal for understanding total gains and losses in absolute terms, managing position size, and calculating risk on a trade-by-trade basis. It is also essential for real-time decision-making and monitoring the performance of open trades.
Percentage-Based PnL (Relative Terms)
Percentage-based PnL shows how much you earned or lost relative to your investment. This is especially important in prop firm evaluations and strategy comparisons. Percentage metrics are also useful for comparing total profit across different account sizes or trading strategies.
Formula: PnL % = (PnL / Initial Investment) × 100%
Example: You invest $1,000 in a trade and earn $250. Your PnL percentage is:
(250 / 1,000) × 100% = 25%
This metric helps standardize performance across accounts of different sizes and is used to compare the effectiveness of various strategies or trading periods. A 10% return on $10,000 carries more weight than simply knowing a $1,000 gain, particularly in professional evaluations.
Prop firms commonly set goals and risk limits in percentage terms, such as achieving a 10% return or avoiding a 5% drawdown. This makes percentage-based tracking crucial for traders seeking funding.
When to Use Each Type of PnL
Both types of PnL offer valuable insights, and it’s a common practice among professional traders to monitor both price-based and percentage-based PnL side by side.
Use price-based PnL when:
- Managing position sizing
- Setting precise entry, stop-loss, and take-profit levels
- Tracking real-time gains and losses in your broker’s platform
Use percentage-based PnL when:
- Comparing different strategies over time
- Meeting performance targets in prop firm challenges
- Evaluating the return on investment (ROI) across multiple trades or accounts
For example, a trader might use price-based PnL to calculate exact dollar risks per trade, while using percentage-based PnL to ensure they’re staying within firm-wide risk limits or reaching performance benchmarks.
Price-Based vs. Percentage-Based PnL
| Aspect | Price-Based PnL | Percentage-Based PnL |
| Unit of Measurement | Dollars or account currency | Percentage of capital |
| Use Case | Managing trade size and stop loss | Evaluating strategy performance |
| Common in | Broker dashboards and real-time data | Prop firm evaluations and analysis |
| Reflects | Absolute profit or loss | Relative return on capital |
| Ideal for | Risk management and execution | Strategy comparison and tracking |
Useful Tools for Calculating PnL
Real-time dashboards:
Track open and closed positions, floating PnL, and total equity live on broker and prop firm platforms.
PnL explained reports:
Break down trade value, fees, commissions, and new trades to give insight into what drives profit or loss.
Manual calculations & exports:
Allow traders to analyze performance offline, compare historical data, and verify metrics across strategies.
Position size calculators:
Help determine optimal lot size per trade based on account balance, risk percentage, and stop-loss distance.
Trade-based analytics:
Highlight which trading strategy or setup contributes most to performance, including win rate, average R, and consistency.
Impact calculators:
Estimate how new trades will affect equity curves or breach drawdown limits in prop firm evaluations.
Final Thoughts
PnL is more than just a number, it’s a reflection of your trading decisions, risk control, and overall strategy. Whether you calculate it in price or percentage terms, understanding your PnL is essential for making informed decisions and improving performance.
For prop firm traders, tracking both realized and unrealized PnL, staying within drawdown limits, and analyzing trade value through tools like PnL explained reports can determine whether you pass or fail an evaluation. These tools make calculating PnL explained clearly and transparently, helping you break down profits, losses, and execution quality in detail.
By consistently reviewing your PnL and adjusting your approach, you gain the insights needed to refine your trading strategy and grow with confidence in any market environment.
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- Real-time dashboards
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