An advertised yield is earned on what is left after you get in, and paid out before you get out. This calculator subtracts gas to deposit and withdraw, swap and bridge costs, and gas on every claim-and-restake, then tells you how many days it takes to come out ahead, the smallest position that pays, and how often compounding is worth it. Costs are in CAD, as your wallet quotes them.
How to use it
- Enter the Amount you start with, the Advertised APR and the Days you'll hold it. If you were quoted an APY, convert it first with the APR to APY calculator.
- Under “Getting in and out”, enter gas to deposit and to withdraw, the swap spread or slippage, and any bridge fee (percentage and flat).
- Tick “Pay the swap and bridge costs again on the way out” if you will convert back.
- Enter the Gas per claim-and-restake and choose how often you compound; “The best frequency for these costs” searches every frequency for the highest end value.
- Read the net result, the break-even holding period and the smallest position that pays, then check the grid of sizes and holding periods.
Fixed costs punish small positions
Two kinds of cost behave differently. Fixed costs, such as gas and a flat bridge fee, are the same whether you deposit $200 or $20,000, so they take a much bigger share of a small position. Percentage costs, such as a swap spread or a bridge percentage, take the same share at any size. Gas also changes minute to minute with network demand, so enter what your wallet quotes, not a typical figure.
That is why the tool reports a break-even holding period and a smallest position that pays: below either one, the yield never catches up with the costs.
Worked example: $2,000 at 8% for 180 days
The defaults put $2,000 into an 8% APR position for 180 days, with $4 of gas each way, a 0.3% swap cost paid on the way in and again on the way out, and $2 of gas per claim. Getting in costs $10.00 ($4 of gas plus 0.3% of $2,000), leaving $1,990 invested. Getting out costs $10.21. At these costs the most profitable choice is never to compound, and the position earns $78.51.
You keep $58.30, an effective 5.91% a year instead of 8%. You are ahead after 46 days, the smallest position that comes out ahead over 180 days is about $245, and the APR would have to fall to 2.04% before the trade stopped paying.
The preset “$500 at 8% on a busy mainnet” shows the other side: $12 of gas each way on $500 for 90 days. Costs of $26.99 are nearly three times the $9.60 of yield, so you end $17.39 behind. It would take 254 days to break even, or a position of about $1,777, or a 22.54% APR.
| Scenario | Total costs | Yield earned | Net | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defaults: $2,000, 8%, 180 days | $20.21 | $78.51 | +$58.30 | 46 days |
| $500 at 8% on a busy mainnet, 90 days | $26.99 | $9.60 | −$17.39 | 254 days |
| Bridge there and back: $3,000, 12%, 90 days | $52.25 | $88.00 | +$35.75 | 54 days |
When compounding pays
Each claim-and-restake adds the interest to your balance but costs gas. Compounding only helps when the extra interest earned on reinvested rewards is larger than the gas spent claiming them. In the defaults, compounding weekly would cut the result from $58.30 to $8.98, and daily would turn it into a loss of $306.19.
The preset “Should I compound daily?” puts $10,000 at 15% for a year with $3 per claim. Daily compounding spends $1,095 on 365 claims and keeps $364.32. Never compounding keeps $1,424.66. The most profitable frequency at these costs is 6 times a year, which keeps $1,501.88. Auto-compounding vaults do the claiming for you, but their fees are a cost of the same kind.
What is not in the model
The APR is constant for the whole period; real DeFi rates move daily. Rewards are assumed to be paid in the same asset at a stable value: if they are paid in a token that falls, or the deposit itself falls in CAD terms, the result can be much worse. Impermanent loss for pool positions is modelled separately in the liquidity pool simulator, and smart contract or platform failure is not modelled at all.
Each claim also creates records. Paying gas in a coin disposes of that coin, a small taxable event of its own; CRA lists using crypto to pay for goods or services as a disposition. Rewards are generally income when received. Frequent compounding means many small entries to track in the ACB calculator.
What this means for you
Add up every fixed cost before you move money: gas in and out, bridge fees both ways, and each compounding claim. If the break-even is longer than you plan to stay, the yield is a loss.
Compounding more often isn't always better. The tool finds the frequency that keeps the most after claim costs; on a busy network that can be a few times a year.
Definitions
- Gas
- The network fee for a transaction, paid in the network's token.
- Break-even period
- How long the yield takes to cover all the costs of entering and leaving.
- Round trip
- Paying the entry costs again on the way out, such as bridging back.