Crypto arbitrage calculator: net spread after all costs
Enter the prices you see, the taker fees, the withdrawal fee, slippage and size, or three rates for a triangle, to see what is left after costs and the spread needed to break even. No live prices and no scanner. Free, no sign-up required.
How cross-venue arbitrage is calculated
A price gap between two venues only matters after the costs of closing it. The calculator buys on one venue, moves the asset and sells on the other:
Cost = quantity × buy price × (1 + slippage) × (1 + buy fee)
Proceeds = (quantity − withdrawal fee) × sell price × (1 − slippage) × (1 − sell fee)
Net result = proceeds − cost
Sell price needed to break even = cost ÷ ((quantity − withdrawal fee) × (1 − slippage) × (1 − sell fee))
The withdrawal fee is typed in units of the asset, since it is taken from the quantity moved. The gap needed to break even is that sell price against the buy price, in percent.
Worked example: a gap that does not cover its costs
Hypothetical example, the calculator's defaults: a quantity of 10, bought at 100.00 and sold at 100.30, with a 0.1% taker fee on each side, a withdrawal fee of 0.01 units and 5 basis points of slippage per side. No real market is described.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gap × quantity | 3.00 USD |
| Fees | −2.002 USD |
| Slippage | −1.001 USD |
| Withdrawal fee at the sell price | −1.003 USD |
| Net result on the prices you typed | −1.006 USD, shown as −1.01 USD |
The table keeps three decimals; the calculator rounds each line to two, so its lines can look a cent off the net result. That result is −0.1004% of the money in. The prices differ by 0.3%, and the gap needed to break even is 0.4009%, a sell price of 100.400851 USD. On these numbers, the visible gap loses money.
Triangular arbitrage formula
Triangular arbitrage goes through three markets and comes back to the starting currency, so the only question is whether the three rates and their fees multiply to more than 1.
Amount at the end = start × rate 1 × rate 2 × rate 3 × (1 − fee)³
Net result = amount at the end − start
Product needed to break even = 1 ÷ (1 − fee)³
Each rate is the units you receive per unit you spend on that leg. Where you sell the asset you hold, that is the bid. Where you buy with it, it is 1 ÷ the ask.
Hypothetical example, the defaults of this mode: start with 1,000 USD, with rates of 0.05 (USD to asset B), 20.2 (B to asset C) and 0.9915 (C back to USD) and a fee of 0.1% per leg.
After the fee on each leg: 1,000 becomes 49.95 of B, then 1,007.98101 of C, then 998.41 USD. The net result is −1.59 USD, or −0.1586% of the start. The product of the rates is 1.001415, while 1.003006 is needed to break even. Fees across the legs come to 3.00 USD at these rates.
Why the result is only a snapshot
The calculator treats every price as fixed at the moment you typed it, and real trades are not.
- Latency: the gap can close before your orders arrive.
- Transfer time: a withdrawal can take minutes or longer, and the sell price can move in that time. Holding balances on both venues avoids the transfer but ties up capital.
- Failed legs: if one leg fills and another does not, you are left holding a position you did not plan to hold.
- Price moves and depth: a typed price says nothing about how much is available at it. The slippage calculator walks a typed book.
Research finds that such gaps can persist for structural reasons, such as limits on moving capital, which is not the same as being able to collect them: see Makarov and Schoar under Sources, and Shleifer and Vishny on why specialized arbitrage has limits of its own. This page has no live prices, no scanner and no alerts, and a positive result here is not a signal. How these systems work and fail is in crypto arbitrage bot and arbitrage bot development. For fee rates, use the crypto trading fee calculator with your platform's own schedule; the grid bot calculator applies the same kind of fee check to a price range.
Arbitrage software sold with promised returns
Be wary of anyone selling arbitrage software or access with a promised return. The CFTC's customer advisory says scammers claim that bots and crypto-asset arbitrage algorithms can generate huge returns, and it calls claims of high or guaranteed returns red flags of fraud. A calculator can show you the costs. No software can promise what is left after them.
Whether you may trade on a platform at all depends on where you live and on the platform's terms. For readers in Turkey, Article 99/A of Capital Markets Law No. 6362 treats activity by foreign crypto-asset platforms directed at Turkish residents as unauthorized.
Which values to enter
- Prices: the prices you would actually trade at: the ask where you buy and the bid where you sell, not a last price.
- Taker fees: from each venue's own fee schedule. An arbitrage order usually takes liquidity, so the maker rate rarely applies.
- Withdrawal fee: in units of the asset, from the venue you withdraw from. Leave it empty if you hold balances on both sides.
- Slippage: your own figure per side, in basis points. 1 basis point is 0.01%.
- Triangular rates: units received per unit spent on each leg, in order, ending in the currency you started with.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate crypto arbitrage?
Take what you receive on the sell side after the sell fee, slippage and withdrawal fee, and subtract what you pay on the buy side including its fee and slippage. The remainder is the net result on the prices you typed.
How do you calculate triangular arbitrage profit?
Multiply the starting amount by the three rates and by (1 − fee) three times, then subtract the starting amount. With 1,000, rates of 0.05, 20.2 and 0.9915 and a 0.1% fee, the net result is −1.59, so that triangle does not cover its fees.
What is the triangular arbitrage formula?
The amount at the end is the start times rate 1 times rate 2 times rate 3 times (1 − fee) cubed. Before any other cost, the rates must multiply to more than 1 ÷ (1 − fee) cubed.
What spread do I need to break even?
The calculator works it out from your fees, slippage and withdrawal fee. In the default example the prices differ by 0.3%, and 0.4009% is needed.
Does a positive result mean there is an opportunity?
No. It is arithmetic on prices you typed, before latency, transfer time, failed legs and price moves. By the time orders arrive, the gap may be gone.
Does this page scan for arbitrage?
No. It has no live prices, no scanner and no alerts, and it connects to nothing. It only shows what is left after costs on numbers you enter.
Sources
- CFTC Release 8854-24 (January 25, 2024): customer advisory on AI trading bot and arbitrage claims (opens in a new tab)
- Makarov, Schoar: Trading and arbitrage in cryptocurrency markets (Journal of Financial Economics, 2020) (opens in a new tab)
- Shleifer, Vishny: The Limits of Arbitrage (NBER Working Paper 5167) (opens in a new tab)
- Capital Markets Law No. 6362, consolidated text, Article 99/A (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
This calculator is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. Results depend on the values you enter; fees, margin rules and tax rules differ by exchange and country and change over time, so check the official source and ask a licensed adviser about your own situation. Sources, checks and corrections: see the editorial policy.
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