Short answer: a prop firm payout calculator turns a few numbers into one. Take your net profit for the payout cycle, multiply it by your profit split, then subtract whatever a cap or a fee removes. On an 80 percent split, $1,750 of net profit pays $1,400. This guide gives you that formula, a worked table at 80 percent, three computed examples and the ways a payout cycle shifts the timing. There is no interactive widget on this page. The arithmetic fits on paper or in a spreadsheet.
What this tool does
A payout calculator answers one blunt question: how much of my trading profit reaches me? It does not judge your strategy. It does not model risk and volatility. It takes the result of one cycle and applies the firm's split rules to it, plainly and without ambiguity.
The reader I have in mind is a trader close to passing an evaluation who wants to know what a good cycle is worth in cash. It also suits anyone weighing firms on payout terms before paying for an account. If the word split is still new to you, read the guide on how a prop firm profit split works first.
The tool is deliberately narrow. It handles four jobs:
- It nets closed gains against closed losses to find the net profit for the cycle.
- It applies the profit split to that net figure.
- It trims the result when a cap sits on the withdrawal.
- It deducts any fixed fee taken before the money reaches you.
Everything else, from scaling plans to tax, sits outside it.
Inputs and output
You need five inputs. Most traders can pull them from the account dashboard in a minute.
| Input | What to enter | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Account size | The starting balance, for example $25,000 | Your account plan |
| Net profit | Closed gains minus closed losses in the cycle | The platform statement |
| Profit split | Your share as a decimal, 0.80 for 80 percent | The firm's terms |
| Payout cap | Any limit on profit or cash per withdrawal, or zero | The firm's terms |
| Fixed fee | Any processing charge per withdrawal, or zero | The firm or its payment provider |
The formula runs in three steps:
- Eligible profit = the smaller of net profit and the payout cap. With no cap, it is simply net profit.
- Gross payout = eligible profit × profit split.
- Net payout = gross payout minus any fixed fee.
As one line: net payout = min(net profit, cap) × split, minus fee.
The output is the cash that should land in your bank. A useful second output is return on capital: net payout divided by account size. It puts a $10,000 account and a $200,000 one on an equal footing, since the firm funds the capital and you supply the trades.
Two details trip people up. First, the split applies to net profit, not to winning trades alone. A $900 gain and a $300 loss give $600 of net profit, and the split works on $600. Second, many firms cap the profit before the split. If the terms cap the cash instead, swap steps one and two. At Pivex the split is 80 percent and the cycle is 14 days, or 7 days with an add-on.
Example use cases
A worked table at an 80 percent split
Take a $25,000 account on an 80 percent split, with no cap and no fee. Three profit levels show how the arithmetic scales.
| Net profit in the cycle | Your 80 percent share | Firm's 20 percent share | Return on the $25,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $900 | $720 | $180 | 2.9 percent |
| $1,750 | $1,400 | $350 | 5.6 percent |
| $3,100 | $2,480 | $620 | 9.9 percent |
The relationship is linear. Double the net profit and the payout doubles. Halve it and the payout halves. A generous split is less consequential on a modest cycle and more consequential on a large one. The guide to the highest profit split prop firms shows why a lavish percentage can still hide stingy terms elsewhere.
Example one: a plain cycle with no cap
A trader on a $10,000 account closes a 14-day cycle with $890 of gains and $270 of losses.
- Net profit: $890 minus $270 = $620
- Eligible profit: no cap, so $620
- Gross payout: $620 × 0.80 = $496
- Net payout: $496, with no fee, which is 4.96 percent of the account size
This is the tidy case. The netting was the only step that took any work.
Example two: a cap and a processing fee
Suppose a hypothetical firm caps the first withdrawal at $2,500 of profit, and its payment provider charges $25 per transfer. A trader on a $50,000 account posts $4,200 of net profit.
- Eligible profit: the smaller of $4,200 and $2,500, so $2,500
- Gross payout: $2,500 × 0.80 = $2,000
- Net payout: $2,000 minus $25 = $1,975
- Left on the account: $1,700, which rolls into the next cycle
The cap did not squander the $1,700. It delayed it. The fee is gone for good.
Example three: the same trades, two cycle lengths
A trader on a $100,000 account makes $1,200 in week one and loses $400 in week two. With no cap and no fee, the cycle length decides what gets paid and when.
- 7-day cycle: week one pays $1,200 × 0.80 = $960. Week two is a loss, so nothing is paid. Total: $960.
- 14-day cycle: net profit is $1,200 minus $400 = $800, and the payout is $800 × 0.80 = $640.
The weekly cycle paid $320 more and paid it sooner, because the first week's profit was locked in before the loss arrived. Reverse the order, loss first, and both cycles pay $640. A shorter cycle only wins when gains come before losses, and that is scarcely something you can plan.
There is a catch. After the $960 withdrawal the balance fell back to $100,000, so the $400 loss ate into the drawdown buffer rather than into profit. Frequent withdrawals keep that cushion thin.
Payout cycle and timing
A payout cycle is the window the firm uses to measure net profit. The cycle length changes the input before it changes the output. Three things shift with it:
- Netting window. A longer cycle nets more wins against more losses. A lopsided fortnight, strong then weak, pays less than two separate weeks would.
- Cash timing. A 14-day cycle allows roughly two payout requests a month. A 7-day cycle allows roughly four, often for an extra charge.
- Leeway. Each withdrawal removes profit from the account, so the total drawdown limit sits closer after every payout.
A sturdy habit is to withdraw a fixed share of each cycle's profit and leave the rest as slack.
Limitations
The calculator is a brisk tool, not a complete one. It leaves out several things that change your real result.
- Tax. Most countries treat a payout as income. The rate and the paperwork vary, so a licensed professional must confirm your case.
- The evaluation fee. The formula keeps the one-time fee separate from payouts. Where the firm refunds it, as Pivex states for its one-time fee, add it back when the refund lands.
- Rule breaches. Eligible profit assumes the account is still open. A breach of the daily loss limit or the total drawdown ends the account and the payout with it.
- Consistency rules. Many firms refuse a payout when a single trade makes up too large a share of the cycle's profit. The calculator cannot see trade sizes.
- Several accounts. Run it once per account and add the results. A loss on one account does not offset a gain on another.
None of these make the tool flimsy. They make it coarse. Use it for a crisp first estimate, then read the firm's terms for the rest.
A payout is income once it lands, and the fees that reduce it are worth tracking; the SEC day trading guidance singles out commissions and fees as the cost short-term traders most often underestimate. Tax treatment varies by country, so confirm with a licensed professional.
Next step: run the formula on your last cycle, or on a cycle you would be pleased with, and write the number down. Then check it against the terms of the firm you are considering. Pivex publishes an 80 percent split, a 14-day cycle with a 7-day option and a refundable one-time fee, so those inputs are quick to confirm.
Related guides: prop firm profit split explained and highest profit split prop firms
Before participating, review Pivex's current program rules and decide whether a simulated proprietary trading evaluation fits your experience and risk limits. Participation does not guarantee a reward, income, or any particular trading result.