Staking Rewards Calculator
Calculate staking rewards for a proof-of-stake cryptocurrency given the amount staked, annual yield (APY), and staking duration in days. Use it to project income from staking ETH, SOL, ADA, ATOM, DOT, or any PoS asset, and compare yields across protocols.
Last updated: May 2026
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About this calculator
The formula is: staking rewards = staking amount × (annual yield / 100) × (staking period in days / 365). The result is in the same units as the staked amount (typically the staked coin). For Ethereum staking at 4% APY, staking 32 ETH for 365 days = 32 × 0.04 × 1.0 = 1.28 ETH in rewards. The formula assumes simple (not compound) interest applied pro-rata over the staking period; real staking protocols typically compound rewards continuously or daily, so actual returns are slightly higher than this simple-interest formula suggests at long durations (the difference is small at typical APYs and short periods). Edge cases: zero amount or zero yield produces zero rewards. The formula doesn't handle: protocol slashing risk (validators can lose 1-100% of stake for misbehavior or downtime, depending on protocol — Ethereum slashes about 1 ETH for typical infractions, more for serious offenses), unstaking periods (cool-down or "unbonding" delays before staked coins are accessible — Ethereum has ~few days; Cosmos 21 days; Polkadot 28 days), validator commission (validators take 5-20% of rewards as fees), exchange staking fees (Coinbase keeps 25% of rewards; Kraken 15%; direct staking via your own validator: 0%), or token price volatility (rewards earned in the native token can lose value if the token price declines). Major PoS yields as of 2024-2025: Ethereum ~3-5% APY, Solana ~6-8%, Cardano ~3-4%, Polkadot ~12-15% (with inflation), Cosmos ~15-20% (with high inflation), Avalanche ~8-9%. High yields often signal high token inflation; real yield (yield minus inflation) is more meaningful for purchasing-power growth.
How to use
Example 1 — Ethereum staking. You stake 5 ETH at 4% APY for one full year. Enter 5 for Staking Amount, 4 for Annual Yield, 365 for Staking Period. Result: 0.2 ETH rewards. Verify: 5 × 0.04 × (365/365) = 0.2 ETH. ✓ At an ETH price of $3,200, that's $640 of rewards before factoring in: validator commission if delegating (5-10% of rewards), exchange fees if staking via centralized service (Coinbase 25%, Kraken 15%), or potential MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) bonus rewards earned by some validators (typically adds 0.5-2% APY). Example 2 — Short-term Solana staking. You stake 100 SOL at 7% APY for 90 days. Enter 100, 7, 90. Result: 1.726 SOL. Verify: 100 × 0.07 × (90/365) = 100 × 0.07 × 0.2466 ≈ 1.726 SOL. ✓ At SOL $180, rewards ≈ $311. Note: Solana has very fast unstaking (~2-3 day cooldown vs Cosmos's 21 days), making it more liquid than many other PoS chains. Solana validator commissions average 5-7%, slightly higher than Ethereum but lower than Polkadot.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between APR and APY in staking?
APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is simple interest — staking rewards do not compound. APY (Annual Percentage Yield) is compound interest — rewards are automatically restaked, earning additional rewards. The difference depends on compounding frequency: at 5% APR with daily compounding, APY is 5.127%; at 10% APR daily compounding, APY is 10.52%. Most native PoS staking is effectively daily-compounding (rewards are calculated and added each epoch, which is hours to a day on most chains), so the "rewards" you see quoted on protocol dashboards are typically APY. Exchanges sometimes quote APR (simple interest) for their staking products, making them look slightly less attractive than they actually are. For this calculator, the formula uses simple interest (APR-style), so very long staking periods understate true APY-compounded returns slightly. The difference is minor at typical 4-8% rates but meaningful at high-yield chains (Cosmos at 20%+ APR = 22%+ APY).
What is slashing and how risky is it?
Slashing is a protocol-enforced penalty where a validator loses a portion of their staked tokens for misbehavior — typically double-signing (signing two conflicting blocks) or extended downtime. The slashing rate varies by protocol: Ethereum slashes approximately 1 ETH for typical infractions (out of 32 ETH stake), more for serious offenses; Polkadot can slash 0.1-100% depending on offense severity; Solana slashes less aggressively. For delegators (people staking through validators rather than running their own), slashing risk applies if your chosen validator gets slashed — your stake is at risk along with the validator's. To minimize slashing risk: choose well-established validators with strong uptime history, diversify across multiple validators, monitor your validator's performance metrics. For Ethereum-style staking through exchanges or liquid-staking protocols (Lido, Rocket Pool), slashing risk is pooled and individual exposure is small (Lido socializes any slashing across all stakers). Most users will never experience slashing if they use reputable validators or established staking products.
Should I stake directly or through an exchange?
Direct staking (running your own validator or delegating to a chosen validator) keeps the full reward minus validator commission (typically 5-10%) and gives you full control of your private keys. Drawbacks: requires technical setup, manages slashing risk yourself, illiquid during unstaking periods. Exchange staking (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance) is one-click simple but takes a large cut (Coinbase 25%, Kraken 15%, Binance ~10%). Liquid staking protocols (Lido for ETH, Marinade for SOL) issue a liquid token (stETH, mSOL) representing your stake plus accruing rewards; you can trade or use the liquid token in DeFi while still earning staking rewards. Lido takes 10% of rewards. Trade-offs: direct staking maximizes yield but requires effort; exchange staking minimizes effort but takes large fees; liquid staking balances both with composability benefits but adds smart-contract risk. For most users, liquid staking via Lido or Marinade is the best balance for ETH and SOL respectively.
What are the most common mistakes people make with staking?
The biggest is ignoring token inflation when calculating "real yield" — many high-APY chains have correspondingly high inflation, so the staking yield mostly preserves purchasing power rather than growing wealth. ETH has roughly 0% inflation when staking exists; SOL has ~5-7%; ATOM has 7-10%; DOT has 7-10%. Real yield = staking APY − inflation. The second is staking before checking unstaking periods (Cosmos 21 days, Polkadot 28 days), then needing the tokens urgently. The third is choosing high-commission validators without checking; commission varies 5-20% and directly cuts into your rewards. The fourth is staking on small or untested protocols that may collapse, taking your stake with them (this happened to Terra/Luna in 2022; numerous smaller PoS chains have had bugs). The fifth is treating exchange staking as "yield" without recognizing the 15-25% fee cut. The sixth is forgetting that staking rewards are taxable as ordinary income at fair market value when received (per IRS guidance), not as capital gains. The seventh is ignoring slashing risk when choosing validators based on apparent yield alone.
When should I not use this calculator?
Skip it for PoW (proof-of-work) coins like Bitcoin and Litecoin, which don't use staking; use a mining-profitability calculator instead. It is the wrong tool for DeFi yield-farming or liquidity-pool yields, which involve impermanent loss and very different risk dynamics; use a DeFi-specific calculator that models LP positions. Do not use it for "rebase" tokens (OHM, ELYSIUM, BITUSD variants) where the displayed token amount changes daily based on protocol rebases; staking math for those is different. It also doesn't handle MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) rewards earned by some ETH validators (0.5-2% additional APY), validator commission deductions, or unstaking-period opportunity cost. For tax planning, treat the calculator output as gross taxable income; actual after-tax yield is meaningfully lower. For multi-year projections, ignore the simple formula and model compounding with declining APY over time as more tokens get staked and protocol yields fall.