Break-even is above your entry, always
You pay a fee going in and another coming out, so selling at exactly what you paid loses money. The exit that gets you level is entry × (1 + fee) ÷ (1 − fee) — note the division, because the sell-side fee is charged on the exit value rather than the entry. At 0.1% per side that is about 0.2% above your entry; at 0.5% it is more than 1%.
The asymmetry that catches people out
A loss and the recovery from it are not the same size. Down 20% needs +25% to get back. Down 50% needs +100%. Down 80% needs +400%. The optional field shows this because it is the single most useful number for deciding whether to hold a losing position: not "how far has it fallen" but "what does it now have to do".
Questions people ask
Does this cover leveraged positions?
Not directly. Leverage multiplies the move, and funding on a perpetual adds a cost that grows the longer you hold, so break-even drifts upward every funding interval. This calculator is for spot. Treat its answer as the floor for a leveraged position, never the target.
What about the spread?
Not included, and on thin pairs it can cost more than the fee. If you regularly cross a wide spread, add roughly half of it to your fee percentage to get a realistic figure.
Why is my exchange's number slightly different?
Most exchanges quote break-even on the entry fee only, ignoring the fee you have not paid yet. That understates it. The number here assumes you will actually close the position, which you will.