Staking & yield
Calculating staking yield
A 5 percent APR means little until you know how much the network issues, what your operator withholds and how often rewards compound. This method reduces all of that to a single number.
Step 1: gross APR versus APY
APR is the annual return without reinvestment. APY assumes rewards are automatically reinvested. On networks that pay per epoch and compound automatically, APY is noticeably higher than APR.
Never compare one platform's APY with another's APR. Convert both to the same basis first.
Step 2: subtract commission and running costs
Validators typically take 5 to 15 percent of the reward. Liquid staking protocols often sit around 10 percent. Exchanges offering staking sometimes keep 25 percent or more without saying so prominently.
For solo staking, include your own costs: hardware or VPS, electricity, backups and maintenance time.
- Net APR = gross APR × (1 − commission)
- Solo staking: minus fixed annual cost divided by your stake
- Exit and swap costs count for liquid staking
Step 3: correct for network issuance
The real return is what you earn above the average holder. Real yield ≈ net APR − annual supply growth.
On Ethereum, burned transaction fees reduce net issuance, so the real yield is higher in busy periods than the nominal gap suggests.
Step 4: uptime, misses and tax
A validator attesting correctly 98 percent of the time earns roughly 98 percent of the maximum. Downtime is usually missed income rather than a penalty.
Finally, how your country taxes the reward decides whether you net out above or below a savings account. See the dedicated Belgium and Netherlands guide.
Staking yield calculator
See what staking nets you after commission, compounding and network inflation.
Inputs
Results
Net APR (after commission)
4.50 %
Net APY (compounded)
4.60 %
Real yield (after inflation)
2.55 %
Rewards year 1
46.025 coins
Average per day (year 1)
0.1261 coins
Ending balance
1,144.5273 coins
Value at flat price
€1,144.53
Growth of your stake
Risk
Staking is not a savings account. Slashing, validator downtime, unbonding periods, smart-contract bugs in liquid staking and price drops can all shrink your position. A high APR usually compensates high inflation or high risk. This is not investment advice.
Rounding and assumptions
We assume a constant APR, a flat price and equal periods; real networks vary daily. APY = (1 + net APR / n)^n − 1. Real yield is (1 + APY) / (1 + inflation) − 1. Figures are shown rounded to four decimals (coins) and two decimals (currency) while maths runs unrounded, so small differences with your wallet are normal. Taxes and transaction fees are excluded.
APY = (1 + APR/n)^n − 1
Frequently asked questions
Why does my APR fall when more people stake?
Most protocols spread a fixed or declining issuance across all stake. More coins staked means a smaller share each.
Does price appreciation count as yield?
No. Staking is measured in coins, not euros. Model price change separately, otherwise you confuse market risk with income.
Read next
What is staking?
Staking explained without marketing language: what you actually do, who pays you, why there is a yield and which returns are realistic.
Liquid staking explained
How liquid staking tokens work, why they sometimes trade below par and which risks you buy along with them.
Staking and tax
How staking rewards are treated for tax in Belgium and the Netherlands, which records to keep and where professional income begins.