Trading Metrics That Actually Matter
Understand the key metrics that separate profitable traders from the rest
Buy Now - ₹6,599 for Lifetime Buy Now - $159 for Lifetime7-day money-back guarantee
Average Profit Per Trade
A good average profit per trade is at least 2-3x your total costs (commissions + slippage) per trade. For active traders, $50-$150 per trade after costs indicates a healthy edge.
Learn more PerformanceAverage Winner Size
A good average winner size is at least 1.5× your average loser. Consistently profitable traders typically achieve a 1.5:1 to 2.5:1 winner-to-loser ratio, making the metric meaningful only when.
Learn more PerformanceBreak-Even Win Rate
Your break-even win rate depends on your risk-reward ratio. At 1:1 R:R you need 50%, at 1:2 you need 33.3%, and at 1:3 you need 25%. Profitable traders maintain a win rate above their break-even.
Learn more PerformanceCompound Annual Growth Rate
A good CAGR for active traders is 15-25% annually, outperforming the S&P 500 long-term average of roughly 10%. Elite traders may sustain 30%+ CAGR, but anything above 50% is difficult to maintain.
Learn more PerformanceEdge Ratio
An edge ratio above 1.0 confirms a structural edge — trades move further in your favor on average than against you. Above 1.5 is considered tradeable by most prop firm standards; above 2.0 is strong.
Learn more PerformanceTrading Expectancy
Expectancy is the average dollar amount you expect to make per trade. A positive expectancy means the strategy has an edge; negative means it loses money.
Learn more PerformanceGross vs Net Profit
A healthy trading strategy keeps net profit above 70% of gross profit. If costs consume more than 30% of gross gains, your strategy may not be viable long-term.
Learn more PerformanceMaximum Run-Up
A healthy capture rate is 55–70% of Maximum Run-Up. If you consistently capture under 40%, your trailing stops are too tight relative to the instrument's ATR, costing you on every winner.
Learn more PerformanceNet Expectancy Per Trade
A net expectancy above 1.5× your average cost per trade is the minimum viable threshold. Below zero means the strategy is losing money regardless of win rate. Track monthly over rolling 3-month.
Learn more PerformanceNet Profit Margin per Trade
A good net profit margin per trade is above 0.5% of position value for day trades and above 1.0% for swing trades, after all commissions, fees, slippage, and financing costs are deducted.
Learn more PerformancePayoff Ratio
Payoff ratio is your average winning trade divided by your average losing trade. A ratio above 1.5 is good; above 2.0 is excellent. It must be paired with win rate.
Learn more PerformanceProfit Factor
Profit factor is gross profits divided by gross losses. Above 1.0 means profitable; above 1.5 is good; above 2.0 is excellent. Below 1.0 means losing money.
Learn more PerformanceProfit Per Day
A good Profit Per Day depends on account size and goals. Day traders targeting $50,000/year need roughly $200 PPD across 250 trading days. Always report PPD alongside daily P&L standard deviation.
Learn more PerformanceReturn on Investment
A good trading ROI depends on timeframe. Annualized, 15-30% is strong for active traders. Above 30% is exceptional but hard to sustain, while below 5% underperforms passive index investing.
Learn more PerformanceReturn on Risk
A good Return on Risk is 30% or higher per period, meaning you generate at least $0.30 of net profit for every $1.00 of total capital risked across your trades.
Learn more PerformanceSystem Quality Number (SQN)
A good SQN is 2.5 or above over at least 100 trades. Scores of 3.0–5.0 are excellent. Anything below 2.0 on 100+ live trades signals the edge is too thin to trade with confidence.
Learn more PerformanceVolatility-Adjusted Returns
A good volatility-adjusted return score depends on the method, but using Sharpe Ratio as the standard, above 1.0 is acceptable and above 2.0 is excellent for most trading strategies.
Learn more PerformanceWin/Loss Ratio
A good win/loss ratio is above 2.0, meaning you have twice as many winning trades as losing ones — but it must be evaluated alongside your payoff ratio to gauge true profitability.
Learn more PerformanceWin Rate
Win rate is the percentage of trades closed at a profit. A good win rate depends on your risk-reward ratio — 40-50% is strong with 2:1 R:R or better.
Learn moreAverage Losing Trade
A good average losing trade is smaller than your average winning trade. Most profitable traders keep their average loss below 1R, meaning each loss stays within their predefined risk per trade.
Learn more RiskCalmar Ratio
A good Calmar Ratio is above 3.0, meaning annualized returns are at least three times the maximum drawdown. Most retail traders fall between 0.5 and 1.5, while ratios below 0.5 suggest returns.
Learn more RiskDrawdown Duration
A good maximum drawdown duration is under 30 trading days. Consistently recovering within 10-20 days signals strong risk management and psychological resilience.
Learn more RiskKelly Criterion
Most traders should use fractional Kelly (25-50% of the full Kelly percentage). Full Kelly maximizes long-term growth but causes severe drawdowns, so half-Kelly is the practical standard.
Learn more RiskLongest Drawdown Period
A good longest drawdown period is under 3 months for active traders. Swing traders should target under 6 months; trend-following strategies under 18 months. Any duration requires capital committed.
Learn more RiskMAR Ratio
A MAR ratio above 1.0 is institutional-grade. Most retail systematic traders land between 0.5 and 1.0. Below 0.5 signals the strategy destroys capital faster than it recovers it.
Learn more RiskMaximum Drawdown
Maximum drawdown is the largest percentage drop from a peak to a trough in your account. Keeping it below 20% is critical for capital preservation.
Learn more RiskPortfolio Heat
Keep total portfolio heat below 6-10% of account equity. For a $50,000 account, that means no more than $3,000–$5,000 at risk across all open trades at any one time.
Learn more RiskRisk-Adjusted Return
A good risk-adjusted return means your ratio scores (Sharpe > 1.0, Sortino > 1.5, Calmar > 3.0) consistently show profits that more than compensate for the volatility and drawdowns you endure.
Learn more RiskRisk of Ruin Probability
Target below 1%. A 50% win rate with 1.1:1 payoff risking 1% per trade yields 0.005% ruin probability. The same edge at 5% risk jumps to 13.6% — a 2,700× increase from position size alone.
Learn more RiskRisk of Ruin
Risk of ruin should be below 1% to ensure long-term survival.
Learn more RiskRisk Per Trade
A good risk per trade is 1-2% of account equity. Risking more than 2% per trade significantly increases the probability of large drawdowns and account ruin.
Learn more RiskRisk-Reward Ratio
A good risk-reward ratio is 1:2 or higher, meaning your potential profit is at least twice your potential loss on each trade, allowing profitability even with a win rate below 50%.
Learn more RiskReturn Skewness
A skewness coefficient between -0.5 and +0.5 is roughly symmetric. Below -0.5 warrants scrutiny; below -1.0 indicates dangerous tail risk. Positively skewed systems (above +1.0) have bounded.
Learn more RiskTreynor Ratio
A good Treynor ratio exceeds the market benchmark of roughly 0.05–0.07. A Treynor above 0.10 indicates strong risk-adjusted performance relative to systematic market exposure.
Learn more RiskUlcer Index
A good Ulcer Index is below 5, indicating shallow, short-lived drawdowns. Values above 10 suggest deep or prolonged equity declines requiring strategy review.
Learn more RiskValue at Risk
A good daily VaR at 95% confidence should be 1-2% of account equity, meaning on 19 out of 20 days your losses should not exceed that threshold.
Learn moreDaily P&L Volatility
A good daily P&L volatility shows a Coefficient of Variation (CV) below 1.0, meaning your standard deviation of daily P&L is smaller than your average daily profit.
Learn more ConsistencyDay of Week Performance
A strong day-of-week pattern shows at least one weekday with positive expectancy above $100 per trade and 55%+ win rate across 60+ trades — use that data to size up on strong days and cut size on.
Learn more ConsistencyEquity Curve Analysis
Equity curve analysis is the visual tracking of account equity over time. A smooth upward curve signals a consistent edge; jagged or flat curves signal problems.
Learn more ConsistencyMonthly Return Consistency Score
A good consistency ratio is above 1.5, with 65%+ profitable months for day traders, 60%+ for swing traders, and monthly return standard deviation under 6% for retail-pro level performance.
Learn more ConsistencyPercent Profitable Days
Strong active day traders achieve 55-65% profitable days. Below 50% over a rolling 20-day window signals a consistency problem — regardless of overall P&L — and is a common prop firm evaluation.
Learn more ConsistencyTrade Accuracy by Setup Type
A good per-setup result is positive expectancy after 50+ trades — (win% × avg winner) − (loss% × avg loser) above zero. Cut any setup showing negative expectancy; it erodes profits regardless of.
Learn more ConsistencyWin/Loss Streak Analysis
A losing streak is statistically normal until it exceeds log(N)/log(1/(1-p)) trades. Beyond that threshold, run the Wald-Wolfowitz test — if |Z| exceeds 1.96, your outcomes are clustering.
Learn moreAverage Bars in Trade
A good ABIT aligns with your strategy's intended timeframe — scalpers target 2-4 bars on 5-min charts; momentum day traders 8-20 bars. More critically, winning trades should average equal or more.
Learn more ExecutionHold Time Ratio (Winners vs Losers)
A healthy hold time ratio is above 2.0 for trend-following strategies and 1.0–1.5 for mean-reversion. Any ratio below 1.0 means you are holding losers longer than winners — the disposition effect.
Learn more ExecutionAverage Risk-Reward Ratio
Average R:R is the mean ratio of average win size to average loss size across all trades. An average R:R above 1.5:1 supports profitability at moderate win rates.
Learn more ExecutionAverage Trade Duration
A healthy duration ratio (avg loser duration / avg winner duration) is below 1.0, meaning winners are held at least as long as losers. A ratio above 1.5 signals problematic hope-trading behavior.
Learn more ExecutionAverage Win vs Average Loss
Average win vs loss ratio should be tracked alongside win rate for full picture.
Learn more ExecutionCost Per Trade
A sustainable cost per trade keeps total friction below 20% of your average gross gain. Active traders should target under $0.01/share all-in; scalpers need friction below $0.02/share or the edge.
Learn more ExecutionMarket Exposure Time
Good exposure time depends on style: scalpers target 60-80%, intraday traders 15-35%, swing traders 10-20%. Pair it with P&L per exposure minute to measure edge density regardless of session length.
Learn more ExecutionMaximum Adverse Excursion
A good MAE threshold is the highest unrealized loss your winning trades typically reach — any trade exceeding that level has historically low recovery odds and should be cut.
Learn more ExecutionMaximum Favorable Excursion (MFE)
A healthy MFE profit efficiency ratio is above 0.5, meaning you capture more than 50% of the peak unrealized profit. Ratios below 0.5 indicate a structural exit problem worth addressing before.
Learn more ExecutionPlanned vs Actual Risk Taken Per Trade
A good Risk Deviation Ratio is 0.9–1.1x, meaning your actual exit risk is within 10% of your planned stop loss. Ratios above 1.2x indicate chronic stop-widening; below 0.8x suggests panic exits.
Learn more ExecutionRealized vs Planned R:R Ratio
A good realized-to-planned R:R ratio is 0.8 or above, meaning you capture at least 80% of your planned risk-reward on average. Below 0.6 signals serious execution issues.
Learn more ExecutionSetup Accuracy
Setup accuracy measures how often your identified setups play out as expected.
Learn more ExecutionSlippage Analysis
Good slippage is under $0.02/share on liquid stocks or 0.25 ticks average on ES futures. Total annual slippage drag should stay below 2% of account value; anything above 5% signals an order-type.
Learn more ExecutionTime in Market
A good time-in-market percentage depends on strategy type: day traders target 15-40%, swing traders 60-85%, and position traders 80-100%. Higher is not better — optimize for return per unit of.
Learn more ExecutionTrade Efficiency Ratio
A good Trade Efficiency Ratio is 40% or above. Most discretionary day traders average 20–40%. Above 60% indicates elite or scalping-style execution. Below 20% signals chronic entry timing or exit.
Learn moreTrack Every Metric Automatically
JournalPlus calculates all your trading metrics in real time. Stop guessing and start measuring.
Buy Now - ₹6,599 for Lifetime Buy Now - $159 for Lifetime7-day money-back guarantee