Staking calculator — APY, compounding & real yield
Model staking rewards with both simple and compound interest. The calculator also lets you apply an annual inflation rate on the token supply to show real yield net of dilution — which is usually very different from the headline APY.
Headline APY vs real yield
A staking APY of 5% sounds good — but if the underlying token also inflates at 5% per year (new issuance to all validators), your share of total supply is unchanged. You earn more tokens, but each token represents a smaller slice of the network. Real yield is the APY minus the inflation rate; it reflects the actual change in ownership.
Stablecoins and deflationary tokens have no inflation, so APY = real yield. Proof-of-stake L1s usually have meaningful inflation — check the project's tokenomics before assuming a headline APY is your actual return.
Compounding frequencies
Most chains auto-compound staking rewards into your validator balance. Native compounding (most PoS L1s) is effectively continuous. Liquid-staking derivatives compound at the tick of the underlying redemption curve — also functionally continuous. Manual claim-and-restake cycles on third-party platforms are the cases where frequency matters.
The difference between daily and continuous compounding on an APY of 5% over a year is about 0.003 percentage points — negligible. Don't pay fees to claim more often than monthly unless you have hard operational reasons.
What this calculator does not model
- Validator slashing — most chains slash 1-5% of stake for double-signing or downtime. Not included.
- Gas/transaction costs for claiming or restaking.
- Platform cut on custodial staking (Coinbase, Kraken typically keep 25-40% of rewards).
- Unbonding periods — stake is usually locked for 7-28 days when you withdraw; opportunity cost not modelled.
- Token price volatility during the horizon.
- Tax treatment — staking income is taxable in most jurisdictions.