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Average Down Calculator: Average Entry, Break-Even and Liquidation Price

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Enter each buy as price × size to get your new average entry, the break-even price after fees and the size you need to reach a target average, for stocks, spot crypto or leveraged perps. Example: 0.1 BTC at $100,000 plus 0.1 BTC at $92,000 averages $96,000.00. On a Hyperliquid perp backed by $5,000 of cross collateral, that second buy also moves the liquidation price from $50,632.91 to $71,898.73, which an ordinary average calculator never shows.

By · Published · margin, liquidation and fee rules checked against the Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster and edgeX docs on October 1, 2026 · How we verify

Position type
Your fills, oldest first (price × size)
Side

Your cross account balance before unrealized PnL.

Target average (solver)

Your position after averaging

New average entry price

$96,000.00

0.2 in total · $19,200.00 filled (fees $8.64)

Break-even price incl. fees

$96,086.44

Needs a 4.44% rise from $92,000.00

Liquidation price now

$71,898.73

Before the last fill: $50,632.91 (44.96% below the price). Now 21.85% below the price: ▲ closer

Margin backing the position

$5,000.00

Cross, nothing added · effective leverage 4.4x

Unrealized P/L now

–

Total cost incl. fees

–

Size to reach the target average

0.2

Buy 0.2 at $92,000.00 ($18,400.00) to average $94,000.00 (example: halfway); liquidation then $82,531.65

With code HOLYGRAIL the fees on these fills would be $8.29 instead of $8.64, and the break-even $96,082.98 instead of $96,086.44.

Join Hyperliquid with HOLYGRAIL →

Trade it where the liquidation price is always on screen: Hyperliquid (code HOLYGRAIL) →

Average $96,000.00, break-even $96,086.44, liquidation $71,898.73.

No margin was added, so the same $5,000.00 of collateral now backs 0.2 and the liquidation price moved from $50,632.91 to $71,898.73: 21.85% from the current price instead of 44.96%. Averaging down a leveraged position without adding margin always moves liquidation closer in percentage terms.

Add to a position with the liquidation price in view

Hyperliquid shows the liquidation price on every position and uses cross margin by default. Code HOLYGRAIL takes 4% off your fees on your first $25M of volume (0.0432% taker at tier 0); the code can only be added before an account passes $10,000 of volume, so join through the link first.

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Disclosure: we earn a commission when you sign up through our links; it never raises your fees.

Buying crypto spot on-chain? Compare the venues first: best DEXs compared. Trading the same coin with leverage? Hyperliquid (code HOLYGRAIL), and switch this calculator to Perp to see your liquidation price.

FillPrice × sizePosition afterAverage entryBreak-evenLiquidation priceFill → liquidation
#1$100,000.00 × 0.10.1$100,000.00$100,090.04$50,632.9149.37%
#2$92,000.00 × 0.10.2$96,000.00$96,086.44$71,898.7321.85%

Fee used: 0.045% of each fill (Hyperliquid BTC, taker); the break-even assumes the same rate on the exit.

Liquidation prices use the venue’s maintenance margin for the position size and ignore fees and funding taken from the margin; venues trigger liquidation on the mark (edgeX: oracle) price, not the last trade.

1. How the average down calculator works

Averaging down means buying more of something after its price has fallen, so that your average entry price drops. The new average is a size-weighted average: a big buy moves it more than a small one. With equal quantities it is just the mean of the prices: 10 units at $100, $80 and $60 average $80.00. Shorts work in mirror image: adding to a short at higher prices averages the entry up.

Average entry = Σ(price × quantity) ÷ Σ quantity
Fees paid = Σ(price × quantity) × fee rate
Break-even (long) = (Σ price × quantity + fees) ÷ (quantity × (1 − exit fee rate))
Size to reach a target average Y at price X = quantity × (average − Y) ÷ (Y − X)
Liquidation (long) = (quantity × average − margin − deduction) ÷ (quantity × (1 − maintenance rate))

quantity
coins, shares or contracts held after the fill
margin
isolated: Σ price × quantity ÷ leverage; cross: the collateral backing the position
maintenance rate
the venue’s maintenance margin for the size (Hyperliquid: half the initial margin at max leverage)
deduction
the tier deduction that keeps maintenance margin continuous (0 in the first tier)

The calculator applies the same steps to every row, oldest first, and shows them in the table: the position size, the average entry and the break-even after each fill, plus (for perps) the liquidation price and how far it sits from that fill’s price. The fee rate is taken from the venue’s official fee schedule in our facts registry, or from the custom percentage you enter, and charged on the notional (price × quantity) of each fill. The break-even assumes you also pay that rate on the way out.

Related:Crypto Risk Management for Perp Traders: Rules & Checklist

2. Worked examples

Spot: two equal buys, with fees

You buy 0.1 BTC at $100,000 and another 0.1 BTC at $92,000 on Hyperliquid spot with market orders (0.07% taker at the base tier). You hold 0.2 BTC at an average of $96,000.00. The fees on both buys come to $13.44, so with the same fee on the sale the break-even is $96,134.49: a 4.49% rise from $92,000. Without the second buy you would need 8.7% just to get back to $100,000.

Perp, cross margin, no new margin (the default above)

Same two fills, but as a Hyperliquid BTC perp in a cross account holding $5,000 (cross margin is Hyperliquid’s default mode). After the first fill the account backs 0.1 BTC, and the liquidation price is $50,632.91, 44.96% below $92,000. After the second fill the same $5,000 backs 0.2 BTC: liquidation rises to $71,898.73, only 21.85% below the price, and the effective leverage is 4.4x. The leverage setting does not change this: at 5x instead of 10x the liquidation price is still $71,898.73, because Hyperliquid’s docs say the cross liquidation price is independent of the leverage setting (it depends on the account value). Leverage only decides whether the add is allowed: the position after the fill needs size × price ÷ leverage of margin. At 3x the second fill needs $6,133.33 against an account value of $4,200.00, so you would have to deposit about $1,933.33 first. With that deposit the liquidation price is $62,109.70; Hyperliquid’s own estimate makes the same assumption: when there is not enough margin for a trade, its liquidation price estimate assumes the account is topped up to the initial margin requirement.

Perp, isolated margin added at 10x

Now each fill posts its own margin: $10,000 ÷ 10 + $9,200 ÷ 10 = $1,920.00. Liquidation moves from $91,139.24 to $87,493.67 (4.9% below $92,000), so the added margin pushed it lower. But a fresh 10x long of 0.2 BTC opened at $92,000 would be liquidated at $83,848.10, 8.86% away. The averaged position is closer to liquidation because it carries the $800.00 loss of the first fill.

Solver: how much to buy to reach a target average

Holding 0.2 BTC at $96,000.00, you want an average of $95,000 and can buy at $92,000. The solver gives q = 0.2 × (96,000 − 95,000) ÷ (95,000 − 92,000) = 0.066667 BTC ($6,133.33). On the cross example above, liquidation would then sit at $77,215.19. Leave the target blank and the calculator shows the halfway case, which always needs exactly as much again as you hold.

Short: averaging up

You short 2 ETH at $4,000 on Hyperliquid at 10x isolated and add 2 more at $4,300. The average entry is $4,150.00, the break-even after taker fees $4,146.27, and the liquidation price moves from $4,313.73 to $4,475.49, 4.08% above $4,300.

See the liquidation price before you add

Hyperliquid shows the liquidation price on every open position and the estimate on every order ticket. Join with HOLYGRAIL for 4% off your fees on your first $25M of volume.

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3. Why averaging down a perp moves your liquidation price

A perp is liquidated when the account value (collateral plus unrealized PnL) falls below the maintenance margin of the position. Averaging down changes two of those three inputs at once: it raises the size, which raises the maintenance margin, and it adds a fill whose loss starts at zero while the earlier fills are already under water.

  • Cross margin, no deposit: the collateral stays the same while the position grows, so liquidation always moves toward the price in percentage terms. This is the common case: Hyperliquid and edgeX both default to cross margin (on edgeX, isolated margin means a separate sub-account).
  • Isolated margin at the same leverage: every add brings margin, so the liquidation price follows the lower average, but the averaged position is still nearer liquidation than a fresh one at today’s price, as the isolated example shows.
  • Not enough free margin: on a cross account the position after each add needs size × price ÷ leverage of margin. On Lighter, a position cannot be increased while the account value is below the initial margin requirement. The calculator flags any fill that would need a deposit first and, like Hyperliquid’s estimate, shows the liquidation price after that deposit.
  • Fills beyond the old liquidation price: if a planned add sits below the liquidation price of the position before it, the position would be gone before that order fills. The calculator marks that fill with ⚠.

The way to keep a ladder of adds safe is to plan it before the first entry: put all the planned fills in the rows, check the liquidation price after the last one, and either add margin, lower the size or set a stop above that level. More on the two modes in cross vs isolated margin on Hyperliquid and on chain reactions in how to avoid a liquidation cascade.

4. Venue rules the calculator applies

MarketMax leverageMaintenance margin (first tiers)Liquidation checked againstTaker / maker fee
Hyperliquid BTC40x1.25% (40x) up to $150M, then 2.5% (20x) aboveMark price0.045% / 0.015%
Hyperliquid ETH25x2% (25x) up to $100M, then 3.333% (15x) aboveMark price0.045% / 0.015%
Hyperliquid SOL20x2.5% (20x) up to $70M, then 5% (10x) aboveMark price0.045% / 0.015%
Hyperliquid XRP20x2.5% (20x) up to $40M, then 5% (10x) aboveMark price0.045% / 0.015%
Hyperliquid HYPE10x5% (10x) up to $20M, then 10% (5x) aboveMark price0.045% / 0.015%
Lighter BTC50x1.2% (50x) at any sizeMark price0% / 0%
Lighter ETH50x1.2% (50x) at any sizeMark price0% / 0%
Lighter SOL25x2.4% (25x) at any sizeMark price0% / 0%
Lighter HYPE20x3% (20x) at any sizeMark price0% / 0%
Aster BTC200x0.25% (200x) up to $400, then 0.33% (150x) to $300,000Mark price0.04% / 0%
edgeX BTC100x0.5% (100x) up to $1M, then 0.67% (75x) to $3MOracle price0.045% / 0.04%

From our facts registry, each record re-read from the venue’s docs or public API (dates under Sources). Hyperliquid: maintenance margin = 50% of the initial margin at max leverage, with a tier deduction above the first tier. Lighter: maintenance fraction from the order-book API. Aster: Pro-mode BTC brackets with their maintenance amounts. edgeX: BTC risk tiers 1–8 (one maintenance rate per tier). Leverage is a whole number, capped at the tier maximum for the size the position reaches. Fees: Hyperliquid tier 0 (with the HOLYGRAIL discount while the referral box is ticked), Lighter Standard, Aster VIP 1 (Crypto General pairs), edgeX Regular.

On Aster, liquidation is triggered when margin (collateral + realized + unrealized PnL) below the maintenance margin, at the mark price. Lighter starts a partial liquidation below the maintenance requirement and lets its LLP take over below the close-out level, at 40% of the initial margin fraction; the calculator shows the maintenance level, where liquidation starts. For any other venue, choose “Custom maintenance margin” and enter its rate.

5. Limitations

  • An estimate, not financial advice. Real fills come with spread and slippage; the calculator uses the prices you enter.
  • Fees and funding are not deducted from the margin in the liquidation price; on a position held for days funding can move it.
  • Cross margin is modelled as one position backed by the collateral you enter; other positions in the same account change the real liquidation price.
  • Venues liquidate on the mark price (edgeX: the oracle price), which can differ from the last trade in fast markets.
  • Spot fees are charged on the notional in the quote currency; some venues take the buy fee in the coin you receive, which changes the quantity slightly.
  • The trading “average price” here is not the cost basis a tax authority may require.

Sources (official pages behind every rate and rule, with the date we last checked them)

FAQ

How do you calculate the average price when you average down?

Multiply each buy’s price by its quantity, add the results and divide by the total quantity. Two buys of 0.1 BTC at $100,000 and $92,000 cost $19,200 for 0.2 BTC, an average of $96,000.00. With equal quantities the average is simply the mean of the prices: 10 units at $100, $80 and $60 average $80.00. Fees do not change the average entry an exchange shows; they raise the break-even price instead.

How many shares or coins do I need to buy to average down to a target price?

Use q = Q × (A − Y) ÷ (Y − X), where Q is what you hold, A your current average, X the price you buy at and Y the target average. Holding 0.2 BTC at $96,000.00 and buying at $92,000, a $95,000 average needs 0.066667 BTC ($6,133.33). The target must lie between the buy price and the current average; the closer it is to the buy price, the faster the required size grows.

Does averaging down move the liquidation price?

Yes. On a leveraged position the liquidation price follows the average entry, the size and the margin. If you add size without adding margin (a cross-margin account with a fixed balance), liquidation moves toward the price: in the default example it rises from $50,632.91 to $71,898.73, from 44.96% to 21.85% below the $92,000 price. If each buy posts its own margin at the same leverage (isolated), liquidation follows the lower average, but it still sits closer than a fresh position opened at today’s price.

Is averaging down a good strategy?

It lowers the price you need to break even, but it also increases the size of a losing position, so the same further move costs more. On spot the risk is a larger loss; on perps it is liquidation, because added size uses up margin. Decide the maximum size and the stop level before the first buy, and check where liquidation lands after each planned add. This calculator is an estimate, not financial advice.

What is the difference between the average entry price and the break-even price?

The average entry price is the size-weighted average of your fills, which is what exchanges display. The break-even price also covers the fees: the entry fees already paid and the exit fee. For the spot example at Hyperliquid’s 0.07% spot taker rate, the average is $96,000.00 and the break-even is $96,134.49.

Can I use it for shorts?

Yes. Switch to Perp and Short: adding to a short at higher prices averages the entry UP, and the break-even and liquidation are computed for the short side. Shorting 2 ETH at $4,000 and 2 more at $4,300 on Hyperliquid at 10x isolated gives an average of $4,150.00 and a liquidation price of $4,475.49.

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Disclosure: HOLYGRAIL (Hyperliquid, edgeX), 718610TD (Lighter) and DTLpLc (Aster) are our referral codes; we earn a share of referred accounts’ fees at no extra cost to you. Margin and fee rules were read from official sources on the dates listed above and change; the calculator is an estimate, not financial advice.