Real Staking Yield Calculator: APY Minus Inflation

Real Staking Yield Calculator

A staking reward of 7% sounds like income, but most of it is newly issued tokens. If the total supply grows 5% a year, part of your reward only keeps your share of the network from shrinking. This calculator removes the validator commission from the advertised rate, divides by supply growth and shows your real yield, what a holder who does not stake loses to dilution, and how your share of supply changes year by year.

Year	Tokens	Change in your share of supply
1	1,063	1.24%
2	1,129.97	2.49%
3	1,201.16	3.76%
4	1,276.83	5.05%
5	1,357.27	6.35%

Year

Tokens

Change in your share of supply

1,063

1.24%

1,129.97

2.49%

1,201.16

3.76%

1,276.83

5.05%

1,357.27

6.35%

Why nominal APY overstates the return

Proof-of-stake networks pay stakers mostly from issuance. New tokens go to stakers, so the supply grows and the value of each existing token is spread thinner. Measured in tokens, you earn the APY; measured as a share of the network, you earn the difference between your rate and supply growth. A non-staker's share shrinks by the inflation rate every year.

The real yield is therefore not APY minus inflation but a ratio: (1 + net APY) / (1 + inflation) − 1. At 9% net APY and 5% inflation it is 3.81%, not 4%.

net APY     = APY × (1 − commission)
real yield  = (1 + net APY) / (1 + inflation) − 1
non-staker  = 1 / (1 + inflation) − 1

Where to get honest inputs

Use the network's own issuance figure for inflation: the chain's documentation, its staking dashboard or an explorer that shows total supply over time. Marketing pages often quote a gross APY before commission or a rate that assumes every reward is restaked immediately.

Commission is set by each validator (and by an exchange or liquid-staking app on top). A 10% commission on a 7% reward leaves 6.3%. Also check the lock: some networks keep unstaked coins frozen for weeks, which is a cost if the price moves — see the unbonding period lookup.

What the calculator does not include

Price changes: real yield here is a share of the network, not a return in dollars.
Fee income and burns: some networks burn fees or pay stakers part of transaction fees, which changes net inflation. Enter net supply growth if you know it.
Slashing, downtime and taxes on rewards. In many countries staking rewards are taxed as income when received.

Frequently asked questions

+What is real staking yield?

The growth of your share of the token supply: (1 + your net APY) / (1 + supply inflation) − 1. It strips out the part of the reward that only offsets dilution.

+Does not staking cost me money?

In tokens no, but your share of the network shrinks by the inflation rate each year. With 5% inflation an unstaked holder's share falls about 4.8% a year.

+Is a higher APY always better?

No. A 20% APY on a chain with 18% inflation leaves less real yield than 5% on a chain with 1% inflation.

+Where do I find a token's inflation rate?

From the network's documentation or staking dashboard, or by comparing total supply in an explorer a year apart.

Calculations run entirely in your browser; nothing you type is sent to KOT.CASH. Results are estimates for information only and are not financial, tax or legal advice.