Crypto P&L Calculator for iPhone — Stop Using Spreadsheets

You bought Ethereum at $1,800, then again at $2,400, then sold some at $3,100. How much profit did you actually make? If you're doing this in a spreadsheet, you know how quickly the math gets messy. Here's a simpler way to calculate your crypto P&L on your iPhone — and why it matters.

What is crypto P&L?

P&L stands for Profit and Loss. It tells you how much money you've made or lost on your crypto investments. Simple in concept, but tricky in practice — because most people buy the same coin multiple times at different prices.

Realized vs unrealized P&L

There are two types of P&L, and they mean very different things:

• Unrealized P&L — The profit or loss on coins you still hold. If you bought Bitcoin at $30,000 and it's now worth $65,000, you have $35,000 in unrealized gains. But you haven't sold, so it's not "real" yet. The price could drop tomorrow.
• Realized P&L — The profit or loss on coins you've already sold. This is locked in. If you bought ETH at $2,000 and sold at $3,000, your realized profit is $1,000 (minus fees).

Both numbers matter. Unrealized P&L shows your current position. Realized P&L shows your actual results — and it's what you'll owe taxes on.

The pain of manual P&L calculation

Here's a common situation. You made 4 buys of the same coin over 6 months:

1. Bought 0.5 ETH at $1,800 = $900
2. Bought 0.3 ETH at $2,200 = $660
3. Bought 0.2 ETH at $2,600 = $520
4. Sold 0.4 ETH at $3,100 = $1,240

Now answer this: what was your profit on that sale? It depends on which coins you "sold" first. Did you sell from the $1,800 batch? The $2,200 batch? A mix? This is where cost basis comes in.

Cost basis explained (simply)

Cost basis is the average price you paid for a coin. There are different ways to calculate it:

• Average cost — Add up everything you spent, divide by total coins. This is the most common method for crypto and the one most apps use by default.
• FIFO (First In, First Out) — Assume you sell your oldest coins first. Often used for tax reporting.
• LIFO (Last In, First Out) — Assume you sell your newest coins first. Less common.

Using the example above with average cost: you bought 1.0 ETH total for $2,080 ($900 + $660 + $520). Your average cost per ETH is $2,080. When you sold 0.4 ETH at $3,100 each, your profit was (3,100 - 2,080) x 0.4 = $408.

Doing this math once is fine. Doing it across 10 coins with dozens of transactions? That's where spreadsheets break down.

How Coinlio calculates P&L for you

Coinlio handles all of this automatically. When you log a buy or sell transaction (or sync from an exchange), the app calculates:

• Average cost basis — Updated with every transaction.
• Unrealized P&L per coin — Based on current price vs your average cost.
• Realized P&L per coin — Based on your sell price vs your average cost at time of sale.
• Total portfolio P&L — All coins combined, so you see the big picture.
• Allocation breakdown — What percentage of your portfolio is in each coin.

On the free plan, you get basic P&L (profit/loss and allocation). Coinlio Pro adds win rate, average ROI, benchmark comparison against BTC and ETH, and full chart history.

How to read your P&L in Coinlio

Here's what you'll see on your portfolio dashboard:

• Green number = profit. You're up from your average cost.
• Red number = loss. Current price is below your average cost.
• Percentage next to the number — Shows return as a percentage. For example, "+24.5%" means you're up 24.5% from what you paid.
• Portfolio chart — Shows your total value over time. Free users see 30 days; Pro users see full history.

Why this matters for taxes

In most countries, you owe taxes on realized gains — the profit from coins you sold. If you don't track your cost basis, you won't know your actual taxable gain. Many people overpay taxes because they can't prove what they originally paid.

Coinlio Pro includes tax reports for the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and Vietnam — exported as CSV and PDF. That's a feature that standalone tax tools like Koinly charge $49 to $179 per year for.

Spreadsheet vs P&L app — the real difference

Ready to ditch the spreadsheet?

Your crypto P&L should be calculated for you, not by you. A dedicated app handles the math, updates in real time, and gives you a clear answer: am I making money or losing it?

Want to understand cost basis methods? Read our guide on FIFO vs average cost for crypto.

Try Coinlio free — automatic P&L, average cost basis, zero formulas. <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/coinlio/id6761177479">Download on the App Store</a>.