Crypto Vault APY Calculator

About the Crypto Vault APY Calculator

DeFi vaults (like Yearn, Beefy, or Sommelier) don't distribute yield directly — instead, their share price increases over time. When you deposit, you receive vault shares. As the vault earns yield and reinvests, each share becomes worth more of the underlying token. The growth rate of the share price reveals the vault's true APY.

This Vault APY Calculator computes the annualized return from share price appreciation. Enter the share price at the start and end of any period, along with the duration, and the tool extrapolates the annualized yield.

This is the most honest way to evaluate vault performance because it captures all fees, slippage, and compounding effects that the vault's displayed APY might not reflect.

Use the result to map token-release or fee scenarios and revisit the model when market conditions, unlock terms, or portfolio assumptions change.

When This Page Helps

Vault share price is the ground truth of performance. Advertised APYs can be estimates or projections. This calculator uses actual share price data to compute the real, after-fee, after-slippage APY you experienced.

How to Use the Inputs

1. Find the vault's share price at the start of your observation period.
2. Find the current share price.
3. Enter the number of days between the two observations.
4. View the annualized APY based on actual share price growth.
5. Compare against the vault's advertised APY.

Example Calculation

Tips & Best Practices

• Use longer observation periods (30+ days) for more reliable APY estimates.
• Short periods amplify noise — a single day's share price change isn't meaningful.
• Share price should always increase for healthy vaults (else the strategy is losing money).
• Compare multiple time windows (7d, 30d, 90d) to see if APY is stable or declining.
• Check if the vault charges management and performance fees — they're already reflected in share price.
• Some vaults have harvest events that cause step-function share price increases.

Share Price as Truth

The vault share price is the single best metric for vault performance. It captures yield earned, fees charged, slippage incurred, and compounding effects. Everything else is an estimate.

Time Windows and APY Stability

A vault showing 40% APY over 7 days might show 25% over 30 days and 20% over 90 days. Short windows amplify recent performance. Longer windows smooth volatility. Use multiple windows to understand the trajectory.

Evaluating New Vaults

For new vaults with limited history, share price growth over even 7-14 days gives useful signal. But be cautious — early performance often includes promotional boosts or temporarily favorable conditions that won't persist.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where do I find vault share prices?

  Check the vault's contract on a block explorer (e.g., Etherscan). The pricePerShare or exchangeRate function shows the current value. DeFi analytics sites like DefiLlama also track vault share prices over time.

• Should I use simple or compound APY?

  Compound APY is more accurate for auto-compounding vaults because it models continuous reinvestment. Simple APY works for quick estimates a is what most vault dashboards display.

• Why might the calculated APY differ from the displayed APY?

  Displayed APYs are often projections based on current conditions. Actual performance may differ due to market changes, yield fluctuations, or strategy adjustments. Share price-based APY reflects what actually happened.

• What if the share price decreased?

  A decreasing share price means the vault lost money — the strategy is unprofitable after fees. This is a red flag. It could be due to heavy IL, exploit recovery, or poor strategy performance.

• How do vault fees affect share price APY?

  Management and performance fees are deducted before share price updates. So the share price APY you calculate is already net of all vault fees — it represents your actual return.

• Can I compare vaults using this method?

  Absolutely — comparing share price growth rates over the same period is one of the fairest ways to benchmark vault performance. Just ensure you're comparing similar risk profiles.