Project annual ETH rewards from staking. Consensus + execution layer combined.
Annual ETH rewards (net)
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Gross ETH (before fee)
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Fee deducted
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Your breakdown
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Where validator rewards actually come from
An Ethereum validator earns from two distinct streams, and this calculator folds them into one annual percentage rate so you can model the net result. The first stream is consensus layer rewards: the protocol pays you for proposing and attesting to blocks, scaled by how much total ETH is staked across the network. The second is the execution layer, where you collect priority tips and, when you propose a block, any maximal extractable value (MEV) captured by your block builder. Add the two together and you get the total APR that drives every number below.
The math the tool runs is straightforward on purpose. It multiplies your staked ETH by the total APR to get gross rewards, subtracts the pool or service fee as a percentage of those rewards, and reports the net in ETH plus its dollar value at the price you enter. It does not compound rewards across the year, model slashing penalties, or change the APR as the network grows. It is a clean snapshot of one year at the rate you specify.
A 32 ETH stake through Lido, line by line
Say you stake 32 ETH, the minimum for a solo validator, but you route it through a liquid staking provider charging a 10% fee. You assume a 4.5% blended APR and an ETH price of $3,500. Here is what the tool computes.
Run the same stake solo with a 0% fee and you keep all 1.44 ETH, worth $5,040. The 10% service fee handed back $504 a year for the convenience of not running your own node. Whether that trade is worth it depends entirely on how you value your time and your tolerance for hardware uptime.
The fee that decides solo versus pooled
The chart shows how the same 1.44 ETH of gross reward splits under three common setups: solo at no fee, Rocket Pool style at a modest cut, and a liquid staking token at 10%.
How the IRS treats what you earn
Staking rewards are taxable. Under Revenue Ruling 2023-14, rewards are ordinary income at their fair market value on the date you gain dominion and control over them, meaning the moment you can sell or transfer the tokens. The $4,536 in the example is reported as income in the year received, generally on Schedule 1 of Form 1040, and that value becomes your cost basis. When you later sell the ETH, any change from that basis is a capital gain or loss reported on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Solo validators running this as a trade or business face a different and more complex analysis, and large operations may owe self-employment tax. This is one area where a quick conversation with a tax professional pays for itself.
Who this serves and what it leaves out
This is built for someone weighing how to stake rather than whether ETH will rise. If you are comparing a solo validator against Lido or Coinbase, the fee field is the lever that matters, and the example makes the cost of convenience concrete. The honest limitations: the APR is an input, not a forecast, and real consensus rewards drift down as more ETH is staked across the network, following an inverse square root relationship. The tool also ignores slashing, the rare but real penalty for validator misbehavior or extended downtime, and it does not compound. Treat the output as a steady-state annual estimate, not a guaranteed payout.
Why is the staking yield falling over time?
Consensus rewards scale inversely with the square root of total ETH staked. As more validators join, each one earns a thinner slice, so the base yield compresses. Execution layer tips and MEV are more variable and depend on network activity. This is why a 5% to 6% APR from a couple of years ago has trended toward the 3% to 5% range, and why entering a current rate matters.
Do I need exactly 32 ETH to stake?
Only for a solo validator. Pooled protocols like Rocket Pool let node operators run with 8 to 16 ETH, and liquid staking tokens such as stETH or cbETH accept any amount, even a fraction of one ETH. The tradeoff is the fee, which is exactly the variable this calculator isolates.