Tournament prize pool calculator
Work out what your entry fees really fund after processing fees and your own cut, then split the pool by a preset, a custom curve or exact percentages. The payout table always adds up to the cent.
Prize pool and payouts
- Prize pool paid out
- $269.12
- Gross entry fees
- $320.00
- Payment processing
- −$18.88
- Organizer fee
- −$32.00
| Place | Share each | Prize each | Paid to | Place total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 30% | $80.78 | 1 player | $80.78 |
| 2nd | 20% | $53.82 | 1 player | $53.82 |
| 3rd | 13% | $34.98 | 1 player | $34.98 |
| 4th | 9% | $24.22 | 1 player | $24.22 |
| 5th–8th | 7% | $18.83 | 4 players | $75.32 |
| Total | 100% | $269.12 |
Every place below 1st is rounded down to your chosen step and the leftover cents go to 1st, so the table always adds up to the pool exactly.
How a prize pool is built
A prize pool is not simply entrants multiplied by the entry fee. Money leaves before it reaches the players: the payment provider takes a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction, and the organizer usually keeps a fee to cover running the event. Anything a sponsor or the organizer adds goes on top. The calculator applies them in that order:
- Gross entry fees = entrants × entry fee.
- Payment processing = entrants × (entry fee × processing % + fixed fee).
- Organizer fee = gross entry fees × organizer %.
- Prize pool = gross − processing − organizer fee + added prize money (topped up to the guarantee if you set one).
Take the default numbers: 32 entrants at 10.00 each is 320.00 gross. Processing at 2.9% plus 0.30 per entry costs 32 × 0.59 = 18.88, and a 10% organizer fee is 32.00. That leaves a pool of 269.12. Split with the “Top 8, balanced” preset, that is 80.78 for 1st (30%, plus the few leftover cents), 53.82 for 2nd, 34.98 for 3rd, 24.22 for 4th and 18.83 for each of the four players tied for 5th to 8th. Card-processing rates differ by provider and country, so check your own statement rather than relying on the default.
Choosing a payout structure
Winner takes all maximises the reward for winning and suits small, casual events. Top 3 (50/30/20) is the classic podium split and works well for fields up to about 16. For bigger events, paying more places keeps mid-table players engaged, at the cost of smaller top prizes. The top-8 and top-16 presets above pay tied groups for the players who cannot be ranked apart in a knockout bracket.
If none of the presets fits, use a custom curve. It gives each place a fixed fraction of the place above it: with 8 paid places and a fraction of 0.6 the shares are 40.68%, 24.41%, 14.65%, 8.79%, 5.27%, 3.16%, 1.9% and 1.14%. A low fraction is top-heavy, a high one is flat. The shares are rounded to two decimals so that they add up to exactly 100. For full control, type your own custom percentages; the calculator refuses to continue unless they add up to 100 and tells you how much is still unassigned or over-assigned.
Guarantees and break-even
A guaranteed pool is a promise: if entries fall short, you pay the difference. That is a marketing tool (players know the prize before they enter) and a risk (a quiet event costs you money). With the default fees and a 500.00 guarantee, 32 entrants fund 269.12, so you would add 230.88 yourself; entries only cover the guarantee from 60 entrants, because each entry contributes 8.41 after fees. Put your own guarantee in the calculator to see the top-up and the break-even number before you announce it.
Being transparent with players
Publish the numbers that matter: the entry fee, whether the pool is fixed or depends on entries, the payout table, and when and how prizes are paid. Players tolerate an organizer fee far better when it is stated up front than when the pool turns out smaller than they assumed. The payout table on this page can be copied as text to paste into your rules or announcement.
Paid-entry events also come with obligations that this tool does not cover: legal rules on paid contests, tax on winnings in the players’ countries, and refund policy if you cancel. Those vary by location, so check them before you sell entries.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage split should I use for a prize pool?
There is no universal answer. Small events often pay 1 to 3 places (100, 70/30 or 50/30/20). Larger events spread the pool over more places, and the trade-off is always the same: a steep curve makes winning very valuable, a flat one keeps more players feeling rewarded. As a rough rule of thumb, many organizers pay somewhere between the top tenth and the top quarter of a large field. Use the steepness slider to see how the curve changes the numbers.
What is a guaranteed prize pool?
A guarantee is a minimum pool you advertise before entries are known, for example “$500 guaranteed”. If entry fees (after fees) plus any added money fall short, the organizer pays the difference. The calculator shows that top-up and the number of entrants at which the guarantee pays for itself.
Is the organizer fee taken before or after payment fees?
Both are calculated on the gross entry fees and deducted independently: the organizer fee is a percentage of what entrants paid, and payment processing is a percentage plus a fixed amount per entry. If your platform or payment provider works differently, adjust the percentages to match their statement.
How are tied places handled?
In a knockout bracket, everyone who loses in the same round finishes tied (the four quarterfinal losers are all “5th to 8th”). Presets with tied places give each tied player the same prize. Custom percentages are per place, so give tied places the same number.
Why does 1st place sometimes get a few cents more than its percentage?
Money cannot be split into fractions of a cent, and with round-down options it cannot be split into fractions of a unit either. Every place below 1st is rounded down and the remainder is added to 1st, which keeps the table adding up to the pool exactly. The difference is a few cents unless you choose to round to 5 or 10.
Can I use another currency?
Yes, type any symbol. It is only a label, so use one currency for every amount (entry fee, fixed processing fee, added money and guarantee) and there is no conversion.
Is it legal to charge entry fees and pay cash prizes?
It depends on where you and your entrants are. Some jurisdictions regulate paid-entry contests with cash prizes as gambling or require licences or age and residency restrictions, even for skill-based games. This page does arithmetic, not legal advice; check the rules that apply to you before you sell entries.
Does the calculator store my numbers?
No. It runs in your browser. The share link stores your inputs in the part of the address after the #, which browsers do not send to the server, and anyone with the link can read them.