One platform advertises 5% APR, another 5% APY. They are not the same number, and the gap grows with the rate and with how often rewards land. Everything below is computed, so you can check it in the staking calculator.
The difference in one line
APR is the plain annual rate: rewards are counted but not reinvested. APY already includes reinvestment — rewards start earning too. APY = (1 + APR ÷ n)n − 1, where n is how many times a year rewards are paid.
What an APR turns into
| Rewards paid | APR 5% | APR 12% | APR 40% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | 5.13% | 12.75% | 49.15% |
| Weekly | 5.12% | 12.73% | 48.95% |
| Monthly | 5.12% | 12.68% | 48.21% |
| Once a year | 5.00% | 12.00% | 40.00% |
At 5% the difference is about a tenth of a point. At 40% paid daily it is more than nine points. Going the other way, a banner that says 5% APY paid daily is an APR of 4.88%.
What reaches you: the fee
A platform or validator keeps a share of the rewards; the size is on the offer's own page. As an example, take 10%: 1,000 coins at 5% APR, paid daily and reinvested, give 1,046.02 coins after a year — an effective 4.60%, not 5.13%.
What reaches you: the price
Staking pays in coins, not in currency. A 5% yield over a year is wiped out by a price fall of 4.76%. A 14% yield with the coin down 30% is still -20.2% in money: the reward counter goes up while the position loses. And if the network freezes coins for some days after you ask to withdraw, you cannot sell during the fall.
How to compare two offers honestly
- Bring both to the same basis: APR to APY, or the reverse, at their real payout frequency.
- Subtract each platform's fee.
- Check the unstaking period, and try a price drop in the calculator to see what it does to the result.
The staking calculator has fields for all three: the rate and whether it is APR or APY, the reward frequency, the platform fee, the price change and the unstaking period.