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Calculate Your ETH Staking Rewards

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Reviewed by: Martín Rodríguez (política editorial ) · Last reviewed: 28 may 2026

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Ethereum staking changed forever after The Merge in September 2022, when ETH moved from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake, and then again after the Shanghai upgrade in April 2023, which finally enabled validator withdrawals. As a US-based ETH holder in 2026, you have three real paths to earn yield on your stack. Solo staking requires 32 ETH locked in your own validator and currently pays roughly 3-4% APY combined (consensus layer rewards plus execution layer tips and MEV). Pooled staking through Lido (stETH), Rocket Pool (rETH), or Coinbase (cbETH) lets you stake any amount but charges 10-25% fees on rewards, netting around 3% APY in the form of auto-compounding liquid staking tokens (LSTs). The newest layer is restaking via EigenLayer, where you point your already-staked ETH at Actively Validated Services (AVS) to earn an additional 2-4% APY on top, at the cost of extra slashing exposure. This calculator estimates your annual yield in ETH and USD using current 2026 numbers, with prices and APY reviewed regularly so you can model the trade-off between solo, liquid, and restaked positions before committing capital.

Last reviewed: May 27, 2026 Verified by Martín Rodríguez Source: Ethereum.org — Staking Documentation, Lido — Liquid Staking Protocol Documentation, Rocket Pool — Decentralized ETH Staking Docs, IRS Notice 2014-21 — Virtual Currency Tax Guidance, IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14 — PoS Staking Rewards Income Treatment, Beaconcha.in — Ethereum Validator Explorer, EigenLayer — Restaking Protocol Documentation 100% private

When to use this calculator

Compare 32 ETH solo staking vs Lido stETH net yield after the 10% Lido fee, factoring in MEV-Boost participation and validator effectiveness
Stack EigenLayer restaking rewards on top of existing stETH or native validator yield and model the additional 2-4% AVS APY
Track LST cost basis for IRS reporting — record the USD fair market value of every stETH/rETH rebase or rewards distribution as ordinary income
Optimize validator MEV revenue by switching between MEV-Boost relays (Flashbots, Ultra Sound, Agnostic) and quantifying the priority tip uplift
Decide whether to migrate from Coinbase cbETH (25% fee) to Lido stETH or self-custodied Rocket Pool rETH and model break-even on gas costs
Model post-tax APY at your federal marginal bracket plus state tax (e.g. California 13.3%, no-income-tax states like Texas or Florida)

Example Calculation

1 ETH at 4% APY
0.04 ETH earned

Result: USD 140/year

How it works

3 min read

Ethereum staking yield is not a single number — it's a stack of components, and understanding each one is the difference between an honest 3.2% APY and a marketing 5% number that ignores fees, taxes, and slashing risk.

How Consensus Layer Rewards Work

On the consensus layer (the Beacon Chain), validators earn ETH for three duties: proposing blocks, attesting to blocks proposed by others, and participating in sync committees. The total issuance is inversely proportional to the square root of total ETH staked. With roughly 32-34 million ETH currently staked (about 28% of supply), the consensus-only APY is around 3.0%. As more ETH gets staked, this number drifts down — by design, to discourage runaway staking participation.

The formula matters: consensus_APY ≈ 166.3 / sqrt(active_validators). At 1 million active validators (32M ETH), that's ~3.3%. Double the validators and APY drops to ~2.3%. This is why solo validators watch beaconcha.in obsessively — your real yield depends on what everyone else is doing.

Execution Layer Rewards: Priority Tips and MEV

On top of consensus rewards, when your validator is selected to propose a block (~once every 50-70 days for a single validator), you collect the priority fees (tips) and any MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) from that block. About 93% of validators run MEV-Boost, an open-source middleware that connects them to MEV relays (Flashbots, Ultra Sound, BloXroute, Agnostic) and auctions block space to searchers. MEV-Boost typically adds 1-1.5% APY on top of consensus rewards, which is why the all-in solo APY lands around 3.5-4.5%.

Validator Effectiveness Factor

No validator earns the theoretical max. Effectiveness — measured on beaconcha.in — depends on uptime (target ≥99%), correct head/target/source votes, and avoiding inclusion delays. A well-run solo validator hits 98-99% effectiveness; a poorly configured one with downtime can drop to 95% or worse, costing you ~5% of expected APY. Slashing (signing two conflicting attestations or proposing two blocks at the same slot) is rare but expensive: a 1-32 ETH penalty plus forced exit. Slashing rate on mainnet is below 0.04% of validators historically.

Restaking via EigenLayer: Extra Yield, Extra Risk

EigenLayer lets you 're-stake' your already-staked ETH (or LSTs like stETH) to secure additional services called AVS (Actively Validated Services) — things like data availability layers, oracles, and rollup bridges. Operators earn additional 2-4% APY by opting into AVS, paid in ETH or AVS tokens. The catch: each AVS adds slashing conditions. A bug or misconfigured node can wipe out principal on top of base slashing. Smart contract risk is non-trivial — the EigenLayer contracts are audited but young.

US Tax Treatment You Cannot Ignore

The IRS treats staking rewards as ordinary income at fair market value on the date of receipt (per IRS Notice 2014-21 and the 2023 Revenue Ruling 2023-14 confirming this for PoS rewards). Your cost basis for future capital gains equals that FMV at receipt. For LSTs like stETH, this is genuinely painful: every daily rebase or rewards distribution is a taxable event, and you owe income tax in USD even though you only hold ETH. The Jarrett v. United States case (filed 2021, refunded 2022, refiled 2024) argued staking rewards should be taxed only at disposal — not receipt — but the IRS continues to enforce receipt-based taxation as of 2026. Keep meticulous records: every reward, every USD value, every date.

Solo vs Lido vs Coinbase Trade-offs

Solo (32 ETH) gives you full rewards, full sovereignty, and full responsibility — including running execution + consensus clients with proper validator client diversity (Lighthouse, Prysm, Teku, Nimbus, Lodestar) to avoid mass slashing events. Lido is the convenience king: ~30% market share, 10% fee, liquid stETH usable across DeFi, but criticized for centralization. Rocket Pool offers a middle path with permissionless node operators and rETH (15% fee on commission). Coinbase cbETH is the easiest but most expensive (25% fee) and adds custodial risk.

Final Notes

Use this calculator as a planning tool — plug in realistic APY (3-3.5% for liquid staking net of fees, 3.5-4.5% solo, 5-7% with EigenLayer restaking) and a conservative ETH price. Track results on beaconcha.in if solo, or via Lido / Rocket Pool dashboards if pooled. For tax filing, export every rewards event to your CPA — this is not the kind of math you eyeball at year-end.

Frequently asked questions

Solo staking vs Lido — what's the real APY difference after fees?

Solo staking on 32 ETH currently nets ~3.5-4.5% APY (consensus + MEV-Boost), assuming 99% uptime and no slashing. Lido charges a 10% fee on rewards, so stETH holders net ~3.0-3.5% APY. The 0.5-1% gap is what you pay for skipping hardware, monitoring, and key management. Rocket Pool rETH sits in between (~3.2-3.7% net) with a 14% commission. Coinbase cbETH net APY drops to ~2.5-3.0% after the 25% fee.

How are ETH staking rewards taxed in the US?

The IRS treats staking rewards as ordinary income at fair market value (USD) on the date received, per Notice 2014-21 and Revenue Ruling 2023-14. Your cost basis for future capital gains equals that FMV at receipt. For solo stakers, every withdrawal sweep or attestation reward is income. For LST holders (stETH, rETH, cbETH), every rebase or value accrual is a reportable event. The Jarrett v. United States case is still ongoing but does not change current enforcement. Use Koinly, CoinTracker, or TokenTax to automate the bookkeeping.

What are the actual risks of EigenLayer restaking?

Three main ones. First, additional slashing: each AVS you opt into adds its own slashing conditions on top of base Ethereum slashing — a bug in one AVS can wipe out your principal. Second, smart contract risk: EigenLayer's contracts are audited but relatively young, and any exploit affects all restakers. Third, illiquidity: most restaked positions have 7+ day withdrawal queues, and some AVS commitments lock you in longer. Realistic restaking APY in 2026 is 2-4% on top of base staking, but only restake what you can afford to lose.

How often does slashing actually happen on Ethereum?

Rare. Since Beacon Chain launch in December 2020, fewer than 0.04% of validators have been slashed — mostly due to running the same validator keys on two machines simultaneously (double-signing). The minimum penalty is 1 ETH plus forced exit; the correlation penalty (for mass slashing events involving many validators at once) can hit 16-32 ETH. The most cited rule for solo stakers: never run a hot/cold redundant setup, always use validator client diversity (don't run Prysm-only on >33% of validators), and use a slashing protection database.

Can I convert liquid staking tokens back to ETH instantly?

On secondary markets (Curve, Uniswap, Balancer), yes — stETH, rETH, and cbETH all have deep liquidity pairs against ETH. Expect a small slippage discount (0.05-0.30% depending on size and pool depth). For native redemption: Lido's stETH-to-ETH withdrawal queue runs 1-5 days; Rocket Pool's rETH redemption depends on protocol ETH balance; Coinbase cbETH redeems through the Coinbase platform with their normal withdrawal flow. During market stress (March 2023, June 2022) stETH traded as low as 0.94 ETH on secondary markets before re-pegging.

How much does MEV-Boost actually add to validator yield?

MEV-Boost adoption sits at ~93% of validators in 2026, and it adds roughly 1.0-1.5% APY on top of consensus rewards for solo stakers — though it's lumpy because you only collect when your validator proposes a block (~once every 50-70 days for a single 32 ETH validator). The exact uplift depends on relay choice, current MEV volume, and the slot you draw. Track your validator's MEV income on beaconcha.in or mevboost.pics. Without MEV-Boost, you're leaving real money on the table.

Is 32 ETH still worth it for solo staking in 2026?

Depends on your stack and skills. Pros: full 3.5-4.5% APY with no fees, no third-party risk, censorship resistance, and you contribute to Ethereum decentralization. Cons: at $3,500 ETH that's $112K locked up, you need to run a node 24/7 (Geth/Nethermind + Lighthouse/Prysm), maintain client diversity, handle key security, and accept slashing risk. Many US stakers in the $50K-$200K ETH range now split: 16 ETH at home solo, 16 ETH in Rocket Pool or stETH for diversification. Below 32 ETH, pooled staking is the only option.

What's the difference between APR and APY for ETH staking?

APR is the raw annual rate without compounding; APY assumes you reinvest rewards. For solo validators, withdrawn rewards don't auto-compound (you'd need 32 ETH again to spin up another validator), so APR ≈ APY. For LSTs like stETH, the rebase model auto-compounds daily, so the quoted yield is effectively APY. For rETH and cbETH, the value-accrual model means the token price appreciates against ETH — also effectively compounding. When comparing offers, always confirm whether the quoted number is gross or net of fees.