APY ↔ APR Calculator: Convert Crypto Yields with Compound Interest

Important Context

About this article

APY ↔ APR Calculator: Convert Crypto Yields with Compound Interest lives inside CleanSky's research library, where articles are meant to clarify how the products think, not fill a blog calendar. That tends to make the analysis more practical: less slogan, more consequences. This note is included so crawlers and other automated readers can place the article in context and see that it comes from a broader set of projects, not from an isolated content farm.

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APR and APY seem similar but are not the same. APR is the annual "simple" interest; APY includes compound interest (interest on interest). A protocol offering 10% APR with daily compounding actually yields 10.52% APY over a year. Aave, Lido, and Curve use APY, but many new protocols publish APR — comparing incorrectly can cost you 1-3 percentage points of yield. This calculator accurately converts between the two with your chosen frequency.

What is the difference between APY and APR?

APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the annual percentage you earn if you never reinvest the interest. For example, 10% APR on $10,000 = $1,000 per year, divided equally by each period.

APY (Annual Percentage Yield) includes compound interest. If you reinvest interest regularly, the next period you generate interest on previous interest. That's why 10% APR with daily compounding → 10.52% APY.

The conversion formula is:

APY = (1 + APR/n)n − 1

APR = n × ((1 + APY)1/n − 1)

where n is the number of times compounded per year (365 for daily, 12 for monthly, etc.).

Interactive Calculator

Convert APR ↔ APY

APR (%) 10.0%

Compounding Frequency

Initial Capital ($)

Equivalent APY

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Difference (APY − APR)

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Capital in 1 year

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Capital in 5 years

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Continuous (mathematical) compounding is the theoretical limit of compound interest: no protocol uses it, but it indicates the absolute ceiling of APY for a given APR.

Comparison: APR vs APY in real DeFi protocols

These are the officially published yields by major protocols in May 2026. Some show APR, others APY. A 5% metric in one might be equivalent to 4.8% in another:

Protocol	Yield Type	Published Metric	Equivalent APY	Notes
Aave V3 (USDC deposit)	Lending	4.12% APY	4.12%	Already compounded daily
Compound V3 (USDC deposit)	Lending	3.85% APR	3.92%	Compounds per block (~12 sec)
Lido (stETH)	ETH Staking	3.02% APR	3.07%	Rewards accrue, compounds when claimed
Rocket Pool (rETH)	ETH Staking	3.18% APR	3.23%	Automatic compounding via rebase
Uniswap V4 (USDC/USDT)	Liquidity	~6% variable APR	~6.18%	Requires manual claiming and reinvesting
Curve 3pool	Stable Liquidity	~2.3% APR	~2.33%	Plus CRV emissions (note: that's APR)
Morpho Vault USDC	Lending	5.4% APY	5.4%	Managed auto-compounding
EigenLayer (restaking)	Restaking	~4.8% APR (base + AVS)	~4.92%	Separate components, must be manually summed

The difference between APR and APY grows with the rate. At 5% daily APR → 5.13% APY (0.13 points). At 20% daily APR → 22.13% APY (2.13 points). At high yields, ignoring the difference distorts the comparison.

Beware of yield advertising pitfalls

"Projected APY": Many protocols publish a projection that assumes perfect conditions (no withdrawals, no volume drops). The realized APY is often 20-40% lower.
"Base APR + emissions": Some protocols add the base APR with the APR of emitted governance tokens. If the token crashes, the real yield is only the base.
"7-day APY": This metric extrapolates the last week's yields to the entire year. In weeks with special events (FOMC, halving) it can artificially inflate.
"Annualized APY of the last hour": Extreme instability. Some protocols use it to "sell" momentary peaks.
"APR" without indicated compounding frequency: Requires clarification. Without knowing if it compounds per block, day, or month, you cannot compare.

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