Token Vesting Calculator — Crypto Unlock Schedule Planner
Calculate your crypto token vesting schedule instantly. Enter cliff period, vesting duration, and TGE unlock to see exactly when your tokens unlock and their current value.
Currently Unlocked
100,000 tokens
10.00% of total
Unlocked Value
$10,000.00
Still Locked
900,000 tokens
$90,000.00
Monthly Vesting
50,000 /mo
Cliff Reached
No
Next Unlock
50,000 tokens ($5,000.00) will unlock at month 7 — 7 months from now. Fully vested in 24 months.
TGE Unlock
100,000 tokens
$10,000.00
Total Value
$100,000.00
Months Until Fully Vested
24 months
| Month | Tokens Unlocked | % Unlocked | Value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 · TGE · now | 100,000 | 10.00% | $10,000.00 |
| 3 | 100,000 | 10.00% | $10,000.00 |
| 6 · cliff | 100,000 | 10.00% | $10,000.00 |
| 9 | 250,000 | 25.00% | $25,000.00 |
| 12 | 400,000 | 40.00% | $40,000.00 |
| 15 | 550,000 | 55.00% | $55,000.00 |
| 18 | 700,000 | 70.00% | $70,000.00 |
| 21 | 850,000 | 85.00% | $85,000.00 |
| 24 | 1,000,000 | 100.00% | $100,000.00 |
* Values use current token price. Price may change significantly before remaining tokens unlock.
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How to Use the Token Vesting Schedule Calculator
Enter your total token allocation — the total number of tokens granted to you by the project, whether through a presale, team allocation, advisor agreement, or airdrop. Next, enter the TGE Unlock percentage: this is the share of tokens released immediately at the Token Generation Event (the moment the token launches on-chain). Many projects release 5–20% at TGE to provide immediate liquidity while keeping the majority locked.
Set the cliff period in months. During the cliff, no additional tokens unlock beyond the TGE amount. A 12-month cliff is standard for team and investor allocations — it aligns incentives by ensuring holders cannot sell immediately after launch. Then set the Total Vesting Period — the months from TGE to full vest, cliff included. After the cliff expires, the remaining tokens unlock linearly until that month: a 12-month cliff followed by 24 months of linear vesting is a total period of 36.
Enter the current token price in USD to see the dollar value of your unlocked and locked allocations. Finally, enter how many months have passed since TGE to see your current unlock status highlighted in the schedule table.
The calculator charts the full vesting schedule from month 0 to full vest and lists key milestones every 3 months. Use it to plan token sales, model your portfolio exposure, or understand a project's token unlock calendar before investing.
The Formula
Token vesting follows a straightforward linear model with an optional TGE unlock and cliff. The key formulas are:
- TGE Tokens = Total Tokens × (TGE% ÷ 100)
- Remaining After TGE = Total Tokens − TGE Tokens
- Monthly Vesting Amount = Remaining After TGE ÷ Vesting Duration (months)
- Cumulative at Month M:
- Month 0: TGE Tokens only
- Months 1 to (Cliff − 1): TGE Tokens only (cliff period)
- Month Cliff to (Cliff + Vesting): TGE Tokens + Monthly Vesting × (M − Cliff + 1)
- Fully Vested Month = Cliff Period + Vesting Duration
- Value (USD) = Cumulative Tokens × Current Token Price
This is a linear vesting model. Some protocols use non-linear schedules (e.g., back-weighted or milestone-based), but linear vesting with a cliff is by far the most common structure in crypto projects. The cliff ensures that early team members and investors must stay committed for at least the cliff period before any significant unlock occurs.
Note that the dollar values shown are calculated using the current token price, which may be very different from the price when your remaining tokens actually unlock. Always treat future value estimates as illustrative, not guaranteed.
Practical Examples
Example 1 — Typical VC/Investor Allocation
A crypto project grants an early investor 5,000,000 tokens at a presale price. The vesting terms are: 10% TGE, 12-month cliff, 36-month linear vesting — a Total Vesting Period of 48 months. The token launches at $0.05.
- TGE unlock: 500,000 tokens → $25,000
- Monthly vesting (after cliff): 4,500,000 ÷ 36 = 125,000 tokens/month
- At month 6 (still in cliff): 500,000 tokens unlocked, $25,000value
- At month 13 (first month after the cliff): 625,000 tokens unlocked (500k TGE + 125k first vesting month)
- At month 24: 500k + 125k × 12 = 2,000,000 tokens unlocked
- Full vest: Month 48 — all 5,000,000 tokens unlocked
At a token price of $0.10 at month 48, the total allocation would be worth $500,000— a 2× gain on the original presale value of $250,000. This illustrates why token price at full vest matters as much as the unlock schedule itself.
Example 2 — Team Allocation (No TGE)
Core team members receive 10,000,000 tokens with 0% TGE, a 12-month cliff, and 24-month linear vesting — a Total Vesting Period of 36 months.
- Monthly vesting after cliff: 10,000,000 ÷ 24 ≈ 416,667 tokens/month
- No tokens before month 12
- At month 18: 416,667 × 6 = 2,500,000 tokens (25%)
- Full vest at month 36 — all 10,000,000 tokens unlocked
This is the most common team structure. The 12-month cliff prevents team members from receiving any tokens until the project has been live for a year, reducing the risk of early team exits immediately post-launch.
Example 3 — Airdrop with Short Vesting
A DeFi protocol airdrops 500,000 tokens per user with 50% at TGE and the remaining 50% vesting over 6 months with no cliff — a Total Vesting Period of 6 months.
- TGE unlock: 250,000 tokens immediately
- Monthly vesting: 250,000 ÷ 6 ≈ 41,667 tokens/month
- Full vest at month 6
Short vesting periods on airdrops create significant sell pressure. Savvy investors watch airdrop unlock calendars to anticipate potential price dips around unlock events — especially for tokens where a large portion of supply is distributed via airdrop.
Reading Unlock Calendars for Due Diligence
Before investing in any crypto project, review the tokenomics document carefully. Look for the total percentage of supply allocated to team, investors, and advisors — these are the highest unlock-risk categories. Use this calculator with each allocation bucket to understand the total monthly unlock pressure hitting the market at each stage. A project where 30% of supply unlocks in a single month after a cliff is a significant sell pressure risk, regardless of project fundamentals.
Frequently Asked Questions
A token vesting schedule defines when and how tokens allocated to team members, investors, advisors, and other stakeholders are released. Rather than distributing all tokens immediately (which would incentivize holders to sell right away), vesting spreads the release over time — typically 2–4 years — to align long-term incentives. Most schedules combine a TGE (immediate) unlock with a cliff period and then linear monthly vesting.
A cliff period is a waiting period during which no tokens (beyond any TGE allocation) are released. For example, a 12-month cliff means you receive nothing extra for the first year after the token launch. Once the cliff expires, vesting begins — usually linearly. Cliff periods protect the project and existing holders from early insiders dumping tokens immediately after launch. A 12-month cliff is the industry standard for team and lead investor allocations.
TGE stands for Token Generation Event — the moment a token is created and launched on a blockchain. The TGE unlock percentage is the share of your total allocation released immediately at launch, before any cliff or vesting period begins. A 10% TGE unlock means you receive 10% of your allocation at launch and the remaining 90% vests over time. Higher TGE percentages create more immediate sell pressure but provide early liquidity for holders.
Venture capital firms investing in crypto projects typically receive tokens under a standard vesting structure: 5–15% at TGE, a 12-month cliff, and then 24–36 months of linear monthly vesting. This mirrors traditional equity vesting in startup agreements. Some later-stage or strategic investors negotiate shorter vesting (e.g., 6-month cliff + 18 months linear) while earlier-stage seed investors often have the longest vesting periods. Always check the project's tokenomics document for the exact terms for each investor round.
Major token unlocks — particularly for large investor or team allocations — often create sell pressure that can depress token prices around the unlock date. Tracking unlock calendars (sites like Token Unlocks, Vestlab, and CryptoRank publish this data) lets you anticipate potential selling. Common strategies include: avoiding buying large positions in the weeks before major unlocks, watching for price dips post-unlock as buying opportunities, and comparing the unlock size relative to daily trading volume to gauge impact severity.
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