Token Vesting Calculator — Crypto Unlock Schedule Planner

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. After the cliff expires, the remaining tokens unlock linearly over the vesting duration you specify.

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 generates a full vesting schedule from month 0 to full vest, displayed in 6-month intervals. Use it to plan token sales, model your portfolio exposure, or understand a project's token unlock calendar before investing.

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.

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. 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, $25,000 value
• At month 12 (cliff ends): 625,000 tokens unlocked (500k TGE + 125k first 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.

• 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

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 (no cliff).

• 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.