How to Calculate Your Total Restaking Yield (The Full EigenLayer Math)
Restaking sounds like free money: stake your ETH once, then stake it a second time to secure other protocols and earn rewards twice. EigenLayer turned this idea into a real market, and restakers are now chasing a second yield layer on top of their native Ethereum staking rewards.
But your "restaking yield" is never a single number. It is a stack: the base consensus yield, extra rewards from the protocols you secure, commissions taken by your operator, and a layer of risk that never appears in any headline APR. This post works through the full calculation honestly, layer by layer, with a worked example you can verify on a calculator.
The Two Layers of Restaking Yield
Layer 1: Your Native ETH Staking Yield
Everything starts with ordinary Ethereum staking. As of 2026, native yields sit around 3.2% annually, paid in ETH and driven by consensus rewards. This is the floor of your return — it exists whether you restake or not, and it is the most predictable part of the stack. The official Ethereum staking documentation is the best primer on how this base layer works.
Layer 2: AVS Rewards from EigenLayer
Restaking lets you point your already-staked ETH at Actively Validated Services (AVSs) — bridges, oracles, data availability layers, and other protocols that need economic security but don't want to bootstrap their own validator set. In exchange, they pay you. In 2026, a reasonable planning figure for AVS rewards is roughly an additional 1.5% annually on top of your base yield.
The key word is "planning figure." AVS rewards are not fixed the way consensus issuance roughly is — they vary with each AVS's fee revenue, token incentives, and how much total stake is competing for them. The EigenLayer docs are the authoritative source for how reward flows actually work. Treat the 1.5% as a working assumption, not a promise.
Key takeaway: Your restaking yield is base yield PLUS variable AVS rewards — never just the highest advertised APR.
What Sits Between You and the Headline Rate
First, operator and validator commissions. Unless you run your own infrastructure, someone is running your stake for you. Operators typically take around 10% of rewards as commission — applied to your total rewards, not just the restaking portion.
Second, slashing risk. Restaking is not free yield; it is yield you buy by accepting additional slashing conditions. Your stake can now be penalized not only by Ethereum's consensus rules but also by the AVSs you secure. This doesn't change your spreadsheet math, but it is the reason the extra 1.5% exists at all. Comparing staking rewards to lending yield is a useful exercise here, because both promise "passive income" while hiding very different risk profiles.
The Full Math: A Worked Example with 10 ETH
Here is the complete calculation for 10 ETH at ~3.2% native yield and ~1.5% AVS rewards, with 10% operator commission and ETH at an assumed $3,500:
| Component | Calculation | ETH earned |
|---|---|---|
| Base staking yield (3.2%) | 10 × 3.2% | 0.320 |
| AVS restaking rewards (1.5%) | 10 × 1.5% | 0.150 |
| Gross rewards subtotal | 0.320 + 0.150 | 0.470 |
| Operator commission (10% of rewards) | 0.470 × 10% | −0.047 |
| Net rewards | 0.470 − 0.047 | 0.423 |
| Blended net yield | 0.423 ÷ 10 | 4.23% |
| USD value (@ $3,500/ETH) | 0.423 × $3,500 | $1,480.50 |
Compare this to staking without restaking: the same 10 ETH at 3.2% earns 0.32 ETH, minus 10% commission = 0.288 ETH net, or $1,008 at the same ETH price. Restaking adds 0.135 ETH (~$472.50) — a meaningful lift, but not the "double your yield" story some marketing implies. And since rewards arrive in ETH, reinvesting staking rewards back into your position is how the compounding effect builds over years.
What the Math Can't Tell You
A spreadsheet gives you the expected case. The real world adds variance. AVS reward rates can fall as more capital piles into the same services — restaking yields have compressed before and will compress again. Any individual AVS can change its reward structure, pause payments, or fail, and your rewards stop the day it does.
Slashing deserves one more mention: there is no long history of EigenLayer slashing events to calibrate against, so the downside tail is genuinely uncertain. Unwinding a restaking position may also involve queue times on multiple layers. Model your yield honestly and never restake funds you cannot afford to have penalized.
Key takeaway: The extra ~1.5% is compensation for real additional risk — size your restaking position like a risk asset, not like a savings account.
Try it yourself: plug your own stake size, yield assumptions, and commission rates into our crypto staking calculator to see what restaking math looks like for your position.
Conclusion
Total restaking yield is a simple stack once you lay it out: base yield plus AVS rewards, minus operator commission, tempered by slashing risk and reward variability. On 10 ETH at today's rough figures, that is a blended ~4.23% — solid, but honest. Run the full calculation before you restake, re-run it when AVS rates move, and you'll know exactly what you're being paid for the extra risk you're taking.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Staking and restaking involve risks including slashing, validator downtime, smart contract risk, and price volatility. Always do your own research before staking or restaking any cryptocurrency.
