MLM Matrix Plan Calculator – Board and Forced Matrix Payouts Online
This free MLM matrix plan calculator shows, for any width and depth, how many positions a matrix holds, what one member earns on each level, what a full matrix pays out and what share of every entry the company commits to commissions. Set the plan type to forced matrix or board plan, enter the joining amount in USD and the commission per level, and the table updates as you type – nothing is sent to a server. Below the tool you will find the formula behind the matrix plan calculation, a worked 3×3 example that matches the default settings, the board plan calculation with splitting and re-entry, and a spreadsheet layout for anyone who prefers Excel.
An MLM matrix plan calculator is a tool that takes a matrix width, a depth, an entry amount and a commission rate per level and returns the positions per level, the commission per level and the total payout of a complete matrix.
Last updated: 6 November 2026 · Daani IT Solution
Matrix and board plan calculator
| Level | Positions on the level | Cumulative positions | Commission per position | Commission per full level |
|---|
How the MLM matrix plan calculator works
The calculator answers the design questions – how big is the matrix, what does one member earn, what does the company commit – before a single member is placed. Everything that depends on real members (who is qualified, where the next recruit lands, which caps apply) happens later, in the software.
The tool is a matrix MLM calculator and an MLM board plan calculator in one – an MLM matrix plan calculator online that works on a phone as well as a desktop. Choose the plan type, then:
- Width is the number of positions on a member's first level (2 to 10). Depth is the number of levels the member is paid on (1 to 12). A 3×3 matrix is width 3, depth 3.
- Joining or product amount is what every position pays in – a one-time joining fee, a product pack or a monthly subscription. Everything in the results is in USD.
- Commission per level is either a percentage of that amount or a fixed dollar figure per position. Leave "same for all levels" off to set each level separately (the defaults are 10 % on level 1 and 5 % on the deeper levels); switch it on to apply one rate everywhere.
- Completion bonus is paid once, when the last position fills. For a board plan it is the board bonus the top member receives on cycling out; for a forced matrix it is the matrix completion bonus (set it to 0 if the plan has none).
- For a board plan, two extra fields appear: whether the member re-enters a new board after cycling, and how many cycles to project.
The table lists, for every level, the positions on that level (width to the power of the level), the cumulative positions, the commission one position pays and the commission the full level pays. The totals show the positions needed to fill the whole matrix, the income of the member at the top, the revenue that enters through those positions and the maximum the company pays out on them when every upline is paid at every level. Validation is built in: only numbers are accepted, width, depth and rates are capped, and the results update on every keystroke. "Copy results" puts the table and totals on the clipboard as plain text for an e-mail or a plan document. Because it runs in your browser, this MLM matrix calculator online needs no login and no download.
Matrix plan calculation explained
The matrix plan calculation rests on one formula. Positions on level n = widthn. Positions in the whole matrix = width × (widthdepth − 1) ÷ (width − 1). Commission on a level = positions on the level × the commission one position pays. Add the levels and the completion bonus and you have the income of the member at the top of a full matrix.
With the calculator's default settings – a 3×3 matrix, a $100 entry, 10 % on level 1, 5 % on levels 2 and 3, a $50 completion bonus – the mlm matrix calculation looks like this:
| Level | Positions | Cumulative | Per position | Per level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | $10.00 | $30.00 |
| 2 | 9 | 12 | $5.00 | $45.00 |
| 3 | 27 | 39 | $5.00 | $135.00 |
| Total | 39 | – | – | $210.00 + $50.00 bonus = $260.00 |
Three more numbers come out of the same inputs. The 39 positions bring $3,900 into the company. The member at the top earns $260, about 6.7 % of it. And because each of those 39 entries also pays its own level-1 and level-2 uplines, the company's maximum payout on the entries in this matrix is 39 × $20 in level commissions plus the $50 bonus – $830, or 21.3 % of the $3,900. That last figure is the one a company must know before it prints the plan; a single member's $260 says nothing about whether the plan is affordable. The forced matrix plan page covers the rules behind these numbers – spillover, qualification, re-entry – in detail.
Board plan calculation: cycles, splitting and re-entry
A board plan (revolving matrix) uses the same geometry on a much smaller grid and pays differently. The common 2×2 board has six positions below the top member: two on level 1, four on level 2. When all six are filled, the board is complete: the top member cycles out and receives the board bonus, and the board splits into two new boards, each headed by one of the former level-1 members, each already holding two of the former level-2 members on its first level. So after the first board, every further cycle needs only the bottom level – four new entries for a 2×2 – to complete.
That changes the payout ratio, and the mlm board plan calculator shows it. With a $100 entry and a $250 board bonus:
| First board | Every later board (after a split) | |
|---|---|---|
| New entries needed | 6 × $100 = $600 | 4 × $100 = $400 |
| Bonus paid to the member who cycles | $250 | $250 |
| Payout ratio on the board bonus | 41.7 % | 62.5 % |
The steady-state ratio – bonus divided by the new entries one split board needs – is the honest one, and it is why a $500 bonus on a 2×2 board with a $100 entry (125 % of the new money) cannot work. With re-entry the member who cycled receives a position in a new board and can cycle again; the calculator multiplies the per-cycle income by the number of cycles you project, so five cycles at $250 show $1,250 of income against $100 originally paid in. Without re-entry the plan is a one-time cycler and the income stops at one board bonus. Some companies place the cycled member into a higher-value board instead of the same one (a $100 board feeding a $500 board); that is the same calculation run once per board tier. The board MLM plan and board MLM software pages describe manual-fill, auto-fill and follow-me boards.
Matrix plan Excel / spreadsheet template
Many founders start with an MLM spreadsheet template before they look at software, and a sheet is fine for the design stage. A multi level marketing Excel template for a matrix plan needs one row per level and these columns:
| Column | Content | Excel formula (level 1 is in row 5; "Width" and "Amount" are named cells at the top of the sheet) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Level | 1, 2, 3 … typed in |
| B | Positions on the level | =Width^A5 (Width = a named cell holding 3) |
| C | Cumulative positions | =SUM($B$5:B5) |
| D | Commission rate | 10 %, 5 %, 5 % typed in |
| E | Commission per position | =Amount*D5 (Amount = a named cell holding 100) |
| F | Commission per level | =B5*E5 |
| G | Company payout on the level's entries | =B5*Amount*SUM($D$5:$D$7) (the sum of all level rates) |
Put the width and the amount in named cells at the top of the sheet, add a row with =SUM(F5:F7) for the member's total and =SUM(G5:G7) plus the bonus for the company's maximum payout, and the sheet reproduces the table above. The limits show up quickly: every change of depth means inserting rows and fixing ranges, a board plan with splitting needs a second sheet, and the sheet cannot tell you who is actually qualified on which level. That is why the online tool exists – and why, once there are real members, the calculation moves into the software. (No spreadsheet file is offered for download on this site; the column layout above is all a working sheet needs.)
What the numbers tell a company
- Payout ratio. The sum of the level percentages, plus the completion bonus as a share of the entries in one matrix, is what the company commits to this plan. Add any direct-referral bonus and the matching bonus on top. Most sustainable plans keep the total between 35 % and 60 % of revenue; the 21 % of the default example leaves room for a 15–20 % sponsor bonus.
- Break-even for the member. Divide the entry amount by the commission per position on level 1 and level 2 to see how many filled positions a member needs to recover their own entry (17 in the default example). If it takes more positions than the average member will ever place, the plan has a retention problem.
- Caps. A company-wide cap (for example "total commissions never exceed 55 % of the period's revenue, paid pro rata") protects the company from the months when a deep level fills faster than expected; a per-member cap limits the exposure to one position. The free matrix MLM software calculation in the demo applies both caps in the commission run so you can see which members would be clipped.
- Depth that never fills. If level 7 of a 4×7 plan holds 16,384 positions, the money promised there will almost never be paid – and the plan document should not imply that it will.
Matrix plan software vs a spreadsheet
| Spreadsheet / this calculator | Matrix plan software | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Design the plan, test rates and sizes | Run the plan with real members |
| Placement and spillover | Assumes a full matrix | Places each member in the next open position by the chosen rule |
| Qualification and compression | Not modelled | Checked per member per level at every commission run |
| Board cycling | Per-cycle arithmetic only | Detects full boards, pays the bonus, splits and re-enters automatically |
| Caps | Manual | Company-wide and per-member caps applied in the run |
| Payouts | None | E-wallet, withdrawals, tax reports, audit trail |
| Who sees it | The founder | Every member, in their genealogy and earnings reports |
The matrix MLM software calculation is the same arithmetic as the sheet, applied to live data with the plan's qualification, compression and cap rules. The MLM software matrix plan calculation that Daani's product runs is configurable per plan – width, depth, rate per level, bonus, placement rule, caps – so the figures you test here are the figures the software will pay. The product's calculator feature extends the same idea to binary and hybrid plans; its board plan page shows the board settings.
Test your plan in the software, free
Send us the width, depth and rates you settled on with the calculator and we set them up in a free demo of the matrix MLM software, with a few test members, so you can watch the matrix fill and the commissions post.
Get the free demo Calculator feature in the productFrequently asked questions
Is this MLM matrix plan calculator free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, needs no login or download and sends nothing to a server. Use it as often as you like; the "Copy results" button puts the table and totals on your clipboard.
How is a matrix compensation plan calculator different from a binary calculator?
A matrix plan has a fixed width and depth, so the number of positions on each level is known in advance (width to the power of the level) and commissions are paid per position. A binary plan has two legs of unlimited depth and pays on the volume of the weaker leg, so a binary calculator works with sales volume and leg balance rather than positions. This tool covers matrix and board plans; the product's calculator feature covers binary plans.
What does "maximum payout for the company" mean in the results?
It is the total the company pays on the entries in one full matrix when every position's upline is paid at every level: positions × entry amount × the sum of the level rates, plus the completion bonus. Divide it by the revenue from those positions to get the payout ratio of the plan.
How do I calculate a board plan with re-entry?
Choose "Board plan", set the board size (2×2 is the usual one), the entry amount and the board bonus, switch re-entry on and enter the number of cycles to project. The results show the income per cycle, the projected income over those cycles, and the payout ratio for the first board and for every later board after a split.
Can I use the figures for a real plan document?
Use them as the design figures: positions, rates, bonus and the resulting payout ratio. A real commission run also applies qualification, compression and caps per member, which this calculator does not model – the free demo of the software does.
Related pages on this site: home · forced matrix plan, calculation and software · Board MLM plan · matrix MLM software · free demo.
