How to Use a Pokémon GO CP Calculator and Pick the Right One

You just caught a raid boss with three full Appraise bars. Or a Shadow you won from Team GO Rocket looks close to perfect, and the Purify button is sitting right there. Before you spend Stardust on either one, you want to know where its CP will end up.

A Pokémon GO CP calculator gives you that number from three inputs: the species, its three IVs from Appraise (Attack, Defense, and HP), and its level. Get those right and the math is the same everywhere. We ran one test Pokémon through nine calculators, PoKeep's included, and a Level 50 hundo Bulbasaur (15/15/15 IVs) came out at 1,260 CP in every one.

So the differences are in the extras: encounter presets, a Best Buddy level, stat product, league checks, and which level a tool treats as "max." That last one is why the same hundo Bulbasaur can show a max CP of 1,115, 1,260, 1,275, or 1,336 depending on where you look.

How a Pokémon GO CP Calculator Works Out Your CP

Niantic has never published the CP formula. Players worked it out from the game's own data, and every calculator we tested uses the same version. It starts with the species' base stats for Attack, Defense, and Stamina, which never change (Bulbasaur's are 118, 111, and 128). On top of those sit the IVs, a hidden bonus from 0 to 15 per stat that Appraise shows as bars. The last piece is a level multiplier players call the CPM. It grows a little with every half level and is 0.8403 at Level 50.

The calculator adds the IVs to the base stats, multiplies Attack by the square roots of Defense and Stamina, then by the multiplier squared, and divides by 10. It always rounds down, and CP never drops below 10. Our test Pokémon works out like this:

Attack is the only stat that isn't square-rooted, so the Attack IV moves CP more than the other two. That's why two Pokémon of the same species with the same IV total can land at different CPs, and why high-Attack Pokémon hit the 1,500 and 2,500 league caps sooner.

It also means that when two calculators disagree, the inputs are almost always the problem. Check the level first. It's the one input the game never shows you.

Where to Find the Species, IVs, and Level in the Game

The species is the easy part, but pick the right form. Alolan, Galarian, and Hisuian forms have their own base stats, so an Alolan Raichu and a regular Raichu with the same IVs and level show different CP. Shadow and purified Pokémon use the regular species stats.

IVs come from Appraise. Open the Pokémon, tap the menu button, choose Appraise, and look at the three bars. Each bar is split into three sections worth 5 points each, so a bar filled two-thirds of the way is about 10. A full bar turns red, and that means 15. Reading a bar by eye can be a point off. If you need exact values, our Pokémon GO IV calculator works them out from the CP and HP and lists every combination that fits.

The level is the tricky one because the game doesn't print it. Encounter levels are your best clue: raid catches and hatched eggs start at Level 20, weather-boosted raid catches at 25, and Field Research encounters at 15. Each power-up adds half a level, so a raid catch you've powered up six times is Level 23.

The Stardust cost on the Power Up button narrows it down too. The price only changes every two levels, so a Pokémon that costs 2,500 Stardust to power up is somewhere between Level 19 and 20.5. IV scanner apps can also read the level arc from a screenshot if you'd rather not count.

How to Use PoKeep's Free CP Calculator

PoKeep's Pokémon GO CP calculator runs in your browser. There's nothing to install, and it never asks for your Pokémon GO account, so you can keep the game open on your phone and check numbers on the side.

Step 1. Type the Pokémon's name in the search box and pick it from the list.

Step 2. Set the Attack, Defense, and HP bars to match your Appraise screen. Each bar has the same three sections as the game, so you can copy it section by section. The Level slider stays locked until all three are set.

Step 3. Drag the Level slider. It moves in half levels, the same step as one power-up. The card updates CP and HP right away, along with the Pokémon's Attack, Defense, and HP stats at that level and its stat product, the number PvP players use to rank IV spreads.

To make sure everything is set up right, try our test case: Bulbasaur, 15/15/15, Level 50. You should see 1,260 CP and 120 HP.

9 Pokémon GO CP Calculators Tested With the Same Pokémon

On October 22 and 23, 2026, we opened nine CP calculators in a desktop browser and entered the same Pokémon in each: Bulbasaur, 15/15/15, Level 50. All nine showed 1,260 CP. Since the math matched everywhere, the useful comparison is how each one takes the level and what it shows next to the result.

Pokémon GO Hub and Dittobase: Encounter Presets

Both put one-tap presets above the result. Pokémon GO Hub has four: Maximum CP at Level 50, Raid or Egg at 20, Weather-boosted raid at 25, and Research at 15. Each one sets the level along with 15/15/15 IVs, so you see what a perfect catch looks like at that encounter level. That's handy for spotting a hundo on the catch screen by its CP alone. For Bulbasaur, it's 637 CP from a raid or egg and 796 from a weather-boosted raid.

GO Hub also prints the CP formula and the full CPM table under the tool, in case you want to check the math yourself. Dittobase has similar presets, adds stat product to the result, and has a Copy link button, so you can send someone the exact setup you're looking at.

GameInfo: CP for Every Evolution

GameInfo lists each evolution under the result, at the same level and IVs. Our Level 50 Bulbasaur showed up as a 1,921 CP Ivysaur, a 3,075 CP Venusaur, and a 4,181 CP Mega Venusaur.

That works because evolving keeps a Pokémon's level and IVs and only swaps in the new species' base stats. When you know the IVs and level, any CP calculator gives you an exact post-evolution CP if you pick the evolved species. When you only know the current CP, you get a range instead, and our Pokémon GO evolution calculator guide explains how to read one.

3tecky: Stardust and Candy Costs

3tecky takes a current level and a target level and shows how much Stardust and Candy the climb costs, which helps when you're deciding whether a power-up is worth it. Its target row matched our 1,260 CP.

Its Max row needs a second look. In our test it showed 1,115 CP, 113 HP, and 270,000 Stardust. Those are all Level 40 numbers, and the comparison table under it is labeled "Max level = 40." Level 40 was the cap before Candy XL, so go by the target row.

Infinity Calculator: League Caps and Best Buddy

Infinity Calculator was the only one of the nine with a Best Buddy preset. Next to the result, it checks Great League (1,500) and Ultra League (2,500) eligibility and lists max CP at Levels 40, 50, and 51 side by side. It also has a raid-floor preset and walks through the math step by step. The page is busy, but for a league build, everything you need is in one place.

UltraGooPoke and PokeGO Calculator: IV Checks and Species Pages

UltraGooPoke uses sliders for the level and each IV, with Min and Max buttons that snap an IV to 0 or 15. The result adds IV percentage, total IV, and a perfect-IV check, plus a Copy result button and a target-level preview.

PokeGO Calculator puts its CP tool on each species page, next to tabs for PvP IV rank, catch rate, moves, counters, power-up cost, and a damage calculator. It's a good fit when you're researching one Pokémon from top to bottom.

EasyCalc: Base Stats by Hand

EasyCalc skips the species list. You type the base Attack, Defense, and Stamina yourself (118, 111, and 128 for Bulbasaur), then the IVs and a level from 1 to 51 in half steps. That's useful when you already have base stats from a datamine and the species isn't in a database yet. For everyday checks, it's more typing and more room for a typo.

Why One Pokémon Can Show Four Different Max CPs

"Max CP" depends on which level a calculator treats as the top, and Pokémon GO has had more than one. Here's our 15/15/15 Bulbasaur at each of them.

Every one of those numbers is right for its level. The trouble starts when you plan around the wrong one. Going from Level 40 to 50 costs 250,000 Stardust and 296 Candy XL, and for this Bulbasaur it adds 145 CP. If a calculator's max stops at 40, you'll underestimate what a full power-up gets you. If it folds in the Best Buddy boost, you'll overestimate what the Pokémon has on its own. If you're short on dust, our Pokémon GO Stardust guide covers the fastest ways to farm it.

The same gap shows up on every species. A 15/15/15 Blissey tops out at 2,757 CP at Level 40 and 3,117 at Level 50:

So before you trust a max CP, check which level it uses. For a Great League or Ultra League pick, look at both 50 and 51.

CP Calculator Tips for Shadow, Purified, and Best Buddy Pokémon

Shadow and Purified Pokémon

A Shadow Pokémon's CP uses the normal formula. Its bonus, roughly 20% more damage dealt and 20% more taken, only applies in battle and never shows up in the CP. A Shadow fits under a league cap exactly like a regular Pokémon with the same IVs and level.

Purifying changes the inputs, so you need to recalculate. Each IV goes up by 2, to a maximum of 15. The Pokémon is raised to Level 25 if it was below that, and keeps its level if you'd already powered it past 25. It swaps Frustration for Return and gets cheaper to power up: purified Pokémon need 10% less Stardust, while Shadows need 20% more.

In PoKeep's calculator, add 2 to each IV bar (stopping at 15) and set the level to 25. A 13/13/13 Shadow Bulbasaur at Level 8 sits at 243 CP. Purified, it becomes a 15/15/15 at Level 25 with 796 CP. Whether you should purify at all is a separate call, since Shadows hit harder in raids. Our list of the best Shadow Pokémon helps with that.

Best Buddy Boost and League Caps

An active Best Buddy plays one level higher, the same as two extra power-ups. A Level 50 Pokémon counts as Level 51 while it's your buddy, so our Bulbasaur goes from 1,260 to 1,275 CP. The boost switches off as soon as you pick a different buddy.

The boosted CP is the one the league check sees. A Great League Pokémon sitting at 1,490 CP can go over 1,500 with the boost, and then you can't enter it until you change buddies. The same thing happens at 2,500 in Ultra League. It can also work in your favor when a Pokémon tops out a little under the cap at Level 50. Run both levels in the calculator before you lock in a team, and see our Best Buddy Pokémon GO guide for how to earn the boost.

Hunt for Better IVs With PoKeep Location Changer

When the calculator says your Pokémon isn't worth the Stardust, the next step is catching a better one, and the calculator helps there too. Raid catches always come in at Level 20, or 25 with weather boost, so a perfect one shows the same CP every time. If the catch screen shows the hundo CP you calculated, you've found one before you even open Appraise.

PoKeep Location Changer lets you run that check in more places. It sets your iPhone or Android GPS from your computer, with no jailbreak or root, so you can jump to a city where the raid boss you just calculated is active and lobbies fill fast. Weather works the same way. In a city where your species gets a weather boost, wild spawns come in at Levels 6 to 35 instead of 1 to 30 and never have an IV below 4, so it takes less Stardust to reach the CP you're aiming for. After each jump, the cooldown timer shows how long to wait before you catch, and favorite routes and history take you back to a spot that paid off.

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FAQs About Pokémon GO CP Calculators