ROI Calculator
Enter what you put in, what it's worth now, and how long you held it. Get the total return on investment, your net gain or loss, the return multiple, and the annualized rate (CAGR) — the number that lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time. All in your browser.
ROI is the total percentage change from start to finish. CAGR (annualized) is the smoothed yearly rate that gets you there — use it to compare investments held for different lengths of time. For context: the S&P 500's long-run return is roughly 10%/yr nominal (about 7%/yr real, after inflation). Neither figure accounts for taxes, fees, or money added along the way.
Total return hides time — annualized reveals it
"I doubled my money" sounds great until you ask how long? Doubling in 3 years is a spectacular ~26% per year. Doubling in 30 years is a sleepy ~2.3% per year — worse than many savings accounts. Total ROI is the same +100% in both cases; only the annualized rate (CAGR) exposes the difference. That's why CAGR is the number serious investors compare.
The comparison trap
Two investments can have identical total returns and wildly different quality. Always convert to an annual rate before comparing, and make sure you're comparing like risk. A 12% CAGR from a diversified index fund and a 12% CAGR from a single speculative stock are not the same bet, even though the math is identical.
What ROI deliberately ignores
This is a clean two-number calculation: money in, money out. It says nothing about risk (how bumpy the ride was), and it doesn't automatically include dividends, fees, or taxes — fold those into your figures if you want a net result. For investments where you added money over time, reach for the compound interest calculator instead.
Related
- Personal finance hub — all our money calculators and guides
- Compound interest calculator — project growth with contributions
- FIRE calculator — turn returns into financial independence
- Inflation calculator — is your return beating inflation?
FAQ
Is anything I enter sent to a server?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — open DevTools → Network and confirm. Your investment figures never leave the tab.
What's the difference between ROI and CAGR?
ROI is the total percentage change from start to finish, ignoring time — turning $10,000 into $15,000 is +50% ROI whether it took one year or ten. CAGR (compound annual growth rate, the "annualized" figure) is the steady yearly rate that produces that same result over the holding period. +50% in one year is a 50% CAGR; +50% over ten years is only about 4.1% CAGR. When comparing investments held for different lengths of time, CAGR is the fair comparison.
Does this include dividends, fees, or taxes?
Only if you bake them into the numbers. The calculator works purely from the amount invested and the final value you enter. To include dividends, add them to the final value (or use the total value of a reinvested position). To reflect fees and taxes, subtract them from the final value. The math is exact; what you feed it determines whether it's gross or net.
What counts as a 'good' ROI?
There's no universal number — it depends on risk and time. For context, the US stock market has returned roughly 10% per year nominally (about 6–7% after inflation) over the long run. An annualized return well above that usually came with well-above-average risk. Judge a return against a comparable, lower-risk alternative, not in isolation.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. If the final value is below the amount invested, you have a loss and both ROI and CAGR are negative. The calculator shows the loss in red and reports how much you're down.
Can I use exact dates instead of years?
Yes — switch the holding period to Dates and enter the day you bought and the day you sold (or today). The calculator converts the gap to years as days ÷ 365.25 and uses that exact figure for the annualized return, which matters for short or odd-length holdings: 18 months is 1.50 years, not "1" or "2".
What's the rule of 72?
A mental-math shortcut: 72 ÷ annual return ≈ years to double your money. At 9% a year, money doubles roughly every 8 years; at 14.5%, about every 5. When your CAGR is positive, the calculator shows this doubling time — it's a quick way to feel what a given annualized return actually does over time.
What if I added money over time?
This tool models a single lump sum in and a single value out — the cleanest definition of ROI. If you contributed regularly (like monthly investing), the right tool is the compound interest calculator, which handles ongoing contributions. For a true multi-cashflow return you'd need an IRR calculation, which is a different beast.