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ROI Calculator — Total Return & Annualized (CAGR)

Calculate the real return on an investment — not just the headline gain. Enter what you put in, any extra contributions, and what it is worth now, and this tool itemizes your total ROI, your net profit, and the annualized return (CAGR) when you add a holding period. CAGR is the number that matters most: it converts a multi-year gain into a yearly rate so you can compare investments of different lengths on equal footing.

Your numbers

$

The amount you first put in.

$

Any extra money added over time (0 for buy-and-hold).

$

What the investment is worth now.

yr

Years held. Leave at 0 for total ROI only (no CAGR).

Results

Total ROI80%
Annualized return (CAGR)12.47%

Breakdown

Total invested$10,000.00
Final value$18,000.00
Net profit$8,000.00

The annualized return (CAGR) spreads your total gain across the holding period — it's the per-year rate that makes investments of different lengths comparable. Gross figures only — excludes fees, taxes, and inflation. Past performance doesn't predict future results. Educational estimate, not investment advice.

Return on investment answers a simple question — “how much did this make me?” — but the honest answer has two parts. The first is your total ROI: the overall percentage gain on the money you put in. The second, and the one that actually lets you compare investments, is your annualized return (CAGR): that same gain expressed as a steady yearly rate. This calculator shows both, and itemizes the dollars behind them, so a big headline number never misleads you.

Total ROI vs. annualized return (CAGR)

Total ROI is your net profit divided by your cost basis:

Total ROI = (final value − total invested) ÷ total invested × 100

Turn $10,000 into $13,000 and you’ve made a $3,000 profit on $10,000 — a 30% return. Clean and intuitive. The problem is that total ROI says nothing about time. A 30% gain in one year is excellent; the same 30% over fifteen years is barely keeping up with a savings account. Total ROI over a multi-year holding period is misleading on its own.

That’s what the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) fixes. It’s the constant yearly rate that would grow your invested capital to its final value over the holding period:

CAGR = (final value ÷ total invested)^(1 / years) − 1

Because it’s per-year, CAGR puts a two-year flip and a twenty-year hold on the same footing, and lets you compare any investment against a benchmark — an index fund, a bond, a high-yield savings account — that’s also quoted annually. When you don’t enter a holding period, there’s nothing to annualize, so the calculator shows total ROI only rather than dividing by zero.

A worked example

The calculator opens with a straightforward buy-and-hold:

  • Initial investment: $10,000
  • Additional contributions: $0
  • Final value: $18,000
  • Holding period: 5 years

Here’s how it itemizes:

  • Net profit: $18,000 − $10,000 = $8,000
  • Total ROI: $8,000 ÷ $10,000 = 80%
  • Annualized return (CAGR): (18,000 ÷ 10,000)^(1/5) − 1 = ≈ 12.47% per year

The figures reconcile exactly: total invested ($10,000) + net profit ($8,000) = final value ($18,000). Notice the gap — an 80% total return sounds enormous, but spread across five years it’s a 12.47% annual rate. That’s a genuinely good result, just not an 80%-a-year one. Seeing both numbers side by side is the whole point. Change any input and the breakdown updates live; add contributions and they fold into your cost basis so the percentage still reflects every dollar you committed.

A loss works the same way, honestly. If that $10,000 fell to $7,000 over five years, the tool shows a −30% total ROI and roughly a −6.9% annualized return — negative numbers, not zeros, because a loss is real information. Only the case where you invested nothing at all is undefined, which the calculator flags rather than showing a meaningless figure.

Important: this is an estimate, not advice

This calculator measures the gross return between what you invested and the final value you enter. It does not subtract trading fees, fund expense ratios, taxes on your gains, or the effect of inflation eroding purchasing power — all of which lower your real, take-home return. To approximate a net figure, enter a final value that already reflects fees and taxes. And remember: past performance does not predict future results. A return calculated here is history, not a forecast, and this tool is for education only — it is not investment advice. For decisions about your portfolio, consult a qualified financial professional.

Estimates are for planning and education only. See our disclaimer.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate return on investment (ROI)?
Total ROI is your net profit divided by what you invested, expressed as a percent: ROI = (final value − total invested) ÷ total invested × 100. For example, turning $10,000 into $13,000 is a $3,000 profit on $10,000, or a 30% ROI. This calculator uses the total you put in — your initial investment plus any additional contributions — as the cost basis, so the percentage reflects every dollar you actually committed.
What is the difference between ROI and annualized return (CAGR)?
Total ROI tells you how much you gained overall, but it ignores how long it took — and time changes everything. An 80% total ROI is excellent in two years and mediocre over twenty. The annualized return, or compound annual growth rate (CAGR), is the constant yearly rate that would grow your money to its final value over the holding period: CAGR = (final value ÷ total invested)^(1/years) − 1. It puts every investment on a per-year basis so you can compare them fairly. This tool shows both, so a big-looking total return does not mislead you.
Why does my multi-year ROI look so much higher than my annual return?
Because total ROI stacks every year of gains into one number. If an investment doubles over 10 years, that is a 100% total ROI — but only about 7.2% per year, because compounding does most of the work over time. The longer you hold, the wider the gap between the impressive total figure and the modest annual rate. Always annualize before comparing one investment to another, or to a benchmark like a savings account or index fund quoted as a yearly return.
Can ROI and CAGR be negative?
Yes. If your investment is worth less than you put in, both the ROI and the annualized return are genuinely negative, and this calculator shows them that way rather than flooring a loss at zero — a loss is real information you need. For instance, $10,000 that falls to $7,000 over five years is a −30% total ROI and roughly a −6.9% annualized return. Only the case where you invested nothing at all is undefined, which the tool flags instead of showing a meaningless number.
Does this ROI calculator account for fees, taxes, and inflation?
No. It measures the gross return between the amount you invested and the final value you enter. It does not subtract trading fees, fund expense ratios, taxes on gains, or the effect of inflation eroding purchasing power — all of which reduce your real, take-home return. To approximate a net figure, enter a final value that already reflects fees and taxes. Past performance also does not predict future results, so treat any return here as history, not a forecast. This is an educational tool, not investment advice.

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