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ROI Calculator

Return on investment as both a total percentage and an annualized rate — the two answer different questions.

Enter what you put in and what you got out to see your return.

What you put in at the start.

What it is worth now, or what you sold it for.

Dividends, rent, interest — anything paid out to you.

Fees, commissions, maintenance.

Add this to get the annualized return — the figure that lets you compare against other investments.

Exact calculation. Given your inputs, this is the answer — no estimation involved.

How this calculator works

Total ROI is profit divided by what you put in. It is simple and it is what most people mean by "return", but on its own it is close to useless for comparison, because it says nothing about how long the money was tied up.

The annualized return — the compound annual growth rate — fixes that. A 60% total return is excellent over two years and unremarkable over fifteen, and only the annualized figure makes those comparable.

Costs are subtracted from profit and added to the money at risk, because a fee you paid is capital that is no longer working for you. Income received along the way — dividends, rent, interest — is added to what you got back.

When an investment ends at zero, the annualized figure is suppressed rather than a nonsense number printed. You cannot take a root of a negative ratio and get a meaningful rate.

The formula

Exactly what happens to your numbers, step by step.

  1. Total ROI

    invested  = initial + costs
returned  = final value + income received
ROI       = (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100

  2. Annualized (CAGR)

    CAGR = (returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1

  3. Years to double

    years = ln(2) ÷ ln(1 + CAGR)

A worked example

$10,000 invested, worth $20,000 after ten years.

What you enter

Initial investment
$10,000
Final value
$20,000
Holding period
10 years

Step by step

Profit
$10,000
Total ROI
100%
Ratio
2.0
CAGR
2^(1/10) − 1 = 7.18%

100% total return — an annualized 7.18%

Doubling over ten years is about 7.2% a year, not 10%. That gap is compounding, and it is why the annualized figure is the one to compare.

Assumptions

Every result here rests on these. Change your inputs and the result changes with them.

  • All the money went in at the start and came out at the end. Investments with contributions along the way need a money-weighted return instead.
  • Costs are one-off amounts, not ongoing fees compounding against the balance.
  • Returns are before tax.

What this cannot tell you

  • It does not account for risk. A 15% return from a volatile asset is not comparable to 15% from a safe one.
  • It does not adjust for inflation. A 7% nominal return during 5% inflation is only 2% in real terms.
  • For investments with irregular cash flows in and out, an internal rate of return is the right measure and this is not it.

Questions people ask

How do I calculate ROI?

Subtract what you put in from what you got back, divide by what you put in, and multiply by 100. Include income received and costs paid, or the figure will flatter the investment.

What is a good ROI?

It depends entirely on the time period and the risk. As a rough anchor, broad stock indexes have averaged around 10% a year nominal over long periods. Anything promising far more without matching risk deserves skepticism.

What is the difference between ROI and CAGR?

ROI is the total return over the whole period. CAGR is the equivalent steady annual rate. A 100% ROI over 2 years is 41% a year; over 10 years it is 7.2%. Only CAGR compares across different holding periods.

Should I include fees?

Yes. Enter them as costs. A return calculated before fees is not the return you received, and on a long hold the difference can be substantial.

Related calculators

Sources and review

This calculator uses standard arithmetic with no external rules or published rates, so there is nothing to cite beyond the formulas shown above.

Methodology version 1.0.0 · Last reviewed

Cite this calculator

For coursework, a resource list or your own site. How every calculator is built and checked is set out on the methodology page.

Citation

Chalk Calculator. (2026, September 20). ROI Calculator (Methodology version 1.0.0). https://chalkcalculator.com/roi-calculator/

Link to it from your site

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