It depends heavily on the asset type, risk level and time period, so there is no universal benchmark for a good ROI.

Why does the CAGR only show up sometimes?

CAGR requires a time period to annualize the return, so it only appears once a value is entered in the Time Period field.

Does ROI account for fees or taxes?

No, this is a simple ROI based only on initial and final values. Fees, transaction costs and taxes are not factored in automatically.

ROI Calculator

Calculate return on investment as an amount and percentage

Initial Investment ($)

Final Value ($)

Time Period (Years, optional)

yrs

What is the ROI Calculator?

ROI (Return on Investment) measures how much profit or loss an investment generated relative to what you put in. This calculator finds both the net profit and the ROI percentage from your initial investment and final value, and — if you provide a time period — also calculates the annualized return (CAGR) so you can fairly compare investments held for different lengths of time.

How to Use the ROI Calculator

Enter your initial investment — the amount you originally put in.
Enter the final value — what the investment is worth now, or what you sold it for.
Optionally enter the time period in years to also see the annualized (CAGR) return.
Read the result — net profit, ROI percentage, and annualized return if applicable.

ROI Formula

ROI (%) = [(Final Value − Initial Investment) ÷ Initial Investment] × 100

When a time period is entered, the calculator also computes the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR):

CAGR (%) = [(Final Value ÷ Initial Investment)^1/Years − 1] × 100

Example Calculation

You invest $10,000 and it grows to $15,000 over 3 years. Net profit is $5,000, and total ROI is ($5,000 ÷ $10,000) × 100 = 50%. Since this happened over 3 years rather than all at once, the annualized return (CAGR) is approximately 14.5% per year — a more useful figure for comparing against other investments.

Why ROI Alone Can Be Misleading

A 50% ROI over 1 year is a very different result from a 50% ROI over 10 years, even though the percentage is identical. Always check the time period, or use the CAGR figure, before comparing two investments' ROI side by side.

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends heavily on the asset type, risk level and time period involved. There's no universal benchmark — a 50% ROI on a single risky trade means something very different from a 50% ROI on a diversified portfolio held for 10 years.

CAGR requires a time period to annualize the return, so it only appears once you enter a value greater than zero in the "Time Period" field. Without it, only the total ROI over the whole holding period is shown.

No, this calculates a simple ROI based only on the initial and final values you enter. Brokerage fees, transaction costs and capital gains tax will reduce your actual net return and aren't factored in automatically.

Results are for informational purposes only and don't constitute investment advice.