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ROI calculator

Enter how much you invested and what it returned to see your return on investment as a percentage and as profit. Add how long it took for the annualized ROI, so investments of different lengths compare fairly.

What do you know?
Time held (optional)

What it's worth now, or what it paid back in total.

See two investments side by side, per year as well as in total.

Return on investment
35%
Profit $3,500.00 · 10.52% a year over 3 years
Amount invested
$10,000.00
Amount returned
$13,500.00
Profit
$3,500.00
ROI
35%
Time held
3 years
Annualized ROI
10.52% a year

ROI shows the total gain, not how long it took or how much risk it carried. Annualized ROI accounts for the time; nothing here measures risk.

  • Nothing is uploaded
  • Free, no sign-up
  • Works on phone and desktop

How to calculate ROI

  1. 1

    Enter the amount invested and the amount returned: what it is worth now, or everything it paid back. Or switch to Gain or loss and enter the profit.

  2. 2

    Add how long you held it: choose Length for years and months, or Dates for the day you invested and the day you were paid back. That gives the annualized ROI.

  3. 3

    Read the ROI as a percentage, the profit or loss in dollars, and the yearly rate.

  4. 4

    Turn on Compare with a second investment to put two options side by side.

Features

  • Total and per year

    See the overall return and the yearly rate that compounds to it, so a 3-year and an 18-month investment compare fairly.

  • Years or exact dates

    Enter a length, or the dates you bought and sold. Leap years are counted properly.

  • Side by side

    Put two investments, projects or campaigns next to each other and see which earned more per year.

  • Losses too

    Enter a loss with a minus sign to see a negative ROI and the yearly rate it works out to.

The ROI formulas

  • Gain = amount returned − amount invested
  • ROI = gain ÷ amount invested × 100
  • Annualized ROI = ((1 + ROI ÷ 100)1 ÷ years − 1) × 100

With dates, the time held counts whole calendar years first, then the days left over as a share of the following year, so a leap day doesn't nudge the result.

Worked examples

  • Shares with dividends: you buy $5,000 of shares, commission included, and sell them 4 years 3 months later for $7,200 after fees, having collected $380 in dividends. The amount returned is $7,580, the gain $2,580 and the ROI 51.6%, or 10.29% a year.
  • Two projects: project A turns $10,000 into $13,500 over 3 years, a 35% ROI. Project B turns $10,000 into $12,000 in 18 months, only 20%. Per year, though, A earned 10.52% and B 12.92%, so B made the money work harder.
  • A loss: $8,000 that falls to $6,000 over 2 years is a -25% ROI, or -13.4% a year.

Total ROI to annualized ROI

Total ROI1 year2 years3 years5 years10 years
10%10%4.9%3.2%1.9%1%
25%25%11.8%7.7%4.6%2.3%
50%50%22.5%14.5%8.4%4.1%
100%100%41.4%26%14.9%7.2%

Doubling your money (100%) in 10 years works out to about 7.2% a year.

What ROI leaves out

ROI is popular because it's simple, but that simplicity hides a few things. It ignores time: 20% in one year and 20% in ten years show the same ROI. The annualized rate fixes that. It ignores risk: a steady bond fund and a volatile startup stake can post the same number, and nothing in the formula says how close either came to losing money. It ignores money moving in between: if you added money along the way or were paid back in installments, a single ROI and its annualized rate are only approximations. The internal rate of return (IRR), or XIRR in a spreadsheet, handles cash flows at different dates. And it ignores inflation: a 3% yearly return with prices rising 3% a year leaves your buying power about where it started.

Use ROI to compare options on the same footing, before or after tax and fees but never a mix, and treat the result as information, not financial advice. For savings, compare insured rates with the CD calculator and the APY calculator. For a business decision, the break-even calculator shows how many sales it takes to earn back a cost, and the CPM calculator works out what an ad campaign costs per thousand impressions. To see the bigger picture, add everything up with the net worth calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate ROI?

Subtract what you invested from what you got back, divide by what you invested and multiply by 100. $10,000 that grows to $13,500 is a $3,500 gain: $3,500 ÷ $10,000 = 0.35, a 35% ROI.

What is annualized ROI?

It's the yearly rate that, compounded, gives the same total return: (1 + ROI)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. A 35% return over 3 years is 10.52% a year. That's less than 35% ÷ 3 = 11.67%, because each year's gain also earns a return in the years after.

Is annualized ROI the same as CAGR?

Yes, for a single amount invested at the start and a single amount at the end, annualized ROI is the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). APY is the same idea applied to a savings account: the yearly rate including compounding.

What is a good ROI?

There is no single number. A return is only good compared with the risk you took and what else the money could have done. A rate from an insured savings account or CD is a useful floor to compare against. This calculator does the arithmetic; it is not financial advice.

Should I include fees and dividends?

Yes. Add commissions and purchase fees to the amount invested, and count dividends, interest and the sale proceeds after selling fees in the amount returned. Be consistent about taxes: compare investments either all before tax or all after.

How do I work out marketing ROI?

Use the campaign cost as the amount invested and the profit the campaign brought in as the gain. Using revenue instead of profit overstates the return, because the products sold still cost money. Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a different measure: revenue divided by ad spend.

Why does ROI ignore risk?

ROI only compares money in with money out. Two investments can show the same ROI while one had a far bigger chance of losing money along the way. Judge risk separately, for example by how much the value swung and how much you could afford to lose.

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