How do you calculate ROI?

ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested, shown as a percentage. Investing $10,000.00 and getting back $14,500.00 is a gain of $4,500.00 and an ROI of 45%. Here, fees are added to the cost and income is added to the return, so the example is $5,000.00 on $10,100.00, an ROI of 49.5%.

What is the difference between ROI and annualized ROI?

ROI is the total gain over the whole holding period, whatever its length. Annualized ROI converts it to the steady yearly rate that would produce the same result: (end value ÷ start value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1, also called CAGR. The example's ROI of 49.5% over 3 years is 14.35% a year; the same $10,100.00 turning into $15,100.00 in one year would be 49.5%.

Why does a higher ROI not always mean a better investment?

Because ROI ignores time. A 50% ROI earned in 1 year is 50% annualized, but 50% earned over 10 years is only 4.14% a year. Use annualized ROI to compare investments held for different lengths.

How is the time between two dates counted?

With start and end dates the calculator counts the exact days and divides by 365, so a calendar year is one year (366 days (1.0027 years) from 2024-01-01 to 2025-01-01, which includes a leap day, and an annualized 19.94% on a 20% gain, a touch under the plain 20%). This is the same convention as the XIRR function in spreadsheets.

What costs and income should I include?

Add purchase and sale fees, commissions, closing costs, and ongoing costs such as maintenance or management charges to the extra costs; they raise the cost. Add dividends, interest, rent or other cash you received to the income; it raises the return. Leave both blank for the simple version.

Does ROI account for when the money moved?

No. ROI treats everything as one amount out and one amount back, so it ignores the timing of cash flows. Ten years of dividends and a final sale price are lumped together as one return. If money went in or out at several dates, the internal rate of return (IRR) is the measure that weighs timing. This calculator does not compute IRR.

Yes. If you get back less than the total cost, the gain is a loss and the ROI is negative. Getting back $7,500.00 on $10,000.00 is −$2,500.00, an ROI of −25%. The lowest possible ROI is −100%, losing everything.

Is annualized ROI reliable for short periods?

Be careful. Annualizing a few weeks or months assumes you could repeat the result for a whole year, which is rarely realistic, so the calculator adds a note for periods under a year. Annualized ROI is most meaningful over a year or more.

Is anything I type stored or sent?

No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter leaves your device.

ROI Calculator

Investing $10,000.00 plus $100.00 in fees and getting back $14,500.00 plus $600.00 of income over 3 years is a net gain of $5,000.00 on a total cost of $10,100.00: an ROI of 49.5%, or 14.35% a year when annualized. ROI = (return − cost) ÷ cost. Enter what you invested and what you got back, add any extra costs and any income received such as dividends or rent, then give the holding period as a number of years or as start and end dates to see the annualized ROI (CAGR). It also shows the same ROI spread over different holding periods. This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.

Updated 2026-10-16Runs in your browser: nothing you enter is uploadedHow this tool works

ROI 49.5%

Total cost $10,100.00, total return $15,100.00: a gain of $5,000.00 over 3 years, or 14.35% a year.

Total cost: $10,100.00
Total return: $15,100.00
Net gain: $5,000.00
ROI: 49.5%
Holding period: 3 years
Annualized ROI (CAGR): 14.35%

An estimate for planning, not financial advice.

The same ROI over other holding periods

Your total return and cost, if reaching them had taken a different amount of time.

If it took	Annualized ROI
6 months	123.52%
1 year	49.5%
2 years	22.27%
3 years	14.35%
5 years	8.38%
10 years	4.1%

The same 50% ROI over different holding periods

A 50% total gain is a very different annual rate depending on how long it took. Annualized ROI = (1 + ROI)^(1/years) − 1.
Time to earn 50%	Annualized ROI
6 months	125%
1 year	50%
2 years	22.47%
3 years	14.47%
5 years	8.45%
10 years	4.14%

What a steady annual return adds up to

Total ROI after holding for the given number of years at a constant annualized rate: (1 + rate)^years − 1. Compare with the compound interest calculator.
Annualized ROI	1 year	5 years	10 years	20 years
3%	3%	15.93%	34.39%	80.61%
5%	5%	27.63%	62.89%	165.33%
7%	7%	40.26%	96.72%	286.97%
10%	10%	61.05%	159.37%	572.75%

Doubling your money

A 100% ROI (the investment doubles) at different speeds.
Time to double	Annualized ROI
1 year	100%
2 years	41.42%
5 years	14.87%
10 years	7.18%

How to calculate ROI and annualized ROI

Enter the amount invested. Type what you paid for the investment. The example is $10,000.00.
Add extra costs (optional). Include fees, commissions or closing costs. They are added to the cost: the example's $100.00 brings the total cost to $10,100.00.
Enter the amount returned. Type what you got back, for example the sale price or current value: $14,500.00 in the example.
Add income received (optional). Include dividends, interest or rent you collected along the way. The example's $600.00 brings the total return to $15,100.00.
Set the holding period. Choose a number of years (decimals such as 2.5 work) or switch to start and end dates for an exact day count.
Read the result. The example shows a net gain of $5,000.00, an ROI of 49.5% and an annualized ROI of 14.35%. The table underneath shows the same ROI over other holding periods.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate ROI?: ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested, shown as a percentage. Investing $10,000.00 and getting back $14,500.00 is a gain of $4,500.00 and an ROI of 45%. Here, fees are added to the cost and income is added to the return, so the example is $5,000.00 on $10,100.00, an ROI of 49.5%.
What is the difference between ROI and annualized ROI?: ROI is the total gain over the whole holding period, whatever its length. Annualized ROI converts it to the steady yearly rate that would produce the same result: (end value ÷ start value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1, also called CAGR. The example's ROI of 49.5% over 3 years is 14.35% a year; the same $10,100.00 turning into $15,100.00 in one year would be 49.5%.
Why does a higher ROI not always mean a better investment?: Because ROI ignores time. A 50% ROI earned in 1 year is 50% annualized, but 50% earned over 10 years is only 4.14% a year. Use annualized ROI to compare investments held for different lengths.
How is the time between two dates counted?: With start and end dates the calculator counts the exact days and divides by 365, so a calendar year is one year (366 days (1.0027 years) from 2024-01-01 to 2025-01-01, which includes a leap day, and an annualized 19.94% on a 20% gain, a touch under the plain 20%). This is the same convention as the XIRR function in spreadsheets.
What costs and income should I include?: Add purchase and sale fees, commissions, closing costs, and ongoing costs such as maintenance or management charges to the extra costs; they raise the cost. Add dividends, interest, rent or other cash you received to the income; it raises the return. Leave both blank for the simple version.
Does ROI account for when the money moved?: No. ROI treats everything as one amount out and one amount back, so it ignores the timing of cash flows. Ten years of dividends and a final sale price are lumped together as one return. If money went in or out at several dates, the internal rate of return (IRR) is the measure that weighs timing. This calculator does not compute IRR.
Can ROI be negative?: Yes. If you get back less than the total cost, the gain is a loss and the ROI is negative. Getting back $7,500.00 on $10,000.00 is −$2,500.00, an ROI of −25%. The lowest possible ROI is −100%, losing everything.
Is annualized ROI reliable for short periods?: Be careful. Annualizing a few weeks or months assumes you could repeat the result for a whole year, which is rarely realistic, so the calculator adds a note for periods under a year. Annualized ROI is most meaningful over a year or more.
Is anything I type stored or sent?: No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing you enter leaves your device.

How it works

Total cost is the amount invested plus any extra costs and fees; total return is the amount returned plus any income received. The gain is total return − total cost, and ROI = gain ÷ total cost. Amounts are held as whole cents and ROI as an exact fraction, so nothing drifts: each amount is rounded to the cent once (halves up) and the percentage is rounded once, to at most two decimals, when shown. Annualized ROI is the compound annual growth rate, CAGR = (total return ÷ total cost)^(1 ÷ years) − 1, equivalent to (1 + ROI)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. The fractional power is computed in floating point and rounded to a hundredth of a percent for display, far inside the precision of a double. When you give start and end dates, the holding period is the exact number of days between them divided by 365, using the same calendar arithmetic as the days-between-dates tool; the dates must be real, the end after the start, and the period at most 100 years either way. Losing everything gives −100% a year. ROI is a single-period measure: it does not weigh when cash flows happened (that is what the internal rate of return, IRR, does, and it is not computed here), nor taxes, inflation or risk. This is an estimate for planning and not financial advice. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.

Sources

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