ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment (ROI) and annualized ROI from your initial investment and final value.
About the ROI Calculator
Return on investment, or ROI, is the simplest way to measure how well money performed: it compares what you got back to what you put in, expressed as a percentage. This calculator gives you the straightforward total ROI, and — if you provide a holding period — the annualized rate that lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time.
How It Works
The calculator subtracts your initial investment from the final value to get the net gain, then divides that by the initial investment to get total ROI as a percentage. When a holding period in years is provided, it also computes the compound annual growth rate implied by that total return, which is the fair way to compare a 2-year investment against a 10-year one.
ROI = (Final Value − Initial Investment) / Initial Investment × 100. Annualized ROI = [(Final Value / Initial Investment)^(1/years) − 1] × 100.
Example
Scenario: An investment of $10,000 that grew to $14,500 over 3 years.
Result: Total ROI of 45%, which works out to an annualized ROI of about 13.2% per year.
Assumptions & Limitations
- Assumes a single initial investment and a single final value, with no interim withdrawals or additional contributions.
- Annualized ROI assumes smooth, compound growth across the holding period, which real returns rarely follow exactly.
- Does not account for taxes, fees, or inflation, all of which reduce real-world investment returns.
- Not designed for investments with multiple cash flows in and out — that requires an IRR calculation instead.