ROI Calculator
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What Your Result Means
- Net Profit: The simple dollar difference between your final value and initial investment. Positive means a gain; negative means a loss. This is before taxes and fees.
- Total ROI: Your net profit expressed as a percentage of the initial investment. A 50% ROI means you earned half your original investment back as profit. This figure doesn't account for how long the investment was held.
- Annualized ROI: The total return compressed into a per-year compound growth rate. This lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time on an apples-to-apples basis — essentially the CAGR of your investment.
How This Calculator Works
You enter an initial investment amount, the final value, and optionally the number of years held. Total ROI = (Final − Initial) / Initial × 100. If you provide a holding period, annualized ROI is calculated as (Final / Initial)^(1/years) − 1, which is the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The holding period field is optional — without it, only total ROI is shown.
Quick Questions
What's the difference between ROI and CAGR?
ROI is the total cumulative return over the entire period. CAGR (annualized ROI) spreads that return evenly across each year as if it grew at a constant rate. A 100% total ROI over 10 years is about 7.2% annualized.
Should I include fees and taxes in my inputs?
For the most accurate picture, subtract any fees or commissions from your final value before entering it. This calculator doesn't model taxes separately, so using after-fee values gives a cleaner result.
Can I use this for real estate?
Yes. Enter your total acquisition cost (price + closing costs + renovations) as the initial investment and the net sale proceeds (after agent fees and closing costs) as the final value. Include the holding period for an annualized comparison.
What's a "good" ROI?
It depends on the asset class and risk. The S&P 500 has historically returned about 10% annually (before inflation). Real estate typically targets 8–12% annualized. A "good" ROI is one that exceeds what you could earn in a comparable-risk alternative.
Sources
- Investopedia — Return on Investment (ROI) (formula definitions and examples)
- SEC — Saving and Investing (investment return context and risk considerations)
- NYU Stern — Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds, Bills (S&P 500 benchmark data)
Method & review
Estimate only. Results reflect your inputs and standard formulas — they are not financial, tax, legal, health, or investment advice. Verify important decisions with a qualified professional.