How is return on investment worked out?

Take what came back, subtract what you put in and anything it cost you, then divide that gain by what you put in. Put 12,500 in, get 20,500 back and pay nothing in costs, and the gain is 8,000: 8,000 divided by 12,500 is 0.64, which is a 64% return. The page prints that line with your own figures in it, (20,500 − 12,500) ÷ 12,500, so the answer can be checked rather than taken on trust.

What is the difference between the total return and the annualised one?

The total is the whole percentage over the whole holding. The annualised figure is the compound rate that gets you there one year at a time: 64% over three years is 17.9% a year, meaning the rate which, applied three years running, turns 12,500 into 20,500. Dividing the total by the years instead gives 21.3%, which is too high, and that mistake is why two investments held for different lengths of time cannot be compared on their totals. Both figures are on the page with the formula that produced each one.

Why is there no annualised figure for less than a year?

ROI keeps its annualised figure hidden for a holding period below one year. CAGR can explicitly calculate the mathematical annual equivalent from known endpoints and a positive part-year duration: 100 to 110 over six months is a 21% annual equivalent because 1.10^2 - 1 = 0.21. That does not mean the observed change will repeat.

What does this calculator leave out?

ROI subtracts only the extra costs you enter. Include known dividends or other realised receipts in the returned amount if you want them counted, and use the same currency or unit throughout. The denominator is the amount in Put in, so include an outlay there if you intend it to be part of the investment base, and avoid subtracting it twice. Tax rules, live prices, funding structures and money added on different dates are not inferred. CAGR uses only the two endpoints and elapsed duration; it is not an IRR or XIRR calculation.

Does this page say anything about what an investment will do next?

No. There is no rate box, no growth assumption and no market figure anywhere in it, and nothing on the page is advice. It computes a formula on four figures you already have and stops there, which is the whole design: a page that guessed at what comes next would be making a claim about your money that nobody can support.

Is anything uploaded, and does it need an account?

The arithmetic runs in your browser without an account. Inputs stay in your browser. Explicit edits can be remembered locally; opening a preset page does not overwrite an existing draft.

Can I use this for a known business, project or marketing return?

Yes, for the same retrospective arithmetic. Enter the known investment or campaign spend as Put in and the matching realised proceeds or attributed return as Worth now, then any additional costs that have not already been deducted. For a spend of 1,000, returned amount of 1,600 and extra costs of 100, net gain is 500 and ROI is 50%. Revenue is not automatically profit: you must supply the relevant costs and return basis. Attribution, conversion rates, labour savings and future benefits are not estimated.

What is CAGR, and how is it different from averaging annual percentages?

CAGR = (ending value / starting value)^(1 / elapsed years) - 1. It is the single compound rate connecting two known endpoints. An arithmetic average of annual percentage changes is a different statistic; Average Calculator can average a supplied list. For a known rate that you want to apply repeatedly to a starting amount, APY Calculator has the supplied-rate growth workflow.

How do I calculate ROI in Excel?

If A2 is the invested amount, B2 the returned amount and C2 extra costs, use =(B2-A2-C2)/A2 and format the cell as a percentage. For annualised ROI with D2 elapsed years of at least one, use =((B2-C2)/A2)^(1/D2)-1 when the net ending value is nonnegative. These are formulas to enter yourself, not a downloadable spreadsheet or an Excel add-in.

Does this calculate property, solar, software or product-specific ROI?

The formula can compare known totals you already have, but it does not build a specialist model. Rent, vacancy, financing, tax, energy prices, equipment output, staffing savings, recurring cash flows and vendor assumptions need their own inputs and methods. A product name or industry term alone does not make those estimates part of this calculator.

How do I calculate monthly ROI?

For one observed month, use the invested amount and returned amount for that same interval, then enter any extra costs. Total ROI is net gain divided by the invested amount, regardless of how long the interval lasted; enter 0.0833333333 years to record approximately one month. ROI hides its annualised figure below a year. CAGR can instead convert known endpoints over an elapsed number of months into an explicit annual equivalent. Neither method infers future monthly returns or cash flows.

How do I express ROI as a ratio rather than a percentage?

The Net ROI ratio is net gain divided by the investment base. A ratio of 0.5 means 50% ROI; a 30% ROI corresponds to 0.3. This differs from gross returned value divided by spend: 1,600 returned from 1,000 spent is 1.6 times gross return, while an extra cost of 100 makes net ROI 0.5 or 50%. The calculator displays the net ratio explicitly.

ROI Calculator

Calculate total return from what you put in, what came back and the extra costs you enter. ROI also shows a compound annualised return when the holding period is at least one year. Switch to CAGR for an equivalent annual growth rate from known starting and ending values, using elapsed years or months. Both modes print their formulas; they do not assume market performance or interim cash flows.

Return on investmentReadyEnter what you put in and what it is worth now

Calculate

Put in

Worth now

Held for (years)

Costs

Held for is in years: enter 0.5 for six months. Costs are anything you paid out that is not already taken off what it is worth now, and an empty box is none.

Worked examples

12,500 to 20,500over 3 years
+64.0% · 17.9% a year
A loss9,000 to 7,200 over 1.5 years
−20.0% · −13.8% a year
Held under a year5,000 to 5,400 over six months
+8.0% · held under a year, so no yearly figure

A total return is not a yearly one. 64% over three years is 17.9% a year, because the yearly figure is the compound one: the rate that, applied three times over, turns 12,500 into 20,500. Dividing the total by the years gives a different arithmetic average. ROI keeps its yearly figure hidden for periods under a year; CAGR can explicitly calculate an annual equivalent from a known part-year duration. Neither is a forecast.

Backward looking, on purpose. Every box is a figure you already have, and there is none here for a growth assumption, a market average or money added part way through. Browser double-precision arithmetic, rounded for display. ROI subtracts only the costs you enter; CAGR uses the known endpoints and elapsed duration. Tax, fees not entered, dated cash flows and account terms are not inferred, and neither calculation forecasts future results.

Common questions

How is return on investment worked out?: Take what came back, subtract what you put in and anything it cost you, then divide that gain by what you put in. Put 12,500 in, get 20,500 back and pay nothing in costs, and the gain is 8,000: 8,000 divided by 12,500 is 0.64, which is a 64% return. The page prints that line with your own figures in it, (20,500 − 12,500) ÷ 12,500, so the answer can be checked rather than taken on trust.
What is the difference between the total return and the annualised one?: The total is the whole percentage over the whole holding. The annualised figure is the compound rate that gets you there one year at a time: 64% over three years is 17.9% a year, meaning the rate which, applied three years running, turns 12,500 into 20,500. Dividing the total by the years instead gives 21.3%, which is too high, and that mistake is why two investments held for different lengths of time cannot be compared on their totals. Both figures are on the page with the formula that produced each one.
Why is there no annualised figure for less than a year?: ROI keeps its annualised figure hidden for a holding period below one year. CAGR can explicitly calculate the mathematical annual equivalent from known endpoints and a positive part-year duration: 100 to 110 over six months is a 21% annual equivalent because 1.10^2 - 1 = 0.21. That does not mean the observed change will repeat.
What does this calculator leave out?: ROI subtracts only the extra costs you enter. Include known dividends or other realised receipts in the returned amount if you want them counted, and use the same currency or unit throughout. The denominator is the amount in Put in, so include an outlay there if you intend it to be part of the investment base, and avoid subtracting it twice. Tax rules, live prices, funding structures and money added on different dates are not inferred. CAGR uses only the two endpoints and elapsed duration; it is not an IRR or XIRR calculation.
Does this page say anything about what an investment will do next?: No. There is no rate box, no growth assumption and no market figure anywhere in it, and nothing on the page is advice. It computes a formula on four figures you already have and stops there, which is the whole design: a page that guessed at what comes next would be making a claim about your money that nobody can support.
Is anything uploaded, and does it need an account?: The arithmetic runs in your browser without an account. Inputs stay in your browser. Explicit edits can be remembered locally; opening a preset page does not overwrite an existing draft.
Can I use this for a known business, project or marketing return?: Yes, for the same retrospective arithmetic. Enter the known investment or campaign spend as Put in and the matching realised proceeds or attributed return as Worth now, then any additional costs that have not already been deducted. For a spend of 1,000, returned amount of 1,600 and extra costs of 100, net gain is 500 and ROI is 50%. Revenue is not automatically profit: you must supply the relevant costs and return basis. Attribution, conversion rates, labour savings and future benefits are not estimated.
What is CAGR, and how is it different from averaging annual percentages?: CAGR = (ending value / starting value)^(1 / elapsed years) - 1. It is the single compound rate connecting two known endpoints. An arithmetic average of annual percentage changes is a different statistic; Average Calculator can average a supplied list. For a known rate that you want to apply repeatedly to a starting amount, APY Calculator has the supplied-rate growth workflow.
How do I calculate ROI in Excel?: If A2 is the invested amount, B2 the returned amount and C2 extra costs, use =(B2-A2-C2)/A2 and format the cell as a percentage. For annualised ROI with D2 elapsed years of at least one, use =((B2-C2)/A2)^(1/D2)-1 when the net ending value is nonnegative. These are formulas to enter yourself, not a downloadable spreadsheet or an Excel add-in.
Does this calculate property, solar, software or product-specific ROI?: The formula can compare known totals you already have, but it does not build a specialist model. Rent, vacancy, financing, tax, energy prices, equipment output, staffing savings, recurring cash flows and vendor assumptions need their own inputs and methods. A product name or industry term alone does not make those estimates part of this calculator.
How do I calculate monthly ROI?: For one observed month, use the invested amount and returned amount for that same interval, then enter any extra costs. Total ROI is net gain divided by the invested amount, regardless of how long the interval lasted; enter 0.0833333333 years to record approximately one month. ROI hides its annualised figure below a year. CAGR can instead convert known endpoints over an elapsed number of months into an explicit annual equivalent. Neither method infers future monthly returns or cash flows.
How do I express ROI as a ratio rather than a percentage?: The Net ROI ratio is net gain divided by the investment base. A ratio of 0.5 means 50% ROI; a 30% ROI corresponds to 0.3. This differs from gross returned value divided by spend: 1,600 returned from 1,000 spent is 1.6 times gross return, while an extra cost of 100 makes net ROI 0.5 or 50%. The calculator displays the net ratio explicitly.

Browser double-precision arithmetic, rounded for display. ROI subtracts only the costs you enter; CAGR uses the known endpoints and elapsed duration. Tax, fees not entered, dated cash flows and account terms are not inferred, and neither calculation forecasts future results.