ROI Calculator

About ROI Calculator

A Return on Investment (ROI) calculator measures how profitable an investment was by comparing the net profit to the amount you originally invested, expressed as a percentage.

When you also provide the holding period, it computes the annualized ROI, which lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time on an equal footing.

Formula

• Invested — Amount originally put in
• Returned — Final value received
• t — Holding period in years (for annualized ROI)

How to use it

1. Enter the amount you originally invested.
2. Enter the final value you received (or expect to receive).
3. Optionally enter the holding period in years to get the annualized ROI.
4. Read the net profit, total ROI and, if applicable, the annualized return.

Good to know

• A negative ROI means you lost money — the returned value was less than what you invested.
• Total ROI ignores time, so a 50% return over 1 year and over 10 years look identical; annualized ROI fixes this.
• Annualized ROI is the same idea as CAGR — the constant yearly growth rate that links the start and end values.
• ROI does not account for the timing of intermediate cash flows; use IRR for irregular multi-period flows.

Frequently asked questions