ROI Calculator

Use this free ROI calculator to estimate return on investment, compare up to three investment scenarios, and check annualized ROI (CAGR-style) when the holding period matters.

What Is ROI?

Return on Investment (ROI) is a straightforward metric that measures the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. It is expressed as a percentage and answers one core question: "For every dollar I put in, how much did I gain or lose?"

ROI is widely used by individual investors, financial analysts, and businesses to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to quickly compare the performance of several investments at a glance.

The ROI Formula

Where:

• Amount Invested is the total cost or capital you put into the investment.
• Amount Returned is the total value you received back, including the original principal.

For example, if you invested $1,000 and received $1,200 back, your ROI would be:

What Is Annualized ROI?

While ROI tells you the total return, it does not account for how long the investment was held. A 20% return over 1 year is vastly different from a 20% return over 10 years.

Annualized ROI (also known as the Compound Annual Growth Rate, or CAGR) normalizes the return to a per-year basis, making it possible to fairly compare investments with different time horizons.

Where:

• $n$ is the investment duration in years.

For example, if you invested $1,000, received $1,500 after 3 years:

This means the investment grew at an equivalent rate of about 14.47% per year, compounded annually.

Why ROI and Annualized ROI Matter

• ROI gives you a quick snapshot of profitability — ideal for evaluating a single investment in isolation.
• Annualized ROI enables fair comparisons between investments held for different periods. A 50% total return over 10 years (~4.1% annualized) is less impressive than a 30% total return over 2 years (~14.0% annualized).

Together, these two metrics help investors make informed decisions about where to allocate capital.

How to Use This Calculator

Using the ROI calculator is simple and designed for comparing multiple investments:

1. Enter Your Details: Input the Amount Invested, Amount Returned, and Investment Length (in years). The calculator will instantly display your Total Gain/Loss, ROI, and Annualized ROI.
2. Select Your Currency: Use the currency dropdown menu to format the amounts in your preferred currency.
3. Compare Multiple Scenarios: Click the + icon to add a new tab. You can create up to three tabs to compare different investments side-by-side.
4. Review the Results: As you enter values, the calculator updates automatically to show gain or loss, ROI, and annualized ROI.
5. View the Comparison Chart: If you have multiple tabs, a visual chart is automatically generated to help you compare ROI, annualized ROI, investment length, and gain across your investments.
6. Download a Report: Click the download button to export an organized PDF report of your calculations and charts for future reference.

FAQ

How does this calculator differ from similar tools?

Our calculator is designed for clarity and comparison:

1. Single-workspace layout — Inputs and results stay together so you can review ROI changes as soon as you enter new values.
2. Multi-tab comparison — Add up to three investment records and compare their ROI, annualized ROI, gain, and duration in a single visual bar chart.
3. Annualized ROI included — Many basic ROI calculators omit the annualized figure. We include it by default so you can make apples-to-apples comparisons across investments of different durations.
4. Export to PDF — Easily download a professional report of your calculations for offline reference.

What is the difference between ROI and CAGR?

ROI measures the total percentage gain or loss on an investment, regardless of time. CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is mathematically identical to annualized ROI — it expresses the same return as a steady annual rate. In this calculator, "Annualized ROI" and "CAGR" refer to the same value.

Can ROI be negative?

Yes. A negative ROI means you lost money. For instance, if you invested $1,000 and only received $800 back, your ROI would be −20%.

What does an annualized ROI of −100% mean?

An annualized ROI of −100% indicates a total loss — the investment returned nothing (or a negative amount). This is the floor; annualized ROI cannot go below −100%.