ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment (ROI) and annualized ROI from the amount invested, the amount returned and the investment length or dates.
How ROI is calculated
ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested × 100. If you invest $1,000 and get back $2,000, your gain is $1,000 and your ROI is 100%.
Annualized ROI = (amount returned ÷ amount invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. It is the yearly growth rate that turns the amount invested into the amount returned over the same time. A 100% ROI over 5 years is an annualized ROI of 14.87%.
Plain ROI does not show how long the money was tied up. A 50% return over 5 years (8.45% a year) is weaker than a 30% return over 2 years (14.02% a year). Use annualized ROI to compare investments that last for different lengths of time.
Disclaimer: We are not financial advisers, accountants, or tax professionals, and nothing on this page constitutes financial, tax, or legal advice. Results are estimates provided for general informational purposes only — always confirm any significant financial decision with a qualified, licensed professional before acting on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
About this calculator
Return on investment (ROI) shows how much money an investment made or lost compared with what it cost. It is a single percentage, so you can use it to compare very different things: a stock, a rental flat, a marketing campaign or new equipment for a business. This ROI calculator gives you the gain or loss, the ROI, the annualized ROI and the return multiple from two numbers, plus the length of time if you know it.
ROI formula
The basic ROI formula is ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested × 100. The amount returned is everything you got back: the sale price plus any income such as dividends, interest or rent. The amount invested is everything you paid: the purchase price plus fees, repairs and other costs. Some people write the same formula as ROI = net profit ÷ cost of investment × 100. Both give the same result.
How to calculate ROI
You buy shares for $10,000, including the broker fee, and sell them 3 years later for $13,500. Your net profit is $13,500 − $10,000 = $3,500. Your ROI is $3,500 ÷ $10,000 × 100 = 35%. The return multiple is 1.35×, which means every dollar you put in became $1.35.
Annualized ROI
Plain ROI does not tell you how long the money was invested. The annualized ROI formula fixes this: annualized ROI = (amount returned ÷ amount invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. For the shares above, (13,500 ÷ 10,000)^(1 ÷ 3) − 1 = 10.52% a year. This is the same number as the compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Now compare two investments. Investment A returns 50% in 5 years, which is 8.45% a year. Investment B returns 30% in 2 years, which is 14.02% a year. A has the bigger ROI, but B grew the money faster.
Include every cost
ROI is only as good as the numbers you put in. Say you buy a house for $200,000, spend $30,000 on renovation and $10,000 on buying and selling costs, and sell it after 18 months for $285,000. If you only count the purchase price, the ROI looks like 42.5%. With all costs, the amount invested is $240,000, the gain is $45,000 and the ROI is 18.75%, or 12.14% a year.
ROI for a loss
ROI can be negative. If you invest $5,000 and get back $4,200 after 2 years, the loss is $800 and the ROI is −16%. The annualized ROI is −8.35% a year. The calculator shows a loss in red.
Limits of ROI
ROI does not measure risk. Two investments with the same ROI can have very different chances of losing money. It also ignores inflation and taxes unless you include them in your numbers, and it treats the investment as one payment in and one payment out. If you added or took out money at different times, a method such as the internal rate of return (IRR) gives a more exact yearly figure. Be careful with annualized ROI for short periods: a 5% gain in 6 months shows as 10.25% a year, which is only true if the same pace continues.
- ROI and annualized ROI together — See the total return and the yearly return side by side, so you can compare investments that lasted for different lengths of time.
- Length or exact dates — Enter the time as years and months, or pick a start date and an end date.
- Gain, loss and return multiple — See the profit or loss in money and how many times your money grew.
- Multi-currency support — Show results in any of 10 major currencies with the correct format for each.