ROI Calculator
Measure what an investment earned. Enter what you put in, what you got back and any extra costs, and see the net gain, the return on investment as a percentage and the multiple of your money. Add the holding period to compare investments of different lengths by their annualised return.
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Free to use
Final value or total received, including the original amount.
Fees, maintenance or other costs not included above.
For the annualised return.
Past returns do not predict future returns. The calculation ignores inflation and taxes unless you include them in the amounts.
How to use ROI Calculator
- Enter the amount invested.
- Enter the amount returned, including the original sum.
- Add any extra costs and the holding period in years.
- Read the ROI, the net gain and the annualised return.
ROI Calculator features
Simple ROI
Net gain divided by total cost.
Annualised return
The compound yearly rate over the holding period.
Extra costs
Fees and expenses included in the cost.
Multiple
How many times the money was returned.
Losses
Negative returns are shown correctly.
Shows the formulas
The working appears under the result.
When to use ROI Calculator
- Evaluating a past investment or project.
- Comparing investments with different durations.
- Assessing equipment or marketing spending.
- Presenting a business case.
ROI Calculator FAQ
How is ROI calculated?
ROI = (amount returned − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100. An investment of 10,000 that returns 12,500 has an ROI of 25%.
Why annualise the return?
A 25% return over one year is far better than 25% over five. The annualised return, the compound yearly rate, makes investments of different lengths comparable.
What should I include in the cost?
Everything you paid to make and hold the investment: purchase price, fees, commissions, maintenance. Leaving costs out overstates ROI.
Does ROI account for risk?
No. Two investments with the same ROI can carry very different risks. ROI also ignores the timing of cash flows within the period.
What about inflation and tax?
They are not included unless you reflect them in the amounts. A real (inflation-adjusted) return is lower than the nominal one shown here.
Is this financial advice?
No. It is a calculator for figures you supply. Past returns do not predict future results.
Return on investment, used carefully
ROI is the most widely used measure of whether spending money paid off. It works for shares, property, equipment, training and marketing alike: what came back, minus what went in, as a share of what went in. Its simplicity is its strength and its weakness.
The first limitation is time. ROI says nothing about how long the money was tied up. Annualising solves this by finding the constant yearly growth rate that would turn the cost into the final amount. A 50% return over four years is about 10.7% a year, less impressive than it first sounds.
The second limitation is completeness. An ROI is only as honest as its inputs. Transaction fees, maintenance, your own time and the opportunity cost of not investing elsewhere all reduce the true return. Including every cost you can identify makes comparisons fair.
Finally, ROI ignores risk and uncertainty. A guaranteed 5% and a speculative 5% expectation are very different propositions. Use ROI to compare like with like, look at the annualised figure for different durations, and remember that past returns guarantee nothing about the future.