ROI Calculator
Enter what you put in, what it was worth at the end, any income you received and any fees, plus how long you held it. You get the net profit, the ROI and the annualized ROI — and when you add more than one investment, a ranked comparison and a chart. Free, no sign-up.
Your investments
Total cost = amount invested + fees. Total return = value at the end + income received. ROI = (total return − total cost) ÷ total cost. Annualized ROI = (total return ÷ total cost)^(1 ÷ years) − 1.
Results
| Rank | Investment | Total cost | Total return | Net profit | ROI | Annualized ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Investment 1 | $10,000.00 | $13,500.00 | $3,500.00 | 35% | 10.52% |
| 1 | Investment 2 | $5,025.00 | $5,750.00 | $725.00 | 14.43% | 14.43% |
Ranked by annualized ROI, which puts different holding periods on the same footing.
The working
Investment 1: ROI = ($13,500.00 − $10,000.00) ÷ $10,000.00 = 35%
Annualized = ($13,500.00 ÷ $10,000.00)^(1 ÷ 3) − 1 = 10.5209%
Investment 2: ROI = ($5,750.00 − $5,025.00) ÷ $5,025.00 = 14.4279%
Annualized = ($5,750.00 ÷ $5,025.00)^(1 ÷ 1) − 1 = 14.4279%
How to Use the ROI Calculator
- 1. Enter the amount invested and the value at the end. The end value is what the investment was worth when you sold it, or is worth now.
- 2. Add income and fees (optional). Dividends, rent or interest received count as return. Purchase and selling fees, commissions and other costs count as cost.
- 3. Enter the holding period in years. Use 0.5 for six months. Without it you still get ROI, but no annualized figure.
- 4. Add more investments to compare. Up to six, each with its own numbers. They are ranked by annualized ROI so that different holding periods can be compared fairly.
- 5. Read the working. Each result is written out with your numbers, so you can check it by hand.
The ROI Formulas
- Total cost = amount invested + fees and other costs.
- Total return = value at the end + income received.
- Net profit = total return − total cost.
- ROI = net profit ÷ total cost.
- Annualized ROI = (total return ÷ total cost)1/years − 1.
ROI is a plain ratio: it says how much you gained per unit invested, and says nothing about how long it took. A 30% gain over five years and a 15% gain in one year are very different results, which is what the annualized figure exposes. Annualizing finds the constant yearly rate that would produce the same growth, assuming the income stays as cash rather than being reinvested.
Worked Example
Investment 1: 10,000 invested, worth 13,500 after 3 years, no income and no fees. Net profit is 3,500, ROI is 3,500 ÷ 10,000 = 35%, and the annualized ROI is 1.351/3 − 1 = 10.52% a year.
Investment 2: 5,000 invested plus 25 of fees, worth 5,600 after 1 year, with 150 of income received. Total cost is 5,025 and total return is 5,750, so the net profit is 725 and the ROI is 14.43% — also the annualized figure, since it was held for exactly a year. Investment 2 has the lower ROI of the two (14.43% against 35%) but the higher annualized ROI (14.43% against 10.52%), so it ranks first. Investment 1's bigger headline number took three times as long to earn.
Limits of ROI
- Timing of cash flows. ROI treats all income as arriving at the end. For investments with several contributions and withdrawals on different dates, use an internal rate of return — the NPV and IRR Calculator does this.
- Short periods. Annualizing a result from a few months assumes the same pace continues for a year, which rarely happens. The calculator flags holding periods under a year.
- Risk. Two investments with the same ROI can carry very different risk, and ROI does not measure it.
- Taxes and inflation. Neither is included. A positive ROI can be a loss in real terms after inflation.
- It is not advice. The calculator is for coursework and understanding, and says nothing about whether any investment is suitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you calculate ROI?
- ROI = (total return − total cost) ÷ total cost. If you invest 10,000 and it is worth 13,500 later, the ROI is (13,500 − 10,000) ÷ 10,000 = 35%. Multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage. Fees you paid add to the cost; income you received adds to the return.
- What is annualized ROI and why use it?
- It converts a total return over any period into the equivalent yearly rate: (1 + ROI)1/years − 1. Use it when comparing investments held for different lengths of time, because plain ROI does not account for time. A 35% ROI over three years is 10.52% a year.
- What is a good ROI?
- There is no single answer, because it depends on the time and the risk. A useful comparison is with the return of a reasonable alternative over the same period, and with the annualized figure rather than the headline ROI. This calculator does not tell you whether a result is good for you.
- How do I include dividends, rent or fees?
- Enter dividends, rent or interest you received as income, which adds to total return, and enter commissions and other fees as costs, which add to total cost. The ROI is then calculated on the full cost including fees.
- What is the difference between ROI and IRR?
- ROI compares the total gain with the total cost and ignores when money moved. IRR is the discount rate that makes the net present value of dated cash flows zero, so it accounts for timing. For a single deposit and a single withdrawal, annualized ROI and IRR are the same number.
- Can ROI be negative, and what does −100% mean?
- Yes. If the end value plus income is below the total cost, the ROI is negative. An ROI of −100% means the whole cost was lost. Its annualized form is also −100%, whatever the holding period.