Enter your initial investment amount, final investment value, investment period, and any dividends or rental income to calculate your total Return on Investment (ROI) and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).
How to use this calculator
Enter the starting capital or purchase price of the investment.
Enter the current or expected final sale value of the asset.
Enter the duration of the investment in years.
Enter any cash distributions earned during ownership (dividends, interest, rental income).
Read your Total ROI %, Net Profit ($), and Annualized Compound Growth Rate (CAGR %).
Formula & method
Standard ROI & Compound Annual Growth Equations
Total Proceeds = Final Value + Income · Net Profit = Total Proceeds − Initial · ROI% = (Net Profit ÷ Initial) × 100 · CAGR% = [(Total Proceeds ÷ Initial)^(1/Years) − 1] × 100
Initial = starting capital, Years = holding period in years.
Example
$10,000 invested, $15,000 final value + $500 dividends over 3 years → Net Profit: $5,500, Total ROI: 55.00%, CAGR: 15.73%/year.
Key insights
Total ROI measures cumulative percentage return, while CAGR normalizes performance to a yearly rate for fair asset comparison.
Including dividends and cash distributions increases total investment yield significantly over multi-year holding periods.
A 50% total ROI over 5 years equals a 8.45% CAGR, whereas a 50% ROI over 2 years equals a 22.47% CAGR.
ROI does not account for inflation; calculate real ROI by subtracting the average annual inflation rate from CAGR.
How to interpret your result
Total ROI % vs. CAGR %
Total ROI is cumulative over the entire period; CAGR represents the steady annual interest rate needed to grow initial capital to final value.
Net Profit Amount
The absolute dollar gain (or loss) realized after subtracting initial principal from total proceeds.
Investment Comparison Benchmark
Compare your CAGR against benchmark indices (e.g. S&P 500 historical ~10% annual return) to judge asset efficiency.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good Return on Investment (ROI)?
An annual ROI (CAGR) of 7–10% is generally considered strong for stock market investments, matching long-term index averages.
Why is CAGR better than total ROI for long-term investments?
Total ROI does not account for time. A 100% ROI sounds great, but over 20 years it equals only 3.53% per year (CAGR).
Does ROI include taxes and fees?
This standard calculator computes gross ROI. Subtract transaction fees and capital gains taxes from final value for net ROI.