acalculator

What is my ROI on this investment?

Enter what you invested, including fees, and what you got back, including income. Add the years held to see the return per year.

Your numbers

Include fees and commissions.
Sale value after costs, plus income received.
Return on investment
25%

Investing $10,000.00 and getting back $12,500.00 is a return on investment of 25% ($2,500.00).

Gain
$2,500.00
Annualized return
7.72%

Return on investment: 25%. Investing $10,000.00 and getting back $12,500.00 is a return on investment of 25% ($2,500.00).

The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use

How to calculate

Computes return on investment (ROI) from the amount invested and the amount returned, and the annualized return over the years held.

Example with the default inputs (Amount invested $10,000.00, Amount returned $12,500.00, Years held 3): Investing $10,000.00 and getting back $12,500.00 is a return on investment of 25% ($2,500.00).

Method: ROI = (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100; annualized return = ((returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1) × 100.

  • The amount invested includes fees and commissions; the amount returned includes income received (dividends, interest, rent) and is after selling costs.
  • The annualized return assumes one amount invested at the start and one amount returned at the end, compounding once a year. For money added or taken out along the way, use an internal rate of return instead.
  • Tax and inflation are not included.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Amount invested $2,020.00, Amount returned $2,540.00, Years held 3 gives Return on investment 25.7%, Gain $520.00.Source: FINRA, Calculating Your Investment Returns: a total return of about $520 or 25.7 percent (rounded, hence the tolerance); 520 ÷ 2,020 = 25.74%
  2. Amount invested $2,020.00, Amount returned $2,540.00, Years held 3 gives Return on investment 25.742574%, Annualized return 7.934624%.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: (2,540 ÷ 2,020)^(1/3) − 1 = 7.93%
  3. Amount invested $10,000.00, Amount returned $15,000.00, Years held 5 gives Return on investment 50%, Gain $5,000.00, Annualized return 8.447177%.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: 5,000 ÷ 10,000 = 50%; 1.5^(1/5) − 1 = 8.45%
  4. Amount invested $5,000.00, Amount returned $4,000.00 gives Return on investment -20%, Gain -$1,000.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: a loss: (4,000 − 5,000) ÷ 5,000 = −20%
  5. Amount invested $1,000.00, Amount returned $2,000.00, Years held 7 gives Return on investment 100%, Annualized return 10.408951%.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: money that doubles in 7 years: 2^(1/7) − 1 = 10.41% a year

How ROI is worked out

  • gain = returned − invested
  • ROI = gain ÷ invested × 100
  • annualized return = ((returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1) × 100

invested is everything you put in (price, fees, commissions). returned is everything you got back (the sale value after selling costs, plus dividends, interest or rent). years is how long the money was invested; it can be a fraction, such as 1.5.

The annualized return a is the yearly rate at which invested × (1 + a)^years = returned. Solving for a gives the formula above. If you leave the years empty, the calculator shows only the ROI and the gain.

Assumptions

  • One amount invested at the start and one amount returned at the end.
  • Returns compound once a year for the annualized return.
  • Tax and inflation are not included.
  • The amount invested is at least $0.01; the amount returned can be $0 (an ROI of −100%).
  • When the annualized return is too large to compute (a huge gain over a tiny fraction of a year), it is left out.

Worked examples by hand

FINRA's stock example. Invested = 100 × $20 + $10 + $10 = $2,020. Returned = 100 × $24 + $140 = $2,540. Gain = 2,540 − 2,020 = $520. ROI = 520 ÷ 2,020 × 100 = 25.74% (FINRA rounds it to 25.7%). Over 3 years: (2,540 ÷ 2,020)^(1/3) − 1 = 1.25743^(0.3333) − 1 = 7.93% a year.

$10,000 grows to $15,000 in 5 years. Gain = $5,000. ROI = 50%. Annualized = 1.5^(1/5) − 1 = 1.08447 − 1 = 8.45% a year.

$5,000 falls to $4,000. Gain = −$1,000. ROI = −1,000 ÷ 5,000 × 100 = −20%.

Money doubles in 7 years. ROI = 100%. Annualized = 2^(1/7) − 1 = 10.41% a year.

Other questions people ask

How do I calculate ROI?

Subtract the amount invested from the amount returned, divide by the amount invested, and multiply by 100. Investing $10,000 and getting back $15,000 is a gain of $5,000 and an ROI of 5,000 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 50%.

What should I count as invested and returned?

Count everything. Invested is the price plus fees and commissions. Returned is what you got on sale, after selling costs, plus dividends, interest or rent received. FINRA's example: 100 shares at $20 with $10 commissions each way, sold at $24 with $140 of dividends: $2,020 in, $2,540 back, a $520 gain or 25.7%.

What is annualized return?

The yearly rate that would grow your money to the same result: (returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. A 50% gain over 5 years is 1.5^(1/5) − 1 = 8.45% a year. It lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time.

Why not just divide the ROI by the years?

Because returns compound. Dividing 25.7% by 3 years gives 8.6% a year, but 8.6% a year for 3 years would grow the money by 28%. The annualized return that gives 25.7% over 3 years is 7.9%.

Can ROI be negative?

Yes. If you got back less than you put in, the gain and the ROI are negative. Investing $5,000 and getting back $4,000 is an ROI of −20%.

When should I use IRR or NPV instead?

ROI and annualized return assume one amount in at the start and one amount out at the end. When money goes in or comes out at several times, use the internal rate of return (IRR) or the net present value (NPV), which account for when each amount happens.