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ROI Calculator
Return on investment compares what you gained with what you put in. Enter the amount invested and the amount returned to get ROI as a percentage and in dollars; add the holding period to convert it to a yearly rate you can compare with other investments.
- Net gain or loss
- $3,500.00
- Annualized ROI
- 10.52%
Saved setups
Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.
Your recent calculations
Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.
Formula
How to use it
- Enter everything you paid in, including fees and improvement costs.
- Enter everything you got back: the sale price or current value plus income received.
- Enter how long you held it to see the annualized figure.
Worked examples
$10,000 that became $13,500 in 3 years
- ROI
- 35%
- Net gain or loss
- $3,500.00
- Annualized ROI
- 10.52%
$50,000 that fell to $42,000 in 2 years
- ROI
- -16%
- Net gain or loss
- -$8,000.00
- Annualized ROI
- -8.35%
Why the annualized figure matters
Plain ROI ignores time. A 35% return sounds the same whether it took one year or ten. Annualized, 35% over three years is 10.52% a year; over ten years it is only 3.05% a year. Always compare investments on a per-year basis.
ROI also ignores risk and the timing of cash flows within the period. For investments with several payments in and out, the IRR calculator gives a fairer answer.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate ROI?
Subtract the cost from the return and divide by the cost. $10,000 that became $13,500 is (13,500 − 10,000) ÷ 10,000 = 35%.
What is a good ROI?
It depends on risk and time. As a yardstick, US stocks have returned roughly 10% a year before inflation over the long run, so a multi-year investment should be judged against what an index fund would have done.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. $50,000 that fell to $42,000 is an ROI of −16%, or −8.35% a year over two years.