ROI Calculator
Return on investment percentage, net profit, and annualized return for any investment
Measure what your money actually did
From stock buys to business projects to real estate — ROI puts every investment on a common scale you can actually compare.
Simple ROI %
Net profit as a percentage of initial cost — the universal investment yardstick.
Annualized return
Converts your total return into a per-year rate for fair comparison between different durations.
Net profit or loss
The raw dollar gain or loss in a single, clear figure.
Any investment type
Stocks, real estate, business projects, marketing spend — works for any cost and return.
Compare scenarios
Run multiple cost/value combinations to rank competing opportunities by return.
100% private
All calculations run in your browser. No data is stored or shared.
When to use it
Stock investments
See your actual return on a position, dividends included.
Real estate
Measure rental property return including purchase price and net income.
Business projects
Justify spending by quantifying the projected return for stakeholders.
Marketing campaigns
Compare cost vs revenue generated for any campaign or channel.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ROI and how is it calculated?
Return on investment (ROI) measures how much you gained or lost on an investment relative to its cost. The formula is: ROI = (Final Value − Initial Cost) ÷ Initial Cost × 100. A $10,000 investment that grows to $14,500 has a ROI of 45%. It is a simple, universal way to compare the efficiency of different investments or projects.
What is annualized ROI and why does it matter?
Annualized ROI converts a total return over multiple years into a per-year rate, allowing fair comparison between investments held for different lengths of time. A 45% total return over 3 years is not the same as a 45% return over 1 year. The annualized version (CAGR) accounts for compounding: (Final/Initial)^(1/years) − 1. Always compare annualized returns when evaluating investments with different time horizons.
What is a good ROI?
It depends entirely on the type of investment and its risk. The US stock market has historically returned roughly 7–10% annualized (adjusted for inflation). Real estate investment often targets 8–12% annualized. Business investments vary enormously. A higher ROI is better, but higher returns typically come with higher risk. Compare ROI against a relevant benchmark for the asset class you are evaluating.
Does ROI account for time?
Simple ROI does not — a 50% return could be from one year or ten. That is why the annualized return (CAGR) is so important for fair comparisons. If you enter the time period, this calculator shows both the simple ROI and the annualized rate so you can compare across different investment time frames.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. A negative ROI means you lost money relative to your initial investment. For example, a $10,000 investment worth $7,000 has an ROI of −30%. Negative ROI is not always bad — it may be a temporary dip in a long-term investment, or it may mean the project genuinely destroyed value. Context matters more than the number alone.
Understanding Return on Investment
Return on investment is one of the most widely used metrics in finance and business because it reduces any investment — a stock purchase, a property deal, a marketing campaign, a new piece of equipment — to a single comparable number: how much did I make relative to what I put in? Its universality is its power, letting you compare wildly different opportunities on equal footing.
Simple ROI vs annualized return
Simple ROI is the total percentage gain over the entire holding period, regardless of how long that was. Annualized return (CAGR — compound annual growth rate) converts that total into a per-year figure by accounting for compounding. A 100% total return over 10 years is a 7.2% annualized return — very different from a 100% return over 2 years, which is a 41% annualized return. When comparing investments, always use annualized figures.
What ROI leaves out
Simple ROI does not account for risk, liquidity, taxes, or inflation. A 10% return in a money-market fund is very different from a 10% return in a volatile small-cap stock. A real return of 10% nominal minus 3% inflation is 7% real. Tax on capital gains reduces your net gain. Use ROI as a starting comparison, then layer in these factors for a complete picture of any investment decision.
ROI in business decisions
Beyond investing, ROI is essential in business: justifying a marketing budget, evaluating whether to buy equipment or hire a contractor, deciding on software subscriptions, or measuring campaign performance. Any project where you can quantify the cost and the resulting benefit can be evaluated with ROI. Projects with the highest ROI warrant the most resources; those with negative ROI are candidates for elimination.