Investing

Investment Return and ROI Calculator

Measure the return on an ending investment value. Separate total ROI, annualized return, costs and inflation, with contribution timing taken into account.

Investment cash flows

Measure your return

Costs and purchasing power

Enter zero for costs already reflected in the final value. Taxes are a dollar amount you supply, not a tax estimate. This simplified model deducts all entered costs at the end, not throughout the holding period.

Inputs stay in this browser and are not saved.

Understand each return measure

Simple total ROI is (ending value minus total invested) divided by total invested. Contributions are included in invested capital, not counted as profit. This ratio does not account for when contributions were made.

Annualized money-weighted return solves for the constant monthly growth rate that converts the starting balance and each contribution into the ending value. The annual rate is (1 + monthly rate)^12 − 1, not monthly rate times 12. Beginning-of-month contributions earn one more monthly period than end-of-month contributions.

CAGR is (final value / starting balance)^(12 / months) − 1 when there are no contributions. It matches the gross annualized return in that case. With added money, a simple start-to-finish CAGR can mistake deposits for growth, so we show it as not applicable and use money-weighted annualized return instead. This is not a time-weighted performance measure.

After-cost returns use final value minus entered fees and taxes. Do not subtract costs twice. If the final value is already net of costs, the “before entered costs” figures are not a reconstruction of your historical gross return.

Real annualized return is (1 + net annualized return) / (1 + annual inflation) − 1. Inflation is assumed constant throughout the period. This is a rate comparison, not a forecast of prices or future purchasing power.

Timing and limitations

The holding period is whole months, with one equal contribution per month. End-of-month timing includes a contribution at the final valuation instant; beginning timing includes one at the starting instant. No withdrawals or separate dividend distributions are modeled. Reinvested income belongs in the final account value; irregular external cash flows require a dated cash-flow calculation.

If the ending value is below a contribution made at the final instant, no constant monthly growth rate above −100% can match that scenario. The annualized result is shown as unavailable. A complete loss with no final-instant contribution is −100%. Starting capital must be positive, and entered terminal costs cannot exceed final value.

Sources: FINRA: Investment returns and SEC Investor.gov: How fees affect your portfolio.

Related tools