ROI Calculator
Enter what you invested and what it is worth or returned. The calculator gives your gain or loss and ROI percentage, and annualised ROI if you add how long you held the investment.
Runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded.
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How to use ROI Calculator
- Enter the initial investment and the final value or amount returned.
- Optionally add extra costs such as fees or commissions.
- Optionally enter a holding period in years or months to see the annualised ROI.
- Read the ROI, net gain or loss and total cost.
What ROI tells you
Return on investment is a simple ratio of profit to cost. It is used for shares, property, a business project, a marketing campaign or buying equipment. A positive ROI means you got back more than you spent; a negative one means a loss. Because it is a percentage, it lets you compare projects of different sizes.
The weakness of plain ROI is time. A 35 percent gain in one year is far better than the same gain over ten years. That is why the optional period field turns the total return into an annualised figure, which is a fair way to compare investments held for different lengths.
Formulas and worked example
Total cost = initial investment + extra costs. ROI = (final value − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100. Annualised ROI = ((final value ÷ total cost)^(1 ÷ years) − 1) × 100.
Example: you invest 10,000 and it returns 13,500 after 3 years with no extra costs. Gain = 3,500 and ROI = 35 percent. Annualised: 1.35^(1/3) − 1 ≈ 10.52 percent per year. If you had also paid 500 in fees, total cost would be 10,500, the gain 3,000 and the ROI about 28.57 percent.
Tips and limits
Decide in advance what counts as a cost and what counts as a return, and apply the same rules when you compare options.
- Include fees, taxes and maintenance costs where they apply, or the ROI will look better than reality.
- Include any income you received (dividends, rent) in the final value if you want a total return.
- Annualised figures assume one deposit and one withdrawal; they are not suitable for irregular cash flows.
- ROI does not measure risk.
- This is an estimate, not financial advice, and your data stays in your browser.
Why use this roi calculator tool
- Fees included. Add extra costs so the ROI reflects what you really spent.
- Annualised ROI. Compare investments held for different lengths of time.
- Gain or loss. Handles losses too and shows negative ROI.
- Private. Calculated in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ROI formula?
ROI = (final value − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100. If you invest 10,000 and it becomes 13,500, ROI = 3,500 ÷ 10,000 = 35 percent.
What is annualised ROI?
It is the yearly rate that would give the same overall result: (final value ÷ total cost)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. A 35 percent total gain over 3 years is about 10.52 percent per year.
Is a high ROI always good?
Not necessarily. ROI ignores risk, the time money was tied up if you do not annualise, and any income received along the way. Compare it with other options.
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