About the ROI Calculator
Return on investment (ROI) is one of the simplest ways to measure how well an investment performed. It compares your profit to the amount you put in, so you can compare a stock trade, a rental property, a small business purchase, or a marketing campaign on the same scale.
Because a 30% return over one year is very different from 30% over ten years, the calculator can also show annualized ROI when you enter a holding period.
How It Works
The calculator subtracts your initial investment and any additional costs from the final value to find your profit. It then divides that profit by the initial investment to get ROI as a percentage. Results can be positive (a gain) or negative (a loss).
If you enter a holding period, annualized ROI shows the constant yearly return that would turn your initial investment into the final value after costs over that time.
Formula
- tholding period in years
Example
You invest $10,000, pay $250 in fees and commissions, and three years later the investment is worth $13,500.
Inputs
- Initial investment
- $10,000
- Final value
- $13,500
- Additional costs
- $250
- Holding period
- 3 years
Results
- Total profit
- +$3,250.00
- ROI
- +32.50%
- Annualized ROI
- +9.83%
Understanding Your Results
- ROI: Profit after costs as a percentage of your initial investment. A negative ROI means the investment lost money.
- Total Profit: Final value minus the initial investment minus costs.
- Net Return: The amount you walk away with after paying costs (final value minus costs).
- Gain Before Costs: The change in value before fees, useful for seeing how much costs reduced your result.
- Annualized ROI: The equivalent yearly return. Use it to compare investments held for different periods.