ROI Calculator
Work out your return on investment, plus an annualized rate if you know how long the investment ran for.
What is ROI?
Return on Investment measures how much you gained (or lost) relative to what you put in, shown as a percentage. It's one of the simplest ways to compare completely different investments or spending decisions on equal footing.
Why annualized ROI matters
A 30% ROI sounds great - but a 30% return in one month is a very different result from a 30% return over three years. Annualizing converts any return into a standardized "per year" rate, making it possible to fairly compare investments that ran for different lengths of time.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as "amount returned"?
The total value you received back - this could be the sale price of an asset, total revenue generated, or the final value of an investment. Include everything, not just the profit portion.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes - if the amount returned is less than what you invested, ROI is negative, meaning you lost money on the investment overall.
Does this account for the time value of money?
No - this is a straightforward ROI and annualized ROI calculation, not a discounted cash flow or NPV analysis. For most everyday business decisions this is sufficient, but for larger, longer-term investment decisions, more sophisticated methods may be worth considering.