ROI Calculator
Compute absolute and annualized return on investment between an initial and a final value.
Absolute ROI is the total percentage gain or loss. Annualized ROI (CAGR) spreads that return evenly across each year of the holding period.
Independent · No commissions · No fund-house data — how the numbers are computed
How it works
This calculator measures the return on an investment two ways from three inputs: what you put in, what it is worth now, and how long it took. Absolute ROI is the plain percentage gain or loss between the two amounts. Annualized ROI spreads that same gain evenly across each year of the holding period, which is the only fair way to compare investments held for different lengths of time.
The defaults show why both numbers matter: ₹1,00,000 growing to ₹1,50,000 is an absolute ROI of 50%, but over the default 3-year period that works out to an annualized ROI of about 14.5% a year. The same 50% earned over 10 years would annualize to barely 4.1% — a result most fixed deposits would beat. The absolute figure describes the outcome; the annualized figure describes the rate.
Both figures assume a single investment with no money added or withdrawn along the way. A SIP, a top-up, or a partial redemption changes how long each rupee was actually invested, and a simple start-to-end ROI cannot account for that. For multi-cashflow investments, XIRR is the correct measure — this calculator is for the clean point-to-point case.
Absolute ROI = (FV − PV) ÷ PV × 100 · Annualized ROI = (FV ÷ PV)^(1/n) − 1PV is the initial investment, FV the final value, and n the holding period in years. Absolute ROI is the total percentage change; annualized ROI is the constant yearly rate that compounds PV into FV over n years (the same formula as CAGR).
Frequently asked questions
What is ROI and how is it calculated?
ROI (return on investment) is the percentage change between what was invested and what it became: (final value − initial investment) ÷ initial investment × 100. An investment of ₹1,00,000 that grows to ₹1,50,000 has an ROI of 50%, regardless of how long it took. Because time is ignored, ROI on its own describes an outcome, not a rate of growth.
What is the difference between absolute ROI and annualized ROI?
Absolute ROI is the total percentage gain over the whole holding period; annualized ROI converts it into a constant yearly compounding rate. A 50% absolute ROI is an annualized ROI of about 14.5% if earned over 3 years, but only about 4.1% if it took 10 years. Comparing two investments by absolute ROI alone is misleading whenever their holding periods differ.
Is annualized ROI the same as CAGR?
Yes — for a single lump-sum investment with no interim cash flows, annualized ROI and CAGR are the same calculation: (final value ÷ initial value)^(1/years) − 1. Both express the total return as a smooth annual compounding rate. The terms differ mainly by context: ROI is the general business term, while CAGR is the standard way fund and stock returns of a year or more are quoted.
Can ROI be used for a SIP or an investment with multiple deposits?
Not accurately. ROI compares one starting amount with one ending amount, so it treats every rupee as if it were invested for the full period. In a SIP, each instalment has been invested for a different length of time — the last one perhaps only a month. XIRR is the measure built for that: it finds the annualized rate consistent with every dated cash flow.
Go further
The annualized half of this calculator on its own — the standard fund-return measure.
The right measure when money went in or came out on multiple dates.
When each return measure applies, with worked examples.
The precise definition this site uses for returns under one year.