ROI Calculator
Measure how profitable an investment is as a percentage of the amount you put in.
years
- 1
Net gain / loss
15,000 − 10,000 = 5,000 - 2
Total ROI
5,000 ÷ 10,000 × 100 = 50Profit relative to the initial investment, expressed as a percentage.
Formula
How this is calculated
You enter three numbers: the initial investment (the money you put in, including any purchase fees you want to count), the final value (what the position is worth or what you sold it for), and an optional holding period in whole or fractional years. All figures use the same currency, so the result is currency-independent.
Total ROI is the net gain divided by what you invested: it subtracts the initial amount from the final value to get the gain or loss, divides by the initial amount, and multiplies by 100 to express it as a percentage. A positive result is a profit, a negative one a loss. Because dividing by zero is undefined, an initial investment of 0 returns no result.
When you supply a positive holding period and both values are above zero, the calculator also finds the annualized (compound) return — the steady yearly rate that would grow the initial amount into the final value: (final ÷ initial) raised to the power 1/years, minus 1. This rewrites total ROI as an equivalent yearly rate so investments held for different lengths of time compare fairly. It assumes a single buy-and-hold with no extra contributions, withdrawals, dividends, taxes, or inflation adjustment unless you bake those into the values you enter.
Examples
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| Invest $10,000, ends at $15,000 over 3 years | ROI = 50%, annualized ≈ 14.47% |
About this calculator
Return on investment (ROI) expresses your profit or loss relative to the amount invested, making it easy to compare opportunities of different sizes. A positive ROI means a gain, while a negative ROI means a loss. It is one of the most widely used measures of investment efficiency.
Because total ROI ignores how long you held the investment, this calculator also reports the annualized (compound) return when you enter a holding period. A 50% return over one year is far better than the same 50% over five years, and the annualized figure captures that difference so you can compare investments fairly.
Frequently asked questions
Total ROI is the overall percentage gain regardless of time. Annualized return converts it into an equivalent compound yearly rate so investments held for different periods can be compared.
Yes. If the final value is lower than the initial investment, ROI is negative, indicating a loss.
Not directly. For a true net ROI, use the actual amount invested (including fees) and the final value after taxes and costs.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). ROI Calculator [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/roi-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "ROI Calculator." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/roi-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "ROI Calculator," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/roi-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_roi_calculator, title = {ROI Calculator}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/roi-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
Did this calculator help you?