Calculate the total and annualized return on any investment. Enter your purchase price, current value, and holding period to see how your investment has performed.
Optional — total dividends over holding period
Total Gain / Loss
+$5,000
Total Return
+50.00%
Annualized Return
+8.45%
Total Value
$15,000
Benchmarks: S&P 500 historical avg ~10%/yr • Bond market ~5%/yr • Savings account ~4%/yr
Low (2%) Inflation
+6.45%
real annual return
+$3,667 real gain
Average (3%) Inflation
+5.45%
real annual return
+$3,037 real gain
High (5%) Inflation
+3.45%
real annual return
+$1,847 real gain
Nominal return (8.45%) does not account for inflation. Real return = nominal - inflation. At average 3% inflation, your $5,000 gain has approximately $4,313 in today's purchasing power.
Knowing your actual investment return is essential for making smart financial decisions. This calculator gives you both the total return and the annualized return (CAGR), which lets you compare investments across different time periods on an apples-to-apples basis. Include dividends for a complete picture of your total return.
Annualized return (CAGR) is the average annual growth rate of an investment over a specified time period. It smooths out volatility to show what the investment earned per year on average, making it easy to compare investments with different holding periods.
Yes! Total return includes both price appreciation and dividends. Ignoring dividends significantly understates your actual return, especially for dividend-paying stocks and funds where reinvested dividends can account for a large portion of total returns.
The S&P 500 has historically returned about 10% per year before inflation (~7% after inflation). A good return depends on asset class and risk: stocks may target 8-12%, bonds 3-6%, and savings accounts 3-5%. Higher expected returns come with higher risk.
ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment for any project or purchase. Enter your initial investment and final value to see ROI percentage, annualized return, and net profit.
Compound Interest Calculator
Calculate compound interest on savings and investments. See how your money grows over time with regular contributions and different compounding frequencies.