ROI Calculator

Return on investment (ROI) measures how much an investment gained or lost relative to what you put in. Subtract your starting value from your ending value, divide by the starting value, and multiply by 100 to get a percentage. ROI is a quick way to compare a completed trade, a rental property flip, or any lump-sum outcome where you know both endpoints.

Use ROI when you want a snapshot of total performance without annualizing. It works well for short holds or single-period projects. For multi-year investments, CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is usually more informative because it smooths returns over time. ROI also ignores cash flows in between — dividends taken out, additional contributions, taxes, and fees — unless you reflect those in your ending value.

Example: you invest $10,000 and later sell for $14,500. Gain = $4,500. ROI = ($4,500 ÷ $10,000) × 100 = 45%. If that took five years, CAGR would be about 7.7% — much lower than the headline 45%. Enter your final value net of fees for a closer estimate. This tool does not annualize and is not investment advice.

ROI can be negative when you sell below cost. A $10,000 investment sold for $8,200 is a −18% ROI. The formula treats the loss symmetrically — there is no floor at zero.

Leverage magnifies ROI on equity but not on total capital at risk. A 20% home price gain on a property bought with 20% down produces roughly 100% ROI on cash invested, but the underlying asset still moved 20%. This calculator does not model mortgages separately — enter net proceeds after loan payoff as your final value.

Time-neutral comparisons mislead when hold periods differ. A 30% ROI over six months beats 30% over ten years in annualized terms even though headline ROI matches. Pair ROI with CAGR or holding period when ranking opportunities.

Worked example with fees: $5,000 initial, $5,900 final after $100 in trading fees. Net gain $800. ROI = 16%. If you had ignored fees and entered $6,000 final, ROI would read 20% — always net out costs you paid.

Business ROI uses the same math: $50,000 equipment purchase generating $65,000 in attributable net benefit yields 30% ROI on that project. Attribution (what revenue truly came from the asset) is the hard part — the calculator only divides the numbers you supply.

Past ROI does not predict future results. Markets, tenants, and business conditions change. Use ROI for reporting completed outcomes, not as a promise of repeat performance.

Opportunity cost matters: 8% ROI looks fine until you compare it to a risk-free Treasury yield or an index fund return over the same period.

Real estate ROI often omits maintenance, vacancy, and transaction costs — net ROI after all carrying costs is the number that matters for comparison.

Annualizing short-hold ROI without CAGR can mislead — flip a property in 6 months for 10% ROI and the annualized figure is much higher than 10%.

Time-weighted ROI for portfolios with contributions uses IRR — ROI on a single lump sum is simpler but wrong for DCA-style investing over time.

Inflation-adjusted ROI subtracts purchasing power loss — nominal 10% ROI with 4% inflation is roughly 6% real, similar to our inflation calculator logic.

Side-by-side ROI on multiple projects helps capital allocation — rank by ROI and payback period together when budget covers only one initiative this quarter.

Holding period labels (short-term vs long-term) change tax character of gains — ROI math is the same but after-tax ROI differs; enter net proceeds if comparing taxable accounts.

Compare ROI only on cash actually invested — if leverage returns principal to you before sale, ROI on equity invested differs from ROI on total property value.