ROI Calculator
Total return, annualised return, and the gap between them — which is where most ROI claims quietly fall apart.
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How it works
ROI is gain divided by cost, and its weakness is that it says nothing about time. A 60% return is excellent over one year and mediocre over ten, yet both are quoted as 60%.
The annualised figure fixes that by converting the total into a compound annual rate, which is the only form in which two investments of different lengths can be compared. Whenever an ROI is quoted without a period attached, this is the number being left out.
ROI = (gain − cost) ÷ cost · Annualised = (1 + ROI)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
- Cost — the initial outlay plus any ongoing costs over the period
- Gain — total value returned, including any residual or resale value
- Annualised — the compound annual rate that produces the same total
Worked example
A 1,200,000 investment returning 1,950,000 over four years, with 60,000 a year of running costs
Inputs
Results
35% sounds strong until it is annualised to 7.9% — at which point it is roughly what a passive index fund would have done.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use total or annualised ROI?
Annualised, whenever the periods differ. Total ROI is only comparable between investments held for exactly the same length of time, which is rarely the case.
Do ongoing costs belong in the calculation?
Yes. Maintenance, subscriptions and support are real costs of holding the investment, and excluding them is the most common way a return gets overstated.
How is this different from IRR?
ROI treats the whole period as a single lump in and a single lump out. IRR accounts for when each cashflow arrives, which matters when returns are spread unevenly.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted to us or stored.
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