Investment Return Calculator
The gain, total return and annualised return (CAGR) on an investment, including dividends or other income received.
Your investment
Filled in with example values. Replace them with your own.
Holding period (for the yearly return)
Currency symbol
Results update as you type.
Result
Total return: +50% (+$5,000.00) on $10,000.00
Annualised return
+8.45%a year
- Gain
- +$5,000.00
- Total return
- +50%
- Amount invested
- $10,000.00
- Final value
- $15,000.00
What you ended with
- Amount invested
- $10,000.00
- Gain
- $5,000.00
- Value + income
- $15,000.00
How it’s calculated
Gain
$15,000.00 − $10,000.00 = +$5,000.00
Total return
+$5,000.00 ÷ $10,000.00 = +50%
Annualised return
($15,000.00 ÷ $10,000.00)^(1 ÷ 5) − 1 = +8.45%
How the investment return calculator works
Enter what you invested, what the investment is worth now (or what you sold it for) and any income it paid out. The calculator shows the gain or loss in money and as a percentage of what you put in.
Add how long you held it to see the annualised return, the steady yearly rate that gives the same result. This is the figure to use when comparing investments held for different lengths of time.
The formula
Gain = Final value + Income − Invested
Total return = Gain ÷ Invested
Annualised return = ((Final value + Income) ÷ Invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
Worked example
10,000 invested grows to 15,000 over 5 years:
- Gain: 15,000 − 10,000 = 5,000
- Total return: 5,000 ÷ 10,000 = 50%
- Annualised: (15,000 ÷ 10,000)^(1 ÷ 5) − 1 = 8.45% a year
If it also paid out 500 in dividends, the total return is 55% and the annualised return 9.16% a year.
Assumptions and limitations
- One amount is invested at the start; no deposits or withdrawals in between.
- Income is counted at the end, as if not reinvested.
- Fees, taxes and inflation are not deducted unless they are already reflected in the values you enter.
- Past returns do not tell you what an investment will return in future.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between total and annualised return?
Total return is the whole gain as a share of what you put in. Annualised return (also called CAGR) is the steady yearly rate that would turn your money into the same end amount over the same time. It makes investments held for different lengths of time comparable.
Why is the annualised return lower than total return ÷ years?
Because returns compound: each year’s gain also earns a return in later years. A 50% total gain over 5 years needs only about 8.45% a year, not 10%.
What should I enter as income?
Dividends, interest or rent that was paid out to you and not reinvested. If income was reinvested, it is already part of the final value, so leave this empty.
What if I added or withdrew money along the way?
This calculator assumes one amount invested at the start. With deposits or withdrawals in between, the result is only a rough guide; a money-weighted measure such as the internal rate of return is needed for an exact figure.