Monster ROI Calculator
Measure the return on any investment — stocks, real estate, or a business — with total ROI and an annualized figure you can compare across deals.
| Net gain | $0 |
| Annualized ROI | 0% |
| Amount invested | $0 |
| Amount returned | $0 |
How it works
Total ROI is (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100. Annualized ROI (CAGR) is (returned ÷ invested)1/years − 1, which spreads the gain evenly across the holding period so a 3-year deal and a 1-year deal can be compared apples-to-apples.
Formula & worked example
Formula: Total ROI = (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100. Annualized ROI (CAGR) = (returned ÷ invested)1 ÷ years − 1.
Worked example: $10,000 that grows to $13,500 in 3 years is a 35% total ROI, which annualizes to about 10.5% per year.
When to use this
- You sold a stock, a fund or a small business stake and want the return stated plainly, in total and per year.
- Money went into a side project and money came back out — and you want to know whether it beat leaving it in savings.
- Two investments made very different returns over very different lengths of time and need one fair comparison.
- A promoter quotes a big total return and you want to see what it shrinks to once the years are divided in.
How to use it, step by step
- Enter everything you put in as the amount invested — purchase price plus fees and follow-on funding.
- Enter everything that came back as the amount returned: sale proceeds, payouts and dividends, or today's value if you still hold it.
- Enter the years held, using a fraction for part-years.
- Read total ROI for the headline and annualized ROI for the comparison.
- Put the annualized figure next to your next-best alternative before calling the deal good.
What the inputs mean
| Input | What it is | Typical values |
|---|---|---|
| Amount invested | Total cash committed, fees included | Purchase price plus any money added later |
| Amount returned | Total value received back | Sale proceeds, distributions, or current value |
| Years held | Time between putting money in and taking it out | Months as fractions: 18 months is 1.5 |
Another worked example
You put $20,000 into a small business venture and four years later your stake is worth $31,000: the net gain is $11,000 and the total ROI is 55.00%. Annualized, that is 11.58% per year — the number that belongs next to a one-year return from anything else you are comparing it with.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good ROI?
It depends on the asset. The stock market has averaged roughly 7–10% per year after inflation; real estate investors often target higher to compensate for effort and risk. Compare against what else you could do with the money.
Why does annualized ROI matter?
A 50% total return sounds great — but over 5 years it's only ~8.4% per year. Annualizing reveals the true pace of growth and lets you rank opportunities fairly.
What does ROI miss?
Risk, timing of cash flows, taxes, and your time. Two investments with identical ROI can feel very different if one paid out monthly and the other locked your money up for a decade.
Can ROI be negative, and what does that look like here?
Yes — if the amount returned is smaller than the amount invested, total ROI comes out negative and the annualized figure follows it down. A negative annualized ROI over a short holding period looks especially dramatic, because the loss is being spread as if it repeated every year; for a position you still hold, remember the loss is only locked in when you sell.
Should dividends, rent and fees be included?
Yes, on both sides. Distributions you actually received — dividends, rent, interest, profit payouts — belong in the amount returned, and commissions, closing costs and funding fees belong in the amount invested. Leaving fees out flatters every return, and leaving payouts out understates income-producing investments against growth ones.
What if I added money at several different times?
This calculator assumes one amount in and one amount out, so staged contributions distort it — money added late gets credited with growth it was not present for. For irregular deposits and withdrawals, the right measure is an internal-rate-of-return (XIRR) calculation that dates every cash flow; use this tool for single-shot investments and quick comparisons.
📈 Plan the growth, not just the return
See how reinvested gains compound over time with our compound interest calculator.