ROI Calculator
Work out the return on any investment — a business, a property, a fund or a side project. Enter what you put in, what you got out, and how long it took.
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How to use this calculator
- Enter amount invested — Everything you put in, including fees paid upfront.
- Enter amount received — Sale value plus any income you took out along the way.
- Enter additional costs — Maintenance, fees or charges not already counted. (optional — leave it as it is if it does not apply)
- Enter holding period — Used for the annualised return.
- Read the result — it updates as you type.
The formula used
ROI = (Amount received − Total cost) ÷ Total cost × 100
- Total cost
- Amount invested plus any additional costs
- Amount received
- Sale value plus income taken out
The annualised figure uses the CAGR formula: ((Received ÷ Cost)1/years − 1) × 100. It answers a different question: not "how much did I make?" but "how fast did it grow?"
Worked example
You invest ₹2,00,000, pay ₹0 in extra costs, and sell for ₹3,20,000 after 3 years.
- Total cost₹2,00,000
- Amount received₹3,20,000
- Net profit₹1,20,000
- ROI = 1,20,000 ÷ 2,00,000 × 100 = 60%
- Annualised = (3,20,000 ÷ 2,00,000)1/3 − 1 = 16.96% a year
60% total sounds better than 16.96% — but they describe the same investment. Use the annualised number when comparing.
ROI: useful, but easy to misread
ROI is the simplest measure in finance: what you made, divided by what you put in. Its weakness is that it says nothing about time, and time is most of the story.
Always ask "over how long?"
A 60% ROI over 3 years is roughly 17% a year — very good. The same 60% over 12 years is about 4% a year — worse than a fixed deposit. The absolute number is identical; the investments are not comparable.
Count every cost
People routinely overstate ROI by forgetting brokerage, stamp duty, registration, maintenance, GST on charges, and the tax paid on the gain. Put those into the additional costs box and the number becomes honest.
Include income, not just the sale
If a property paid rent or a stock paid dividends while you held it, add that to the amount received. Otherwise you are measuring only part of your return.
Tips and common mistakes
Getting more out of it
- Put every cost into the calculation — brokerage, stamp duty, registration, maintenance. Most people overstate ROI by leaving these out.
- If the investment paid income along the way (rent, dividends, interest), add it to the amount received.
Mistakes to avoid
- Quoting ROI without the period. 60% over three years and 60% over twelve are completely different investments.
- Measuring only the investments that worked. Judge the whole portfolio, not the best position in it.
- Ignoring tax paid on the gain, which comes straight out of the return.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good ROI?
Only in context. Compare against what the same money would have earned elsewhere over the same period — a fixed deposit, an index fund, or paying down a loan.
Should I use ROI or CAGR?
Use ROI to describe a single completed investment, and the annualised figure (CAGR) whenever you are comparing investments held for different lengths of time.
Does ROI include tax?
Not automatically. If you paid capital gains tax, add it to additional costs to see your after-tax return.
Can ROI be more than 100%?
Yes — it just means you more than doubled your money. An ROI of 300% means you got back four times what you put in.
How do I calculate ROI for a business?
Put total capital invested in the first box, and net profit plus any capital returned in the second. For an ongoing business, use one year at a time so the annualised figure stays meaningful.
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