It depends on the asset class and time period. The S&P 500 averages roughly 10% per year historically. Real estate varies by market. For a single year, 10-15% is generally considered solid for most investments.

Does this ROI calculator account for time?

No. This shows total ROI regardless of how long you held the investment. A 30% return over 10 years is very different from 30% in 1 year. For time-adjusted comparisons, use annualized ROI.

How do I calculate ROI on a rental property?

For rental property, your final value includes both the current property value and cumulative rental income received, minus expenses. Enter the total of those as your final value.

Yes. If your final value is less than your initial investment, your ROI is negative. $10,000 invested and now worth $8,000 gives an ROI of -20%.

What is the difference between ROI and profit margin?

ROI measures returns relative to the cost of investment. Profit margin measures profit relative to revenue. They answer different questions.

How does ROI compare across different investments?

ROI is most useful for comparing investments of similar duration. For multi-year comparisons, annualized ROI or CAGR gives a fairer picture.

ROI Calculator

Initial Investment

Amount invested

Final Value

Current or ending value

Formula

ROI = ((FV - IV) / IV) × 100

FV = final value, IV = initial investment. ROI expresses the gain or loss as a percentage of the initial investment.

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TL;DR

Enter what you invested and what it is worth now to see your return on investment as a percentage.

Enter what you spent and what it returned to get ROI as a percentage and as a money multiple. Works for any investment: stocks, real estate, marketing spend, or equipment. A positive ROI means you made money; negative means you lost some.

ROI tells you what percentage you gained or lost on an investment relative to what you put in. A $10,000 investment that grows to $13,500 has an ROI of 35%. Use this calculator for stocks, real estate, business investments, or any purchase where you want to measure returns.

You came here because

Common situations

Stock investments: Calculate your actual return on a stock or ETF position after selling.
Real estate: Compare purchase price to current market value to see your property ROI.
Business decisions: Evaluate whether a marketing campaign, equipment purchase, or project delivered worthwhile returns.
Side projects: Track whether money spent on a side business or freelance setup has paid off.

Under the hood

How the calculation works

1Enter the amount you originally invested.
2Enter the current or final value of the investment.
3The calculator subtracts the initial investment from the final value to get your net gain or loss.
4It divides the net gain by the initial investment and multiplies by 100 to get the ROI percentage.

Show me

A real example

Example: $2,500 invested, now worth $3,100

1Initial investment = $2,500
2Final value = $3,100
3Net gain = $3,100 - $2,500 = $600
4ROI = ($600 / $2,500) × 100 = 24%

Result: 24% ROI. A $600 gain on a $2,500 investment.

Watch out for

What can go wrong

Ignoring time in the ROI calculation: A 20% ROI over 5 years is very different from 20% in 6 months. Raw ROI does not account for the holding period. Use annualized ROI for fair comparisons across investments.
Not including all costs in the initial investment: For real estate: include closing costs, renovation, and ongoing maintenance. For stocks: include trading fees and tax drag. Understating initial cost overstates the return.
Comparing ROI across different time periods: Comparing a 3-year and a 5-year investment by their total ROI is misleading. Annualize both returns before comparing so you are measuring on the same scale.
Conflating ROI with profit margin: ROI measures return relative to what you put in. Profit margin measures return relative to revenue. Both are percentages but they answer different questions.

Glossary

Related concepts

Term	Definition
Net gain	Final value minus initial investment. Positive means profit; negative means loss.
Annualized ROI	ROI adjusted for the time period. A 50% return over 5 years is about 8.4% per year, which is very different from a 50% return in one year.
Opportunity cost	The return you give up by choosing one investment over another. A 5% ROI looks worse when an alternative would have returned 12%.
Break-even point	The point at which the investment returns exactly what was put in. ROI of 0%.

Make it better

Pro tips

Annualize for multi-year comparisons: Divide total ROI by the number of years to get a rough annualized figure. For compounded annualized return (CAGR), use: (Final / Initial)^(1/years) - 1. This gives a more accurate comparison.
Include opportunity cost: ROI measures actual return, not relative return. If you earned 8% but could have earned 12% elsewhere, your opportunity cost was 4%. Factor this into investment decisions.
Track ROI per channel in marketing: If you run multiple marketing channels, calculate ROI for each separately. Blended marketing ROI hides which channels are profitable and which are destroying value.
Build an ROI target before committing capital: Before any purchase or investment, define what minimum ROI would make it worth doing. Then calculate the required return from the inputs, this prevents post-hoc rationalization.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

For related calculations, try the Compound Interest, Simple Interest, or Profit Margin. Browse all Calculator Online calculators for the full catalog.

Methodology

This calculator uses the standard roi calculator formula. Results match those from established financial, scientific, and health references.

Reviewed by

Calculator Online Editorial Team. All formulas verified against authoritative sources before publication.

Last updated

2026-01-15