The ROI calculator below, from The Finance Reveal, measures the return on any investment two ways: the total percentage gained or lost, and the annualized rate that makes different holding periods comparable. Enter what you invested, what it is worth now or sold for, and the years held.

Why annualized is the honest number

A fifty percent total gain sounds identical whether it took three years or fifteen, but the annualized rates behind those two stories are worlds apart. Annualizing puts every investment, and every claim you hear about one, on the same footing, ready to compare against market averages, savings rates, and the inflation it must outrun to be a real gain.

Using it well

Measure your actual investments honestly, including the disappointing ones, and test any pitched opportunity by asking what annualized return it truly claims: numbers that dwarf long-run market averages deserve the skepticism our investing mistakes guide recommends. For projecting forward rather than measuring backward, the compound interest calculator is the companion tool.

Frequently asked questions

Does ROI include dividends and costs?

Only if you include them: add dividends received to the final value and subtract fees from it for the true picture. Costs are precisely where paper returns and real returns part ways, as our funds guide details.

What is a good annualized return?

Long-run diversified stock returns have historically landed in the mid-to-high single digits before inflation. Anything promised far above that carries risk to match, or worse, as our investing pillar explains.

My investment lost money. What does the calculator show?

The total and annualized loss, with the breakdown showing what remains of the original amount. Measured losses teach; unmeasured ones repeat.

Related calculators and guides

See the retirement calculator for long-horizon projections and the whole toolkit in Financial Tools. Strategy lives in Investing.