Business
Measure return on an investment in percentage and dollars.
Enter your numbers to see the answer.
ROI calculator guide
Return on investment compares what you got back with what you put in, expressed as a percentage of the initial outlay. This calculator subtracts the initial investment from the final value to find the profit or loss, divides that by the investment, and shows the result as an ROI percentage with the profit in currency underneath. It is a quick way to judge a marketing campaign, a piece of equipment, a rental property, or a stock purchase, and to compare projects of different sizes on one scale. Because ROI has no time dimension, a 25% return earned over six months and one earned over six years look identical here; use the CAGR calculator when the holding period matters. The final value should be what you actually realised or could realise today, and the investment should include purchase costs. The figure excludes financing interest, income or capital gains tax, ongoing fees, inflation, and any adjustment for risk, so it is a headline measure rather than a net result.
Profit ($) = final value ($) − initial investment ($). ROI (%) = profit ($) ÷ initial investment ($) × 100.
Worked example with the default inputs: an initial investment of $10,000 that has a final value of $12,500. Profit = $12,500 − $10,000 = $2,500.00. ROI = $2,500 ÷ $10,000 × 100 = 25%. The calculator displays 25% ROI with the $2,500.00 profit and the $12,500.00 final value listed below. Had the final value been $9,000, the profit would be −$1,000 and the ROI −10%, since the same formula reports a loss as a negative percentage.
Both fields take a currency amount and must use the same currency; the calculator does not convert between them. Include purchase commissions, closing costs, or set-up fees in the initial investment, and use the net sale proceeds or current market value as the final value. If the investment produced income along the way, such as rent or dividends, add it to the final value so the return is not understated.
The result is a planning figure that depends entirely on the assumptions you entered. Fees, taxes, payment timing, and rate changes are not captured unless you built them into the inputs, and small errors in a rate compound quickly over time. Verify the rates and terms against your own agreements or your accountant before making a commitment. On this page the figure rests entirely on final value and initial investment, so start there if the roi calculator returns something you did not expect.
Good to know: leaving out acquisition costs is the usual way ROI gets flattered; a $10,000 stock purchase with $50 in commissions is a $10,050 investment. Comparing the ROI of a one-year project with a five-year project without annualising is misleading, because the shorter project compounds its capital sooner. If you borrowed to invest, the ROI shown is on the whole amount, not on your own cash, and interest paid is not deducted.
Use the result for planning, then confirm taxes, fees, contract terms, and other business-specific assumptions. This is not accounting, tax, or investment advice.
How it works
Measure return on an investment in percentage and dollars. This tool explains the calculation so you can adjust the assumptions to match your situation.
Worked example
With Final value = 12500 $ · Initial investment = 10000 $ → 25 % ROI (return on investment). Change an input above and this example updates with your numbers.
Common questions
Subtract the amount invested from the final value to get the profit, divide by the amount invested, and multiply by 100. A $10,000 investment worth $12,500 is a profit of $2,500 and an ROI of 25%.
On a $10,000 investment a 25% ROI is a $2,500 profit, giving a final value of $12,500. On $4,000 the same percentage is a $1,000 profit. ROI scales with the size of the investment, which is why it is useful for comparing projects of different sizes.
No. A 25% ROI reads the same whether it took one year or ten. To compare investments held for different lengths of time, convert each to an annual rate with the CAGR calculator or divide ROI by the number of years for a rough simple average.
Everything paid to acquire and set up the asset: purchase price, commissions, legal or closing costs, installation, and initial repairs. Ongoing costs such as maintenance, fees, or interest are excluded from this simple version and would reduce a net ROI.
The figure here is before tax. Capital gains tax, income tax on rental or dividend income, and transaction taxes all reduce the return you keep. Recalculate with the after-tax final value if you need a net figure.