Return On Investment Calculator – Understand How Hard Your Money Worked
Return on investment (ROI) is one of the simplest ways to measure how well an investment performed. But real-life investments are rarely that simple: you may add contributions over time, pay fees and taxes, use margin or compare ideas with very different holding periods. The Return On Investment Calculator on MyTimeCalculator helps you move beyond a single percentage and see the full picture.
This calculator combines basic ROI, annualized ROI, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and margin-adjusted returns in one place. You can take a single trade, a long-term portfolio, a rental property or even a business project and convert its cash flows into clear, comparable metrics.
How This Return On Investment Calculator Works
The calculator is organized into five modes that match common questions:
- Basic ROI: How much did I make or lose, and what percentage return did that represent?
- Annualized ROI: What yearly growth rate is equivalent to my total return over this time period?
- CAGR: What steady compound growth rate would turn my starting value into the ending value?
- Margin & Leverage ROI: How does borrowing and interest cost affect my real ROI on equity?
- Comparison: Which of several investments performed better after adjusting for time?
Each tab uses the same basic idea: compare money in versus money out, adjust for time where needed and present the result as a percentage, a growth multiple or both.
Mode 1: Basic ROI
Basic ROI is the classic “money in vs money out” view. In this tab, you enter your initial investment, final value and any additional contributions or costs along the way.
- Total amount invested = initial investment + contributions + costs
- Net profit / loss = final value − total amount invested
- ROI % = net profit ÷ total amount invested × 100
- Growth multiple = final value ÷ total amount invested
This view is useful when you want a quick sense of how much value you created, without worrying about the exact timing of every cash flow.
Mode 2: Annualized ROI
Two investments could both show a 30% ROI, but one might have taken one year while the other took five years. The annualized ROI mode adjusts for time so you can compare them fairly.
- You specify initial value, final value and the holding period in years, months and days.
- The calculator converts that into a fraction of a year and computes total ROI.
- Then it applies the standard annualization formula: (Final ÷ Initial)1 / years − 1.
The result is an annualized percentage return, showing what constant yearly growth rate would be equivalent to your overall performance.
Mode 3: CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)
The CAGR tab is a streamlined version of annualized ROI focused on multi-year growth. You enter beginning value, ending value and number of years, and the calculator returns:
- Total percentage return over the period
- CAGR expressed as a yearly percentage rate
- Growth multiple from beginning to end
CAGR is especially useful for long-term portfolios, funds and business revenue growth where you care more about average annual performance than about short-term swings.
Mode 4: Margin & Leverage ROI
When you use leverage or margin, a simple ROI can be misleading. A 20% gain on total exposure might actually be a much larger percentage gain on your own capital, after accounting for interest and fees.
In this tab you enter:
- How much of your own money you put in
- How much you borrowed from a broker or lender
- The final value of the investment
- The interest rate on borrowed funds and the holding period
- Any additional costs or fees you want to include
The calculator estimates interest cost, adds other costs, and then computes:
- Net profit after interest and costs
- ROI on total exposure (own + borrowed capital)
- ROI on your own capital only
- Leverage factor (total exposure ÷ own capital)
This gives you a clear look at how borrowing changed the risk and reward of the trade, which can be very different from an unleveraged investment.
Mode 5: Investment Comparison
Many investors want to know which of several ideas actually performed best. A single ROI percentage does not tell the whole story, especially when some investments are held longer than others.
The comparison tab lets you enter up to three scenarios, each with an initial value, final value and holding period in years. For each scenario, the calculator reports:
- Simple ROI %
- Annualized ROI %
- Growth multiple
By lining these metrics up side by side, you can see which investment created more value per year, not just in total.
Why ROI, Annualized Return and CAGR All Matter
No single metric captures everything. Basic ROI is easy to understand but ignores time. Annualized ROI and CAGR show how efficiently your investment grew per year, but they assume smooth compounding. Margin-adjusted ROI reveals the effect of borrowing and interest. Using them together gives a more complete view of performance.
- Use basic ROI to summarize a project or trade.
- Use annualized ROI and CAGR to compare investments with different holding periods.
- Use margin & leverage ROI to judge leveraged trades and understand true risk-adjusted returns.
How to Use This Calculator Effectively
- Start with the basic ROI tab to understand total profit or loss and the overall percentage return.
- Move to the annualized and CAGR tabs when comparing investments that lasted for different lengths of time.
- Use the margin tab if you used leverage so you can see how borrowing changed your true ROI on equity.
- Enter two or three ideas in the comparison tab to check which one used time most efficiently.
- Remember that taxes, inflation and risk are separate dimensions not fully captured by simple ROI metrics.
This calculator is for planning, education and comparison. It does not provide investment advice or guarantee future performance.
Return On Investment FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About ROI
Short answers to help you interpret ROI, annualized return and CAGR when analyzing your investments.
A higher ROI means more profit per dollar invested, but it doesn’t tell you anything about risk, volatility or time. A very high ROI achieved with extreme leverage or in a single lucky trade may be less attractive than a moderate ROI achieved consistently with lower risk. Always interpret ROI alongside risk level and time horizon.
Long-term investors care about how efficiently their money compounds over time. Annualized return and CAGR show this by converting total growth into a per-year rate. This makes it easier to compare one strategy or fund with another, even if they ran during different periods or with different levels of volatility.
Yes, if you want ROI to reflect your real economic result. Contributions increase the amount of capital you committed, and fees or taxes reduce what you keep. By including them in total invested and net profit, the calculator gives you a more realistic measure of performance.
Leverage lets you control a larger position using borrowed money. If the investment goes well, your profit relative to your own capital can be much higher. If it goes badly, your losses can also be larger. The margin tab shows this by comparing ROI on total exposure with ROI on your own capital after interest and costs.
No. This calculator is designed for quick planning and education. Professional portfolio tools may incorporate detailed cash flow timing, benchmarks, risk metrics and tax rules. Use this calculator as a starting point for understanding performance, and consult a qualified advisor for complex decisions.