How to use the investment return calculator
- Enter what you put in at the start in Initial investment. 0 is allowed.
- Add up everything you put in later and enter that one figure in Additional investment. Enter 0 if there was none.
- Enter the total you finally got back in Amount returned. If you have not sold yet, the current value works too.
- Enter how long you were invested in Investment period. Decimals such as 2.5 are allowed.
- Select Calculate to see the total invested, the total profit or loss, the simple return and the annualized return.
- Select Reset example to go back to the values shown when the page opened.
Additional investment is a single total, not a list of cash flows. The calculator does not ask when each amount went in, and it does not model those dates.
The values shown when the page opens are a hypothetical example chosen to show how the calculation works. They are not a real product return or a market forecast. This calculator holds no return, tax or fee figures of its own.
What an investment return means
An investment return compares everything you put in with everything you got back. This page shows that comparison two ways.
- Simple return is the total profit divided by the total invested. It ignores how long the money was invested, exactly like ROI.
- Annualized return restates the same result as a per-year rate, so investments that ran for different lengths of time can be put on the same scale.
Because the calculation is a plain division, it works for any asset: shares, funds, property or a business project. The unit never enters the calculation, so you only need every figure in the same currency. No currency conversion happens anywhere on this page.
Investment return formula
These are the formulas this calculator uses. Following them in order lets you check the result by hand.
Total invested = initial investment + additional investment
Total profit = amount returned − total invested
Simple return(%) = ( total profit ÷ total invested ) × 100
Annualized return(%) = [ ( amount returned ÷ total invested ) 1 ÷ period − 1 ] × 100
- Initial investment: what you put in at the start (0 or more)
- Additional investment: everything added later, as one total (0 or more)
- Amount returned: the total you got back (0 or more)
- Investment period: how long you were invested, in years (0 to 100, decimals allowed)
The annualized return formula puts the whole total invested at the start of the period. That is exactly what the engine does: the additional investment is added to the initial investment first, and the sum is then treated as a single amount that sat there for the whole period. This is a deliberate simplification, because the calculator is never told when each extra amount went in.
Two results are left uncalculated rather than invented. A total invested of 0 leaves nothing to divide by, so neither rate can be shown. A period of 0 years has no per-year rate to state, so only the annualized return is left out. Intermediate values are never rounded; only the numbers on screen are tidied up for display.
Worked example
These are the same values the calculator shows when the page opens. They are a hypothetical example, not a real product return or a market forecast.
- Initial investment 10,000, additional investment 2,000, amount returned 15,000, period 3 years
- Total invested = 10,000 + 2,000 = 12,000
- Total profit = 15,000 − 12,000 = +3,000
- Simple return = (3,000 ÷ 12,000) × 100 = 25%
- Annualized return = (15,000 ÷ 12,000)1 ÷ 3 − 1, then × 100 = about 7.7217%
To check the last line, multiply 1.077217 by itself three times: the result is about 1.25, the same multiple you started with. Note what the assumption does here — the whole 12,000, including the 2,000 added later, is treated as if it had been invested for all three years. If that 2,000 actually went in during the final year, the true annualized performance was higher than this figure suggests.
Simple return vs annualized return
The two rates answer different questions, and mixing them up is the most common way to misread an investment result.
- Simple return asks how much came back compared with what went in. A 25% simple return says nothing about whether it took three months or thirty years.
- Annualized return restates that same 25% as a per-year pace. Over three years it is about 7.7217% a year; over one year it would be the full 25%.
- Neither is IRR or XIRR. Those measures take every cash flow and the date it happened into account. This calculator does not provide them and does not try to approximate them.
If you want a rate that ignores contributions entirely and compares only a beginning value with an ending value, the CAGR Calculator is the right tool. If you want the plain cost-versus-result ratio with no period at all, use the ROI Calculator.
Assumptions and limitations
- The annualized return follows the existing simplified method of this calculator. It is not a new or more precise model.
- It is not IRR and not XIRR, and this calculator does not provide either.
- The real timing of money added in between is not modelled beyond what the engine already does.
- Additional investment is treated as money put in at the start of the period, together with the initial investment. Money that actually went in later therefore looks as though it was invested for longer than it was.
- Additional investment is one total, not a list of dated cash flows.
- A total invested of 0 leaves nothing to divide by, so no rate is shown rather than a made-up one.
- A period of 0 years has no per-year rate to state, so the annualized return is left uncalculated.
- Taxes are not automatically included.
- Fees are not automatically included.
- Inflation is not automatically included.
- Exchange rates are not automatically included. No currency conversion happens anywhere on this page.
- No statutory tax rate, fee rate or market figure is ever guessed or applied automatically.
- Results are informational estimates based only on the values you enter.
- They do not guarantee any return and are not investment, legal or tax advice. No specific product is recommended.
- A past return does not mean the same rate will continue into the future.
- Intermediate values are not rounded; only the numbers on screen are rounded for display.
- Results may differ from other services, because details such as how a period is counted in days can be defined differently.
- Your inputs are calculated only in this browser and are never sent to or stored on a server.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate an investment return?
Add the initial investment and the additional investment to get the total invested, then subtract that from the amount returned to get the total profit. Dividing the profit by the total invested and multiplying by 100 gives the simple return. For example, 10,000 plus 2,000 invested and 15,000 returned is a profit of 3,000 on 12,000, which is a simple return of 25%.
How is the annualized return worked out here?
It raises the amount returned divided by the total invested to the power of 1 divided by the period, subtracts 1, then multiplies by 100. With 15,000 returned on 12,000 invested over 3 years that is about 7.7217% a year. This follows the simplified method the calculator has always used and is not a new model.
Is the annualized return the same as IRR or XIRR?
No. IRR and XIRR take every cash flow and the date it happened into account, while this figure treats the whole total invested as one amount placed at the start of the period. When money went in or out at several different times the answers differ, and this calculator does not provide IRR or XIRR.
When is my additional investment assumed to have been made?
At the start of the period, together with the initial investment. The calculator is never told the real dates, so it adds the two amounts and treats the sum as money that sat there for the whole period. If your extra contributions actually went in near the end, the true annualized performance was higher than the figure shown.
Why is the simple return sometimes not calculated?
Because the total invested is 0, which leaves nothing to divide by. There is no way to state what percentage of nothing came back, so the calculator shows the profit or loss and leaves the rate uncalculated instead of inventing a 0% or an infinity.
Why is the annualized return sometimes not calculated?
Either the total invested is 0, or the investment period is 0 years. A period of 0 has no per-year rate to state. In both cases the value is left uncalculated rather than filled in with a made-up number, and the simple return is still shown when the total invested is above 0.
Can the investment period be a decimal?
Yes. Enter 2.5 for two years and six months, or 0.75 for nine months. The period runs from 0 to 100 years. Entering 0 is allowed, but then only the simple return can be shown.
Are taxes and fees included?
No. This calculator holds no tax rate or fee rate and never guesses one. If you want an after-tax figure, subtract the taxes and fees yourself and enter the reduced amount returned. Inflation and exchange rates are not included either, and no currency conversion happens anywhere on this page.
Does a past return predict future performance?
No. These figures describe a period that has already happened. They say nothing about what comes next and guarantee no return. Treat the result as an informational estimate based only on the values you entered, not as a forecast.
Are my inputs stored?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, and your inputs are never sent to or stored on a server.
Related calculators
If you do not need a period at all and only want to know how much came back compared with what went in, the ROI Calculator asks for two figures and stops there.
If there were no contributions in between and you only have a beginning value and an ending value, the CAGR Calculator smooths that whole change into one equivalent annual rate. To look forward instead of back, the Compound Interest Calculator takes a principal, an expected annual return and a period. It is a hypothetical simulation and guarantees no return.