Investment Return
How well did my investment actually do each year?
Investments go up and down, which makes it hard to say how well they did. This finds the steady yearly growth rate (called CAGR) that gets you from your starting value to your ending value — so you can compare investments fairly.
How to use this calculatorShowHide
- Step 1: Enter what the investment was worth at the start and what it's worth now.
- Step 2: Enter how many years you held it.
- Step 3: Read your yearly growth rate. Want more detail? Switch to “Yearly values” and enter the value for each year.
What you'll need
- The starting and ending value (from your brokerage or retirement account)
- How many years you held it
Don't know a number? Leave the example value in, or tap the ⓘ next to it. New to this? Read the Beginner's Guide →
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
14.87%
Growing from $1,000.00 to $2,000.00 over 5 years, your investment grew at a compound annual rate of 14.87% — as if it had earned exactly that every single year.
- Total growth
- 100.00%
- Growth multiple
- 2.00×
What this means
In plain English
Investments go up and down — up 20% one year, down 10% the next. That makes it hard to say how well they really did.
CAGR (compound annual growth rate) answers that with one number: the steady yearly growth rate that would have taken you from your starting value to your ending value. It's the fairest way to compare two investments over time.
When to use it
- Finding out how well an investment really did
- Comparing two investments held for different lengths of time
- Seeing how bumpy the ride was, using your yearly values
Example
$1,000 that grows to $2,000 in 5 years grew at a CAGR of 14.87% a year. In other words, earning exactly 14.87% every single year would have gotten you to the same place.
Watch out for
Averaging the yearly returns. Say an investment goes up 50% one year and down 50% the next. The average is 0%, which sounds like you broke even — but $100 → $150 → $75 means you actually lost 25%. CAGR tells the truth: about −13.4% a year.
The math (optional)
CAGR = (Ending value ÷ Starting value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
With yearly values, the calculator also shows each year's return, the average, and the volatility (how much the yearly returns jump around).