Return over the full holding period

ROI Calculator

See how much an investment gained or lost after the costs you enter. Include income separately and compare the net profit with the total amount invested.

Initial investment

Amount initially invested, before the additional costs below. Must be greater than zero.

Additional costs (optional)

Fees and other costs not already included in the initial investment. Leave blank for zero.

Ending value

Value at the end of the period, or sale proceeds. Zero is allowed.

Income received (optional)

Cash income, such as dividends, that is not already included in the ending value. Leave blank for zero.

Use the same currency for every amount, without a currency symbol. Only the initial investment must be positive; the other amounts must be zero or positive. Use a period for decimals. Properly grouped commas such as 1,000 are accepted.

Maximum decimal places

Example: invest 1,000, pay 50 in costs, finish with 1,200, and receive 60 in income.

Return on investment

Enter the investment and ending value, then select Calculate.

≈ marks display rounding. Amounts use your input currency; no conversion is performed. Calculations run in your browser. Press Enter to calculate. Successful results appear in this tab's Recent calculations.

Count each amount once

Include the costs you paid.
Use the additional costs field for fees excluded from the initial investment. If a fee has already reduced the ending value you enter, do not add that same fee again.
Separate cash income from the ending value.
Enter income received outside the ending balance. If a distribution was reinvested and is already included in that balance, adding it again would double-count it.
Use a consistent period.
All amounts should refer to the same investment and holding period. This tool combines totals; it does not account for when individual cash flows occurred.

For annualized growth between two values without intermediate cash flows:

CAGR Calculator

For projected growth at a fixed rate:

Compound Interest Calculator

Estimating an asset's book value over time?

Depreciation Calculator

Worked examples

Gain with costs and income

210 profit on 1,050 total cost

(1,200 + 60 − 1,000 − 50) ÷ 1,050 × 100 = 20%

An initial investment of 1,000 and additional costs of 50 make the total cost 1,050. Ending value of 1,200 plus income of 60 gives 1,260 in total proceeds. The net profit is 210.

Income offsets part of a loss

800 ending value plus 50 income

(800 + 50 − 1,000) ÷ 1,000 × 100 = −15%

With no additional costs, proceeds are 850 against a cost of 1,000. The investment lost 150. The income reduces the loss but does not turn it into a gain.

Break-even or total loss

The zero and −100% boundaries

(0 − 500) ÷ 500 × 100 = −100%

A cost of 500 and no ending value or income means a total loss of 500. If the proceeds instead equal 500, profit is zero and ROI is 0%.

Formula, precision, and limits

C = I + F · P = V + D · ROI = (P − C) ÷ C × 100

I is initial investment, F is additional costs, V is ending value, D is income received, C is total cost, and P is total proceeds. Net profit or loss equals P − C. A strictly positive initial investment keeps the denominator positive. Blank costs and income are treated as zero; the initial investment and ending value are required.

This is a simple holding-period calculation for the totals entered. It does not annualize the return, weight cash flows by date, calculate IRR, model borrowing or short positions, adjust for inflation, or convert currencies. It makes no automatic tax calculation. Costs and income affect the result only when entered, and the same amount must not be included twice. With nonnegative proceeds, the lowest possible ROI in this model is −100%; gains have no separate percentage cap.

Each input accepts up to 64 characters, 15 digits before the decimal point, and 10 decimal places. Expressions and scientific notation are not accepted. All arithmetic uses exact integer fractions with no intermediate rounding. Results can have more integer digits than the inputs.

The final display uses your selected maximum decimal places, removes trailing zeros, and rounds halfway values away from zero. The ≈ symbol marks a value changed by display rounding. A notice appears when a nonzero gain, loss, or amount rounds to zero. The gain/loss classification uses the unrounded result. Changing display precision does not add a history entry or apply a bank's currency rounding policy.

Reference: FINRA — Calculating Your Investment Returns explains ROI using investment cost, fees, value changes, and income, and distinguishes total returns from annualized returns. This calculator is a mathematical aid, not a forecast or a recommendation to buy or sell an investment.

Common questions

Is a 20% ROI the same as 20% per year?

No. This result covers the entire period represented by your inputs. A 20% return over six months and a 20% return over five years have the same simple ROI. For annualized growth between a starting and ending value, use the CAGR Calculator and check its cash-flow assumptions.

What if I have not sold the investment?

You can enter its current value as the ending value. The result then includes an unrealized gain or loss and can change. Enter any estimated costs consistently and avoid counting a selling fee both in costs and as a reduction in ending value.

Can the initial investment be zero?

No. Dividing by zero cannot produce a meaningful ROI percentage. This tool requires a positive initial investment, even when other costs are present. Ending value and income can both be zero, which gives a total loss of −100%.

Does this calculate profit margin?

No. ROI divides net profit by total investment cost. Profit margin divides profit by revenue. They use different denominators and answer different questions.

Can I compare investments using ROI alone?

The result does not measure risk, liquidity, tax treatment, or the time money was committed. Check those factors separately. The tool also cannot represent a leveraged position that loses more than the total cost entered.