ROI Calculator: How to Measure Return on Any Investment

Deepak bought 100 shares of a company for ₹2,00,000 and sold them three years later for ₹2,80,000. He told his friends he made an "40% profit," which is true in the simplest sense, but it does not tell you whether that was a good return compared to a fixed deposit over the same three years, or whether his neighbour's mutual fund SIP beat him easily. The missing piece is knowing exactly what ROI (Return on Investment) measures, and just as importantly, what it does not.

Whether you are comparing stocks, mutual funds, real estate, a business investment, or even the cost-benefit of a course you paid for, ROI is the simplest, most universal number for judging whether an investment was worth it. This guide shows you exactly how to calculate it and where it can mislead you if used carelessly.

What is ROI (Return on Investment)? #

ROI measures the profit or loss generated by an investment, expressed as a percentage of the amount originally invested. It is the most basic way to answer the question "was this investment worth it?" across any asset class, stocks, mutual funds, gold, real estate, or even a personal expense like upskilling.

ROI does not, by itself, account for the time period over which the return was earned. A 40% ROI over 1 year is excellent; the same 40% ROI over 10 years is quite poor. This is the single most important thing to remember when using ROI, and it is why ROI is best paired with time-aware metrics like CAGR for a fuller picture.

How ROI is calculated #

The basic formula is:

ROI (%) = [(Final Value − Initial Investment) / Initial Investment] x 100

If you also received income along the way (dividends, rent, interest), a more complete version is:

ROI (%) = [(Final Value + Income Received − Initial Investment) / Initial Investment] x 100

Our ROI calculator handles this calculation instantly for any combination of initial investment, final value, and additional income, so you get a clean percentage without doing the arithmetic by hand.

A real example with Indian numbers #

Let's return to Deepak's stock investment: ₹2,00,000 invested, grown to ₹2,80,000 after 3 years, with no dividends received.

ROI = [(2,80,000 − 2,00,000) / 2,00,000] x 100 = 40%

That 40% is his total return over 3 years, not an annual figure. To make it comparable to a bank FD's annual rate, you need to annualise it using the CAGR formula:

CAGR = [(Final Value / Initial Value)^(1/Years)] − 1

CAGR = [(2,80,000 / 2,00,000)^(1/3)] − 1 ≈ 11.9% per year

Now Deepak has something genuinely comparable to a fixed deposit or a mutual fund's annual return. An 11.9% annualised return over 3 years is solid, comfortably ahead of most FDs and roughly in line with long-term equity mutual fund averages, but it is a very different statement than "I made 40%," which without the time context tells you almost nothing about the investment's actual quality.

Now consider a second example: Nisha invests ₹5,00,000 in a rental property, and after 5 years the property is worth ₹7,00,000, while she also collected ₹1,20,000 in total rental income over those 5 years, after expenses.

ROI = [(7,00,000 + 1,20,000 − 5,00,000) / 5,00,000] x 100 = 64%

Annualised (using the CAGR approach on the total return), this works out to roughly 10.4% per year, again a very different and more useful number than "64% return" stated without the 5-year context.

Key benefits and use cases of ROI #

• Comparing across completely different asset types. ROI lets you compare a stock investment, a rental property, a mutual fund, and even a business expense on the same basic percentage scale.
• Evaluating one-time decisions, not just ongoing investments. ROI works well for things like an education course, a home renovation before resale, or a piece of equipment for a small business, situations where CAGR or XIRR formulas do not naturally apply.
• Quick sanity checks before committing money. Before investing in anything, estimating a rough expected ROI helps you filter out clearly poor opportunities early.
• Communicating results simply. ROI as a single percentage is easy to explain to anyone, unlike more technical metrics, which makes it useful for quick conversations even if you dig deeper with other tools afterward.

ROI vs CAGR vs XIRR: what is the difference? #

If you invested a single lumpsum and want an annualised figure, CAGR (available via the compound interest calculator) is the right tool. If you invested through a SIP with monthly contributions, XIRR is more accurate since it accounts for each instalment's specific date, which is why SIP returns quoted by mutual fund platforms use XIRR, not simple ROI or CAGR.

Common mistakes and myths #

Mistake 1: Quoting ROI without mentioning the time period. As Deepak's example shows, "40% ROI" means very different things over 1 year versus 10 years. Always state the holding period alongside any ROI figure.

Mistake 2: Ignoring costs and taxes in the calculation. Brokerage, exit loads, stamp duty (for property), and capital gains tax all reduce your real, in-hand return. A quoted ROI before these costs can overstate what you actually walked away with.

Myth: "Higher ROI always means a better investment." A 50% ROI on a ₹10,000 investment (₹5,000 profit) is a much smaller absolute gain than a 15% ROI on a ₹20,00,000 investment (₹3,00,000 profit). ROI measures efficiency of capital, not the absolute value created, both matter depending on your goal.

Mistake 3: Forgetting to include all cash flows. Rental income, dividends, or interest received during the holding period should be included in the ROI calculation. Leaving them out understates your actual return, sometimes significantly for income-generating assets like rental property or dividend-paying stocks.

Tips and best practices #

• Always pair a raw ROI figure with the time period, and where possible, convert it to an annualised CAGR for genuine comparison across investments of different durations.
• Include every cash flow (rent, dividends, interest) in your ROI calculation, not just the final sale value versus the initial investment.
• Use the ROI calculator for a quick check on any specific investment, and follow up with the compound interest calculator if you want the annualised, comparable figure.
• For SIP investments specifically, remember that a simple ROI calculation will not correctly capture returns since money went in at different times. Check your actual mutual fund statement for the XIRR figure instead.
• Before making a large one-time investment (property, business equipment, a big-ticket course), estimate a realistic ROI range (best case, expected case, worst case) rather than relying on a single optimistic number often quoted by whoever is selling you the opportunity.

Frequently asked questions #

What is a good ROI for an investment in India? #

It depends heavily on the asset class and time period. For equity mutual funds over the long term, an annualised return (CAGR) of 10-14% is considered solid. For fixed deposits, 6.5-7.5% is typical. For a raw ROI number, always check the holding period before judging whether it is good, since a 20% total ROI over 1 year is excellent but the same 20% over 8 years is weak.

How is ROI different from the return shown on my mutual fund app? #

Most mutual fund apps show you the XIRR, which accounts for the exact dates of each SIP instalment or lumpsum investment. A simple ROI calculation assumes a single investment date, so it will not match your XIRR if you invested through a SIP with multiple, staggered contributions.

Can ROI be negative? #

Yes. If your final value plus any income received is less than your initial investment, your ROI is negative, meaning you lost money on the investment. This is common in short-term equity investments during market downturns or in poorly performing individual stocks.

Should I use ROI or CAGR to compare two investments? #

Use CAGR if the two investments were held for different lengths of time, since it annualises the return and makes them directly comparable. Use ROI if you simply want the total percentage gain over the actual holding period, or if you are evaluating a one-time decision rather than comparing across different durations.

Does ROI account for inflation? #

No, a standard ROI calculation is a nominal figure and does not adjust for inflation. A 30% ROI over 5 years sounds strong, but if inflation over that period was significant, your real, inflation-adjusted gain is meaningfully lower. Check the inflation calculator to see how much of your nominal ROI is actually real purchasing power gain.

The bottom line #

ROI is the simplest starting point for judging whether any investment, financial or otherwise, was actually worth it, but a single percentage without the time period and without all the cash flows included can be misleading. Use the ROI calculator to get your baseline number quickly, then annualise it with CAGR or XIRR when you need to compare it fairly against other investments in your portfolio.