ROI Calculator

ROI, or Return on Investment, measures the profit of an investment as a percentage of what you put in. It is the most universal yardstick in finance because it works for almost anything — a mutual fund, a stock, a flat, a piece of machinery, an ad campaign, a side business, even a course you paid for. By converting "I invested this, I got back that" into a single clean percentage, ROI lets you compare wildly different opportunities on the same scale. This calculator is for investors, business owners and anyone weighing where to put their money next.

The formula

Net Profit = Final Value − Initial Cost

ROI % = (Net Profit ÷ Cost) × 100

It also shows the ROI multiple (Final Value ÷ Cost), which tells you how many times your money grew — a 50% ROI is a 1.5× multiple, doubling your money is 2×.

Worked example

Say you invest ₹10,000 in a stock and sell it later for ₹15,000:

• Net profit = ₹15,000 − ₹10,000 = ₹5,000
• ROI = ₹5,000 ÷ ₹10,000 × 100 = 50%
• Multiple = ₹15,000 ÷ ₹10,000 = 1.5×

Annualised ROI (CAGR) — why the time period matters

A 50% return is excellent in one year and very poor over ten. Plain ROI ignores time completely, so for any multi-year investment you should look at the annualised figure, also called CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate):

Annualised ROI = (Final Value ÷ Cost)^(1 ÷ Years) − 1

That 50% total ROI earned over 3 years works out to roughly 14.5% per year compounded — not 16.7% (50 ÷ 3). The straight-line division overstates the return because it ignores compounding. Whenever you compare investments held for different lengths of time, compare their CAGRs, never their raw ROIs. Enter a holding period above and the calculator shows the CAGR automatically.

Reading the benchmark bar

The result panel plots your return against a few common Indian reference points so you can judge it in context: a savings account (around 3–4%), debt instruments and bonds (mid-single digits), and the long-run average of the Nifty 50 (often cited near 10–12% per year over long horizons). A useful rule of thumb is that any risky investment should beat the risk-free rate — the return on government securities such as RBI Treasury bills — by a comfortable margin to be worth the risk.

ROI for specific situations

• Real estate flip: ROI = (Sale Price − Purchase Price − all costs) ÷ (Purchase Price + all costs) × 100. In India "all costs" must include stamp duty, registration, brokerage and renovation — these are large and easy to forget.
• Rental property: Annual rental yield = (Yearly Rent − Maintenance & Tax) ÷ Property Value × 100. Indian residential rental yields are typically low (around 2–4%), so most of the return comes from price appreciation rather than rent.
• Business or marketing spend: ROI = (Revenue Generated − Spend) ÷ Spend × 100. Useful for judging whether an ad campaign or a new machine paid for itself.

Limitations to keep in mind

ROI is simple, which is its strength and its weakness. On its own it ignores time (use CAGR), risk (a 30% return on a risky small-cap is not comparable to 30% on a blue chip), inflation (a 6% return when inflation is 6% is zero real growth), cash-flow timing, and taxes such as STCG and LTCG that reduce what you actually keep. For serious decisions, read ROI alongside CAGR, payback period, and where relevant, XIRR or NPV.