Enter your starting value, ending value, and time period, then click Calculate to see your full return breakdown.
Rate of return (RoR) is the percentage gain or loss on an investment over a period of time. It tells you how much your money grew — or shrank — relative to what you started with. A positive rate of return means your investment made money. A negative rate means it lost value.
Investors use rate of return to compare different assets side by side. A $5,000 profit on a $50,000 investment is a 10% return. The same $5,000 profit on a $20,000 investment is a 25% return — much better relative performance.
Rate of return is useful for stocks, real estate, savings accounts, bonds, mutual funds, and any other asset where you put money in and expect it to grow over time. To measure the efficiency of a specific investment relative to its cost, use our return on investment calculator.
Example: You invest $10,000. After 5 years it is worth $16,105. Simple ROI = 61.05%. CAGR = (16,105/10,000)^(1/5) − 1 = 10.0% per year.
What annualized return (CAGR) equals a given total simple return over different holding periods.
| Simple ROI | 1 Year CAGR |
2 Years | 3 Years | 5 Years | 7 Years | 10 Years |
|---|
CAGR = (1 + ROI%)^(1/years) − 1. A 100% total return over 10 years is only a 7.18% annual rate.
Approximate years needed to double an investment at different annual return rates (Rule of 72).
| Annual Return | Years to Double Rule of 72 |
Years to Double Exact CAGR |
Years to Triple | Years to 5× | Years to 10× |
|---|
Rule of 72: divide 72 by the annual return % to estimate doubling time. Exact formula: ln(2) / ln(1 + rate).
How a $10,000 investment grows over time at different annualized returns.
| Years | 3% / yr | 5% / yr | 7% / yr | 10% / yr | 12% / yr | 15% / yr |
|---|
Formula: $10,000 × (1 + rate)^years. Shows compounding power over time. No additional contributions included.
How inflation reduces your nominal return to a lower real gain in purchasing power.
| Nominal Return | Inflation 2% Real Return |
Inflation 3% | Inflation 4% | Inflation 5% | Inflation 7% | Inflation 10% |
|---|
Real Return = ((1 + Nominal) / (1 + Inflation)) − 1. Negative real returns mean inflation outpaced your investment gains.
Historical long-run average annual returns by asset class. For reference only — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Asset / Index | Avg Annual Return | Includes Dividends? | Inflation Adj.? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global Equity Index (MSCI World) | 8.5% | Yes | No |
| Developed Market Equities | 7.5 – 10% | Yes | No |
| Emerging Market Equities | 6 – 12% | Yes | No |
| Broad Equity Index (inflation-adj.) | 5 – 7% | Yes | Yes |
| Government Bonds (10-yr) | 3 – 5% | — | No |
| Corporate Bonds | 4 – 7% | — | No |
| Real Estate / REITs | 7 – 10% | Yes | No |
| Gold | 4 – 6% | — | No |
| Commodities (broad) | 2 – 5% | — | No |
| Bitcoin / Crypto | ~80–120%* | — | No |
| Bank Savings / Deposits | 0.5 – 5% | — | No |
* Crypto averages are heavily skewed by early years and vary widely by asset. All figures are approximate long-run global ranges. Actual returns differ by country, market, and time period.
Pre-tax vs. post-tax return on a $10,000 investment at common capital gains tax rates.
| Annual Return | Gross Gain 10 years |
After 10% Tax | After 15% Tax | After 20% Tax | After 25% Tax | After 37% Tax |
|---|
Based on a $10,000 investment held 10 years. Tax is applied to the total gain only. Actual tax treatment varies by country, asset type, and holding period.