Calculate return on investment, net profit, and annualized return. Industry benchmarks for SaaS, e-commerce, real estate, and stocks. No sign-up required.
ROI = (Net Profit ÷ Initial Investment) × 100%. A 100% ROI means you doubled your money. Venture-backed SaaS investments return 20-30% IRR over 5-7 years (Cambridge Associates); S&P 500 historical average is ~10%.
Key distinction: ROI measures total return over the entire period, while annualized ROI shows the yearly equivalent. A 50% ROI over 3 years is only ~14.5% annualized — always compare investments using annualized figures.
Sources: Investopedia ROI formula, S&P 500 historical returns (1957-2024), SaaS capital efficiency benchmarks (OpenView 2024)
Pair this calculator with our Cold Email Outreach Tracker — a Notion template built from 200,000+ sent emails. Track campaign ROI, customer acquisition costs, and domain health in one workspace.
Get the Notion Template →| Metric | Value | Source | Test Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROI Formula | (Net Profit ÷ Cost) × 100% | Investopedia | Standard financial formula, no adjustment for time |
| Annualized ROI Formula | ((1 + ROI)^(1/n) - 1) × 100% | CFI | n = number of years; compounds annually |
| S&P 500 Average Annual Return | ~10% (nominal), ~7% (inflation-adjusted) | S&P Dow Jones Indices | 1957-2024, including dividends, before taxes |
| SaaS Median IRR (venture-backed) | 20-30% (5-7 year hold) | Cambridge Associates 2024 | Top-quartile VC funds, SaaS-focused, 2015-2022 vintages |
| E-commerce Average ROI | 10-20% annual | Shopify 2024 | DTC brands, Facebook/Google ads, median across categories |
| Real Estate Cash-on-Cash Return | 8-12% annual | NCREIF 2024 | Commercial real estate, 60-70% LTV leverage, 2014-2024 average. Unleveraged (all-cash) returns are typically 4-6% |
| Good ROI Threshold | Industry avg + 5 percentage points | General financial principle | Should exceed cost of capital (5-10%) plus risk premium |
Evaluate whether a new product line, marketing campaign, or equipment purchase generates enough return to justify the capital outlay.
Compare ROI across channels (Google Ads, Facebook, email, content) and reallocate budget to the highest-return campaigns.
Calculate cash-on-cash return for rental properties, flips, and REITs. Compare against stock market alternatives.
Track portfolio performance, evaluate stock picks, and decide when to take profits or cut losses on individual positions.
| Feature | This Calculator | Excel Spreadsheet | Paid Analytics Tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROI Calculation | Yes, instant | Manual formula entry | Yes, automated |
| Annualized ROI | Yes, built-in | Requires POWER() formula | Often requires custom setup |
| Industry Benchmarks | 5 industries included | No, manual research | Sometimes, enterprise plans |
| Data Privacy | 100% local browser | Local file | Data sent to vendor servers |
| Cost | Free | Excel license ($159/yr) | $50-500/month |
| Setup Time | 0 seconds | 10-30 minutes | 1-4 weeks integration |
ROI (Return on Investment) = (Net Profit ÷ Initial Investment) × 100%. For example, if you invest $10,000 and end with $15,000, your net profit is $5,000 and ROI = ($5,000 ÷ $10,000) × 100% = 50%. ROI measures total return over the entire investment period.
ROI is the total return over the entire period. Annualized ROI is the yearly equivalent, calculated as ((1 + ROI)^(1/n) - 1) × 100%, where n = years. A 50% ROI over 3 years sounds good, but annualized it's only 14.5% — still solid, but not 50% per year. Always compare investments using annualized figures when time periods differ.
It depends on your industry and risk tolerance. For the stock market, beating the S&P 500 average (~10% nominal annually) is good. For SaaS, 15-25% annual ROI is typical. For real estate, 8-12% cash-on-cash is solid. A good rule of thumb: your ROI should exceed your cost of capital (usually 5-10%) plus a risk premium of at least 5%.
Inflation erodes the purchasing power of your returns. A 5% nominal ROI with 3% inflation gives you only 2% real return. To calculate real ROI: (1 + nominal ROI) ÷ (1 + inflation rate) - 1. Over 20 years, 3% inflation halves the real value of your money. Always consider inflation for long-term investments.
For accurate comparison, yes. This calculator uses pre-tax, pre-fee figures. Short-term capital gains (held under 1 year) are taxed at ordinary income rates (up to 37% in the US), while long-term gains are taxed at 15-20%. A 20% pre-tax ROI becomes 12.6-17% after tax depending on your bracket. Transaction fees (brokerage, closing costs) also reduce net returns.
ROI measures total return on any investment (equipment, stocks, real estate, marketing). ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) specifically measures advertising efficiency: revenue generated ÷ ad spend. ROAS does not account for product costs or overhead. Use our ROAS Calculator for marketing campaigns, and this ROI calculator for overall investment decisions.
This calculator works best for lump-sum investments. For regular monthly contributions (like a 401k or SIP), you need an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculation, which accounts for the timing of each contribution. The most accurate approach: use Excel's =XIRR() function with each contribution as a negative cash flow and the final value as a positive cash flow. This gives you the money-weighted return, which correctly accounts for when money was invested. Treating the average balance as your initial investment is a rough approximation that tends to overstate ROI.
No. All calculations run locally in your browser. Your investment numbers are never sent to our servers or any third party. Page visit analytics (anonymous, no input data) may be collected by Cloudflare. Your financial metrics never leave your device.
Return on ad spend with gross margin-adjusted profitable threshold.
Customer acquisition cost with gross margin-adjusted payback period.
Monthly/quarterly/annual churn with compounded annualization.
MRR, ARR, runway, LTV, and 12-month growth projections.
Gross, operating, and net margin with 5 industry benchmarks.
Website CVR, CPA, and revenue per visitor with benchmarks.