Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Calculate Return on Investment from cost and gain.
50.00% ROI
Return on Investment (ROI) is the standard metric for measuring how profitable an investment was relative to its cost -- used everywhere from marketing spend to real estate to business purchases.
Enter the cost of the investment and its final value or gain. Net profit and ROI update instantly.
ROI = ((Gain - Cost) / Cost) × 100
The calculator asks for two numbers: the cost of the investment and its final value or gain. The second box is the total value you got back, not the profit. The tool subtracts the cost itself to find net profit, so if you spent 4,000 and received 10,000 in return, you enter 4,000 as the cost and 10,000 as the gain. Entering only the profit (6,000) in the second box would understate the result badly. The cost must be greater than zero, because ROI divides by the cost; a zero cost gives no answer. The return value may be zero or lower than the cost, in which case the result is negative and shows a loss.
Suppose you bought equipment for 2,500 to start a side project and later sold it and everything it produced for a total of 2,000. Net profit is 2,000 - 2,500 = -500. ROI is -500 / 2,500 = -0.20, or -20%. A negative ROI is not an error; it correctly reports that you got back less than you put in. The numbers here are hypothetical, and your own costs and returns will differ.
The result is only as honest as the inputs, so decide up front what you include. For a business purchase, the cost should include the purchase price plus anything you had to spend to make it work, such as installation, fees, training, shipping, or extra maintenance. The gain should include the resale value or all the income the investment produced, but only the part truly caused by the investment. Leaving out costs makes ROI look better than it is, and counting income that would have happened anyway makes it look better too.
As the page notes, basic ROI ignores time. Two investments can show the same ROI but very different quality. A quick way to level the field is to divide by the years held. For example, 50% ROI over 5 years is roughly 10% per year on a simple average basis. If you assume compounding, the equivalent yearly rate is lower: 1.5 raised to the power of one fifth is about 1.0845, or roughly 8.45% per year. Both are hypothetical illustrations of the idea that the same total return looks different once time is included. Which one to use depends on whether returns would realistically have been reinvested. For a rigorous comparison, use an annualized return or internal rate of return method, and this calculator will still help you produce the starting ROI figure.
ROI is a planning aid, not financial advice. For large investments, tax-sensitive decisions, or anything involving loans or retirement accounts, consult a qualified accountant or financial adviser, and rely on official guidance for tax treatment of gains and losses rather than assuming the calculator's result is the same as your taxable outcome.
No -- basic ROI is time-agnostic. For a time-adjusted comparison across investments of different durations, annualize it separately (ROI ÷ years) or use a rate-of-return metric.
Generally, but compare it against the risk taken and the time horizon -- a 50% ROI over 5 years is very different from 50% in one month.
Enter the total final value or return, not the profit. The calculator subtracts your cost to find net profit before computing ROI.
Yes. If the final value is lower than the cost, the net profit is negative and the ROI is a negative percentage, meaning a loss.
ROI divides the net profit by the cost, and dividing by zero has no meaningful result. Enter a cost above zero.
For an honest result, include fees in the cost and consider taxes separately with an accountant or the relevant tax authority, since the calculator does not add them automatically.
Reference: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau