📊 ROI Calculator
Return on investment percentage and profit. Runs privately in your browser.
Profit, relative to what you put in
ROI is profit divided by cost, expressed as a percentage: (return − invested) ÷ invested × 100. It is the most universal performance yardstick because it strips out scale — a 200 profit on 1,000 and a 2,000 profit on 10,000 are the same 20% ROI, which makes wildly different projects comparable.
Where ROI misleads is time. A 10% return in one month is far better than 10% in a year, but plain ROI hides that difference. Use it to compare same-length projects; for anything spanning different time frames, annualise or look at annualised return separately.
The ROI calculation
ROI = (final value − amount invested) ÷ amount invested × 100%. The calculator also reports the raw profit or loss in currency terms.
5,000 spent on an ad campaign
You invested 5,000 in a small ad campaign and traced 6,250 of sales back to it. Profit is 1,250 and ROI is 25%. A competing campaign returned 7,000 on 6,000 invested — profit 1,000, ROI 16.7%. The first campaign wins on both absolute profit and rate of return, but if the second ran twice as long, annualised figures could flip the ranking.
ROI's blind spots
- Comparing ROIs across different time horizons without annualising.
- Forgetting hidden costs — fees, subscriptions, shipping or your own time. Real ROI is calculated on true total cost.
- Counting gross return as profit. If you invested 10,000 and got back 11,000, ROI is 10%, not 110%.
- Ignoring risk. A 15% ROI on a speculative venture is not equivalent to 15% on a savings product.
ROI questions
Is ROI the same as profit?
No. Profit is the absolute currency gain; ROI expresses it relative to what you invested, which is what makes comparisons meaningful.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes — if you get back less than you invested, the calculator shows a negative percentage and the loss amount.
What is a good ROI?
It depends on the asset class and the time frame. Savings accounts might yield 3–4% a year; a business project may target 20%+; marketing campaigns are often judged per-campaign.
How is ROI different from annualised return?
ROI ignores time. Annualised return converts any holding period into a comparable yearly rate — use that when durations differ.
Does this include taxes or fees?
No. Enter net figures — what you finally received after all costs — for an honest ROI.
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Tip: double-check inputs before relying on results for important decisions.