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ROI Calculator
Simple & annualized ROI, ROAS and marketing ROI, payback period. Accurate, instant and free — for United States.
What these mean:
Investing $50,000.00 to return $70,000.00 is a $20,000.00 gain — an ROI of 40.0%.
Gain
$20,000.00
ROI
40.00%
Not investment advice
Model compounding over time with the Compound Interest Calculator, gauge a property with the Rental Yield Calculator, or find the units you must sell with the Break-Even Calculator.
Four ways to measure return
"ROI" means different things in different contexts. This tool covers the four most common: simple ROI (total percentage gain), annualized ROI / CAGR (that gain expressed as a yearly rate), ROAS and marketing ROI (for ad spend), and the payback period (how long to recover the cost).
Simple ROI
gain ÷ invested
ROI% = (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100
$50k → $70k = 40% ROI.
Annualized (CAGR)
per-year rate
CAGR = (returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
100% over 4.526y = 16.55%/yr.
ROAS & marketing ROI
ad spend
ROAS = revenue ÷ spend · ROI = (rev − spend) ÷ spend
$5k → $20k = 4.0× ROAS = 300% ROI.
Payback period
invested ÷ inflow
payback = invested ÷ net inflow per period
$50k ÷ $10k/yr = 5 periods.
- 1Annualize before comparing: A 40% total ROI sounds strong, but over 4.526 years it is only about a 7.7% CAGR — roughly a typical index-fund year. Never compare a total ROI to an annual rate.
- 2Take it further: Project the same compounding with the Compound Interest Calculator, or find the sales you need with the Break-Even Calculator.
ROAS is not marketing ROI
Marketers quote ROAS (revenue ÷ spend) while finance quotes ROI (profit ÷ spend). They measure the same campaign from different bases, so a healthy-sounding ROAS is always a smaller ROI.
| ROAS | Equivalent marketing ROI |
|---|---|
| 1.0× | 0% |
| 2.0× | 100% |
| 3.0× | 200% |
| 4.0× | 300% |
| 5.0× | 400% |
A 4.0× ROAS = 300% ROI
Frequently asked questions
ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested × 100. Investing $50,000 to get back $70,000 is a $20,000 gain, or a 40% ROI ($20,000 ÷ $50,000). ROI is a simple ratio — it tells you the percentage gain but says nothing about how long it took.
Simple ROI is the total percentage gain over the whole holding period, regardless of time. Annualized ROI — the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) — smooths that total into an equivalent yearly rate: CAGR = (returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. A 100% total ROI is impressive over 1 year but only about 16.55% annualized over 4.5 years, so always annualize before comparing investments of different lengths.
ROAS (return on ad spend) is a gross ratio: revenue ÷ ad spend. Spending $5,000 to generate $20,000 in revenue is a ROAS of 4.0 (or 400%). Marketing ROI subtracts the spend first, expressing net profit as a percentage of spend: (revenue − spend) ÷ spend × 100 = 300%. So a 4.0× ROAS is the same as a 300% marketing ROI — the ROAS counts the returned dollars, the ROI counts only the profit.
The payback period is how long it takes an investment to earn back its upfront cost: payback = amount invested ÷ net inflow per period. A $50,000 investment returning $10,000 per year pays back in 5 periods (years, in this case). Payback is a simple liquidity gauge — it ignores anything that happens after break-even and the time value of money, so pair it with ROI or CAGR.
No. This calculator performs descriptive math on the numbers you enter — it does not account for risk, taxes, fees, inflation, or the time value of money beyond the annualized view. Use it to compare options and sanity-check deals, not as a forecast or financial advice.
Yes — it is completely free with no sign-up, and every calculation runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server or stored.
Method, assumptions & references
Methodology: ROI% = (returned − invested) ÷ invested × 100; CAGR = (returned ÷ invested)^(1 ÷ years) − 1; ROAS = revenue ÷ spend; marketing ROI% = (revenue − spend) ÷ spend × 100; payback = invested ÷ net inflow per period. All calculations run client-side; nothing is stored.
Not investment advice
How we calculate this
Reviewed by Reckonist Editorial · Last reviewed 4 July 2026. Figures follow the methods and sources set out in our editorial standards.
ROI, CAGR, ROAS and payback are standard, non-proprietary financial identities. Results depend entirely on the figures you enter and do not account for risk, taxes, fees or the time value of money. This is not financial advice.
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