Investment return calculator

Saying "I made 40%" doesn't say much about whether that investment did well, because it depends on how long it took: 40% in 2 years is an excellent return, 40% in 20 years is fairly mediocre. The annualized return converts any period into a figure comparable year over year, so you can compare investments against each other or against a benchmark like a market index.

If you invest once and just wait, the annualized return is a direct comparison between the starting and ending values. But if you're adding new money every month, part of what you have at the end is simply the money you put in, not real gain. This calculator accounts for that: it searches for the constant annual rate that explains both your initial investment and your monthly contributions ending up at the final value you enter.

We show both figures because they answer different questions. Total return is how much you've gained relative to everything you put in, regardless of time. Annualized return normalizes that to a yearly figure, and it's the one you should use to compare against other investments or decide whether a return is worth the risk taken.

We assume your monthly contributions were always the same amount and perfectly regular. If you contributed very different amounts from month to month, the result will be a reasonable approximation, not an exact calculation — that would require a tracking tool with the full history of every contribution.