CAGR Calculator

Enter the value at the start, the value at the end and the number of years between them. The calculator returns the compound annual growth rate plus total return, absolute gain and the growth multiple.

• Beginning value — the starting amount, not adjusted for deposits or withdrawals.
• Ending value — the final amount at the end of the period.
• Years — the length of the period; use decimals for partial years.
• CAGR — the smooth yearly rate, useful for comparing investments of different lengths.

An investment grows from $10,000 to $20,000 over 5 years:

• Total return = (20,000 ÷ 10,000 − 1) = 100%
• Absolute gain = $10,000
• CAGR = 2^(1/5) − 1 = 14.87% per year

The investment doubled, but that is not 20% a year — compounding means the equivalent steady rate is about 14.9%.

• CAGR — a smoothed average rate; the actual returns in any single year may have been higher or lower.
• Growth multiple — how many times the money grew (2× means it doubled).
• Use for comparison — CAGR is the fair way to compare investments held for different periods.

• Investopedia — Compound Annual Growth Rate
• Investopedia — Total Return