ROI Calculator
Calculate return on investment in seconds, with support for six currencies.
Disclaimer
This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
What is ROI?
ROI, or Return on Investment, is a widely used measure of how profitable an investment has been relative to its cost. It's expressed as a percentage, which makes it easy to compare the performance of very different investments — a piece of equipment, a marketing campaign, a stock purchase, or a small business — on a common scale. A positive ROI means the investment returned more than it cost; a negative ROI means it returned less than it cost.
How ROI is Calculated
This calculator uses three straightforward steps. First, it adds your additional costs to your initial investment to find the Total Investment. Second, it subtracts Total Investment from the Final Value to find the Net Profit. Third, it divides Net Profit by Total Investment and multiplies by 100 to express the result as a percentage.
- Total Investment = Initial Investment + Additional Costs
- Net Profit = Final Value − Total Investment
- ROI % = (Net Profit ÷ Total Investment) × 100
Example
Suppose you invest $10,000 in initial capital for a small online store, and spend an additional $2,000 on inventory and setup costs over the first year. By the end of the year, the business's assets and cash are worth $15,600. Total Investment is $10,000 + $2,000 = $12,000. Net Profit is $15,600 − $12,000 = $3,600. ROI is ($3,600 ÷ $12,000) × 100 = 30%. In other words, for every dollar invested, the business returned $1.30 — a 30% gain on the money put in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as "Additional Costs"?
Anything spent on top of the initial investment that was necessary to generate the final value — for example, fees, shipping, maintenance, marketing spend, or setup costs. If you're unsure whether to include a cost, ask whether the investment could have produced its final value without spending it; if not, include it.
What does a negative ROI mean?
A negative ROI means the final value was lower than the total amount invested — in other words, the investment lost money. The percentage tells you what proportion of the investment was lost.
Why do I get an error when Total Investment is zero?
ROI is calculated by dividing Net Profit by Total Investment. Dividing by zero is mathematically undefined, so rather than showing a meaningless result like "Infinity" or "NaN," the calculator asks you to enter a non-zero investment amount.
Does this calculator account for the time value of money?
No. This is a simple ROI calculation that compares total return to total cost without adjusting for how long the money was invested. If you need to compare investments held for different periods, consider an annualized ROI or a metric like IRR (Internal Rate of Return), which this tool does not currently calculate.
Can I use this for any currency?
The calculator supports USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD and CNY for display purposes — it formats your results with the selected currency's symbol or code. The math itself is currency-agnostic: as long as all your figures are in the same currency, the ROI percentage will be correct regardless of which currency you select.
Is this financial advice?
No. This tool performs a mechanical calculation based on the numbers you provide. It does not evaluate whether an investment is a good decision, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified financial professional. See the disclaimer below the calculator for more detail.