CAGR
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Total Return
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Multiplier
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When Should You Use a CAGR Calculator?
Use this calculator to measure investment performance over time:
• Evaluating how well your portfolio performed
• Comparing returns between different investments
• Measuring fund or stock performance over multiple years
• Setting realistic growth expectations for future investments
How It Works
1
Enter Values
Input what your investment was worth at the start and end.
2
Set Time Period
Enter the number of years between start and end.
3
See Your CAGR
Get the annualized return, total return, and how many times your money grew.
Example
Scenario: You invested $10,000 five years ago and it is now worth $16,105.
Calculation: CAGR = ($16,105/$10,000)^(1/5) - 1 = 10.0%.
Result: Your investment grew at a compound annual rate of 10%, matching the S&P 500 historical average.
Frequently Asked Questions
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the average annual return of an investment over a period, assuming profits are reinvested. It smooths out yearly fluctuations into one clean number.
CAGR = (Ending Value / Starting Value) ^ (1 / Years) - 1. It represents the constant annual growth rate that would take you from the starting value to the ending value.
The S&P 500 has a historical CAGR of about 10%. A CAGR above 15% is considered excellent. Any positive CAGR means your investment grew.
No. CAGR accounts for compounding while simple average return does not. CAGR gives a more accurate picture of actual investment performance.
Yes. A negative CAGR means your investment lost value over the period. For example, if $10,000 became $7,000 over 3 years, the CAGR would be about -11.2%.
Related Tools
Quick Reference Table
| Start | End | Years | CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $20,000 | 5 | 14.87% |
| $10,000 | $30,000 | 10 | 11.61% |
| $50,000 | $100,000 | 7 | 10.41% |
| $5,000 | $25,000 | 10 | 17.46% |
| $100,000 | $500,000 | 15 | 11.33% |
The S&P 500 has delivered a CAGR of approximately 10.5% since 1957, or about 7% after inflation.