CAGR calculator
Want to know how fast an investment really grew, per year? Enter what you put in, what it’s worth now, and how long you held it. That’s it — the calculator does the rest. No formulas, no finance background needed.
$10,000 growing to $14,182 over 2.5 years is like earning 15.0% every single year — steadily, with each year building on the last.
Drag the sliders — or type a number. No contributions, fees or taxes assumed.
What’s CAGR? It’s just the single steady yearly rate that turns your starting amount into your ending amount — the honest way to compare investments held for different lengths of time. The 2-minute explainer
Want to understand what the number means? Read What is CAGR for why it beats a simple average, or see what a steady rate compounds into over decades with the compound-interest calculator.
All guidesCommon questions
- What is CAGR?
- CAGR stands for compound annual growth rate. It's the single steady yearly rate that would take an investment from its starting value to its ending value, with each year's growth compounding on the last. It turns a bumpy return into one clean per-year number.
- How do I calculate CAGR?
- Divide the ending value by the starting value, raise the result to 1 divided by the number of years, then subtract 1. For example, $10,000 growing to $14,182 over 2.5 years is a CAGR of about 15% a year. The calculator above does this for you — just enter the three numbers.
- How is CAGR different from average return?
- A simple average ignores compounding and flatters volatile results. A +30% year followed by a −14% year averages 8%, but actually compounds at only 5.7% a year. CAGR reflects what you truly ended up with, which is why it's the fairer way to compare investments.
- What's a good CAGR?
- It depends on the risk taken and the period, so there's no single answer. As a rough yardstick, a broad stock-market index has historically delivered roughly 7–10% a year over the long run. Compare any CAGR against a relevant benchmark over the same time frame rather than in isolation.