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ToolsCAGR calculator
"It doubled" means nothing until you know over how many years. CAGR is the steady annual rate that would take the start value to the end value — the number that makes two investments held for different periods comparable, and the one every fund advert quotes.
Annual growth rate (CAGR)
12.47%
The steady yearly rate that produces this outcome.
Total change
80%
Over the whole 5 years.
CAGR smooths the path: an investment that crashed and recovered shows the same CAGR as one that grew steadily. It compares endpoints, not journeys.
How this calculator works
CAGR — compound annual growth rate — answers one question: what steady yearly rate turns the starting value into the ending value over this many years? It's computed as (end ÷ start)^(1/years) − 1. Because it normalises for time, it is the only fair way to compare investments held for different periods — a double in three years against a triple in ten.
A worked example
An investment goes from $5,000 to $10,000 in five years. It 'doubled' — but the CAGR is (2)^(1/5) − 1 = 14.9% a year. Another goes from $5,000 to $12,500 in ten years: a bigger total gain, but (2.5)^(1/10) − 1 = 9.6% a year. The 'smaller' result was the faster investment.
Common questions
- How is CAGR different from average annual return?
- The arithmetic average of yearly returns overstates reality: +50% then −50% averages to 0% but leaves you down 25%. CAGR is the geometric rate — the one your money actually experienced from start to end. When a fund advert quotes 'average returns', this calculator is the check.
- Can I use CAGR for periods shorter than a year?
- You can enter fractional years (six months = 0.5), but annualising a short period extrapolates it: a lucky quarter becomes a spectacular fake annual rate. CAGR earns its meaning over multi-year horizons, where compounding has actually had time to operate.
- Why is my fund's CAGR different from what I actually earned?
- A fund's published CAGR assumes one lump sum held the whole period. If you added money along the way, your personal result weights each period by how much you had invested in it — buying more before a bad year hurts you in a way the fund's own figure doesn't show.
What this tool can't tell you
CAGR compresses a journey into one smooth number: a steady climb and a crash-then-recovery can share the same CAGR while feeling nothing alike — it hides volatility entirely, and a past CAGR is a record, not a forecast. Use it to compare histories, not to promise futures.
These tools are for education. They work from the numbers you type and cannot see your accounts, verify who owns an address, or account for your circumstances. Nothing here is financial advice.