Investment Growth & Performance

CAGR Calculator — Compound Annual Growth Rate (2026)

Calculate the Compound Annual Growth Rate of any investment instantly. Enter your beginning value, ending value, and investment period to see your annualized CAGR percentage.

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CAGR calculator dashboard showing compound annual growth rate chart

CAGR Calculator

Enter your investment details to calculate the Compound Annual Growth Rate.

The value of the investment at the start of the period

The value of the investment at the end of the period

Number of years the investment was held

Results

CAGR

14.87%

Absolute Growth

100.00%

Total Gain

100,000

An investment that grew from 100,000 to 200,000 over 5 years produced a CAGR of 14.87% per year.

What is CAGR?

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the average annual growth rate of an investment over a specified time period, assuming any gains are reinvested each year. Rather than showing the erratic year-to-year swings an investment actually experiences, CAGR smooths those fluctuations into a single, steady growth rate — as if the investment had grown at that exact pace every single year.

CAGR is one of the most widely used metrics in finance. Investors use it to compare mutual funds and stocks over different holding periods, business owners use it to track revenue or user growth year over year, and analysts use it to evaluate long-term performance of any asset that changes in value over time. Because it accounts for compounding, CAGR is far more accurate than a simple average of yearly returns.

Use the CAGR Calculator above to instantly find the annualized growth rate of any investment, or explore related tools like our ROI Calculator for total return without annualization.

CAGR Formula

The standard formula used to calculate Compound Annual Growth Rate.

CAGR (%) = [(Ending Value / Beginning Value) ^ (1 / Years) − 1] × 100

Beginning Value = The value of the investment at the start of the period
Ending Value = The value of the investment at the end of the period
Years = The number of years the investment was held

Worked Example

CAGR = [(2,00,000 / 1,00,000)^(1/5) − 1] × 100 = 14.87%

An investment that doubled over 5 years grew at an average compounded rate of 14.87% per year — even though the actual year-to-year growth was likely uneven.

How to Calculate CAGR

Follow these steps to calculate CAGR for any investment.

1

Identify the Beginning Value

Note the value of the investment at the very start of the period — the purchase price, initial deposit, or starting revenue figure.

2

Identify the Ending Value

Note the value at the end of the period — current market value, sale proceeds, or the most recent revenue figure.

3

Divide Ending Value by Beginning Value

This gives you the total growth multiple over the entire period — for example, 2.0 if the investment doubled.

4

Raise to the Power of 1/Years

Take that ratio to the power of 1 divided by the number of years held. This converts the total growth into an annualized growth factor.

5

Subtract 1 and Multiply by 100

Subtract 1 from the result and multiply by 100 to express CAGR as a percentage — the average annual growth rate.

Investment Examples

Real scenarios showing how CAGR is used to evaluate different types of investments.

Mutual Fund Investment

An investor puts ₹3,00,000 into an equity mutual fund. After 7 years, the investment is worth ₹6,90,000.

CAGR = [(6,90,000 / 3,00,000)^(1/7) − 1] × 100

CAGR ≈ 12.68%

Business Revenue Growth

A small business had annual revenue of ₹25,00,000 three years ago. This year, revenue reached ₹40,00,000.

CAGR = [(40,00,000 / 25,00,000)^(1/3) − 1] × 100

CAGR ≈ 16.96%

Stock Portfolio

A stock purchased for ₹1,50,000 four years ago is now worth ₹2,10,000.

CAGR = [(2,10,000 / 1,50,000)^(1/4) − 1] × 100

CAGR ≈ 8.78%

Declining Investment

An investment of ₹1,00,000 falls to ₹80,000 after 3 years — a real-world example of negative CAGR.

CAGR = [(80,000 / 1,00,000)^(1/3) − 1] × 100

CAGR ≈ −7.17%

CAGR vs ROI

Both metrics measure investment growth, but they answer different questions.

CAGR

Shows the average annual growth rate, assuming compounding. Best for comparing investments held over different time periods.

  • Accounts for the length of the holding period
  • Smooths out year-to-year volatility
  • Ideal for comparing mutual funds, stocks, or business growth over multiple years

ROI

Shows the total return over the entire holding period as a single percentage, without annualizing.

  • Simple and easy to calculate
  • Doesn't account for how long the investment was held
  • Best for short-term or single-period comparisons

Example: an investment that doubles in 3 years and one that doubles in 10 years both have an ROI of 100% — but very different CAGRs (26.0% vs 7.2%). Use our ROI Calculator alongside CAGR to get the full picture of an investment's performance.

Advantages and Limitations of CAGR

Advantages

  • Provides a single, smoothed growth rate that's easy to compare across investments
  • Accounts for compounding, unlike a simple average of yearly returns
  • Widely used and understood across finance, investing, and business
  • Useful for comparing investments held over different time periods

Limitations

  • Hides year-to-year volatility — an investment could have had sharp ups and downs
  • Assumes steady, uninterrupted compounding, which rarely happens in reality
  • Doesn't account for additional contributions or withdrawals during the period
  • Not a substitute for measuring risk — a high CAGR can still come with high volatility

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions about calculating and interpreting CAGR.

Find your annualized growth rate in seconds

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