CAGR Calculator
A portfolio, a revenue line, a user count — anything with a value at two dates has a compound annual growth rate: the smooth yearly percentage that would connect the endpoints. Enter the start value, end value, and years between them; fractional years are fine.
Compound annual growth rate
Example: 10,000 growing to 16,000 over 5 years is 9.86% per year.
The geometry behind the rate
CAGR% = ((end ÷ start)1 ÷ years − 1) × 100 — the geometric mean growth per year. In the example, 10,000 → 16,000 is 60% of total growth, and the fifth root of that growth ratio gives 9.86% per year (both numbers computed at build time by the tested engine behind the form). Naively dividing 60% by five would claim 12% a year — wrong, because each year's growth compounds on the last.
CAGR vs. "average return": the volatility tax
The arithmetic average of yearly returns and the CAGR agree only when every year is identical. Take a value that gains 50% one year and loses 30% the next: the average says +10% a year, but 100 becomes 150 and then 105 — a CAGR of just 2.47%. Whenever a track record is quoted as an average of good and bad years, the compound rate is the one your money actually experienced, and it is always the smaller of the two for a volatile series.
Which tool: CAGR or ROI?
They meet in the middle. Start from money invested and money received, and the ROI calculator is the natural framing — its annualized option is precisely a CAGR. Start from a value observed at two dates, as with a chart or a revenue series, and CAGR is the direct route. For one-off percentage changes without a time dimension, the percentage calculator covers the basics.
Frequently asked questions
What does CAGR actually tell me?
The single steady yearly rate that would carry the start value to the end value in the given time. Growing 10,000 into 16,000 over five years is a CAGR of 9.86%: apply 9.86% five times in a row and you land on 16,000, even if the real path was anything but steady.
Why is CAGR lower than the average of the yearly returns?
Because losses cost more ground than equal-sized gains recover. A value that rises 50% then falls 30% averages +10% a year arithmetically, yet ends only 5% up — a CAGR of 2.47%. The gap between the two numbers is the price of volatility, and it is why quoting average returns flatters a bumpy series.
Can CAGR be negative?
Yes — when the end value is below the start value, the connecting yearly rate is negative. A decline from 200 to 150 over three years has a well-defined negative CAGR; the formula only breaks down at zero, which is why both values must be above it.
Does CAGR account for deposits and withdrawals?
No. CAGR sees two endpoints and the clock — nothing in between. If money was added along the way, the end value is inflated by contributions rather than growth, and the CAGR overstates performance. Strip flows out first, or use a money-weighted measure.
Can I use a period that is not a whole number of years?
Yes — 2.5 years, 18 months (1.5), even 0.75 work fine, because the formula takes a fractional exponent. Just measure the period in years, since the "A" in CAGR fixes the unit of the answer.
Values are computed on your device and never transmitted. CAGR is a descriptive statistic of two endpoints — it is not a forecast, and this page offers no investment advice. Formula details: methodology.