Return on investment (ROI) measures how much profit you made relative to what you put in, expressed as a percentage that makes it easy to compare completely different types of investments side by side. Our ROI calculator takes your initial investment and final return to calculate this percentage instantly, whether you’re evaluating a business purchase, a marketing campaign, or a real estate deal.
ROI on its own doesn’t account for time, which is where it can be misleading — a 20% return over one year is very different from a 20% return over five years. When comparing multiple opportunities, it’s worth looking at the time period alongside the percentage to get a fair comparison.
If you’re evaluating a specific business decision, our break-even point calculator can show you when an investment starts paying for itself, and our compound interest calculator can help you project how an investment might grow over a longer time horizon.