CAGR Calculator
Calculate Compound Annual Growth Rate.
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About the CAGR Calculator
Compound annual growth rate is the constant yearly rate that would take a starting value to an ending value over a given period — the smoothed rate, which is what makes investments held for different lengths of time comparable at all. Enter the beginning value, the ending value and the number of years, and you get that rate. It is the right measure when someone quotes a total return without saying over how long, or when a three-year holding needs comparing with an eight-year one. What it deliberately hides is volatility: two investments with identical CAGR can have taken wildly different paths, and the risk simply is not visible in the number. It also needs a positive starting value, since growth from zero has no meaningful rate, and it assumes a single amount left alone, so deposits or withdrawals along the way break the calculation.
How to use it
- Enter the beginning and ending values.
- Enter the number of years.
- Read the compound annual growth rate.
Things worth knowing
- CAGR deliberately hides volatility. Two investments with the same CAGR can have had wildly different journeys, and the risk is not visible in the number.
- It needs a positive starting value; growth from zero has no meaningful rate.
- Deposits and withdrawals along the way break the calculation — it assumes a single amount left alone.
Worked example
Example only — not financial adviceAn investment that grew from $10,000 to $25,000 over 5 years rose 150.00% in total, but that single number hides how uneven the path may have been. CAGR — (End ÷ Start)^(1/years) − 1 — restates the same growth as one steady annual rate, 20.11% here, so growth over different periods can be compared like for like.
| Example input | Value |
|---|---|
| Initial value | $10,000 |
| Final value | $25,000 |
| Duration | 5 years |
| Total absolute growth | 150.00% |
| Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) | 20.11% |
These figures illustrate how the CAGR Calculator computes its result for the example inputs above — they are not a rate offer, a market quote, or a recommendation for your own numbers. Enter your own figures in the calculator above to get a result that applies to you.