CAGR Calculator

What is a CAGR calculator?

A CAGR calculator works out the compound annual growth rate of an investment: the single, steady yearly rate that would turn a beginning value into an ending value over a given number of years. You enter three numbers — the starting amount, the final amount, and how many years passed — and the tool instantly returns the annualized growth rate as a percentage, plus the total growth over the whole period.

CAGR answers the question “what average yearly return did this actually earn?” It smooths a bumpy, real-world result into one comparable number, which is why investors, analysts, and business owners use it to compare assets, funds, revenue, or any quantity that grows over time.

This tool is part of our finance calculators collection and runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.

How does the CAGR calculator work?

The calculator uses the standard compound annual growth rate formula:

CAGR = (ending value ÷ beginning value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1

The result is a decimal that the tool multiplies by 100 to show as a percent. Where:

• Beginning value — the amount you started with (must be a positive number).
• Ending value — the amount you finished with (must be positive).
• Years — the length of the period in years (must be positive; decimals like 2.5 are fine).

Alongside CAGR, the tool also reports total growth, which is the full change over the entire period rather than per year:

Total growth % = (ending value ÷ beginning value − 1) × 100

The two differ because CAGR compounds. A 150% total gain over five years is not 30% a year — compounding means a lower annual rate (about 20.11%) repeated five times produces that 150% total. The tool handles that exponent for you, so you never have to take a fifth root by hand.

Examples

Example 1 — 10,000 grows to 25,000 over 5 years

CAGR = (25,000 ÷ 10,000)^(1 ÷ 5) − 1 = 2.5^0.2 − 1 = 0.20112

That is 20.11% per year. The total growth is (25,000 ÷ 10,000 − 1) × 100 = 150%. So an investment that more than doubled (up 150% overall) grew at about 20.11% compounded annually.

Example 2 — 1,000 grows to 2,000 over 10 years

CAGR = (2,000 ÷ 1,000)^(1 ÷ 10) − 1 = 2^0.1 − 1 ≈ 0.0718

That is roughly 7.18% per year, with 100% total growth. This is a useful benchmark: doubling your money in 10 years corresponds to about a 7.18% CAGR, which lines up with the well-known “rule of 72” (72 ÷ 7.18 ≈ 10 years to double).

Example 3 — 5,000 grows to 8,000 over 3 years

CAGR = (8,000 ÷ 5,000)^(1 ÷ 3) − 1 = 1.6^0.3333 − 1 ≈ 0.1696

That is about 16.96% per year, with 60% total growth. A shorter period with the same kind of gain produces a higher annual rate, because the growth is squeezed into fewer years.

Example 4 — 1,000 grows to 4,000 over 10 years

CAGR = (4,000 ÷ 1,000)^(1 ÷ 10) − 1 = 4^0.1 − 1 ≈ 0.1487

That is about 14.87% per year, with 300% total growth. Quadrupling your money sounds dramatic, but spread over a decade it is a steady ~14.87% compounded — a reminder that big total numbers can come from moderate annual rates.

CAGR reference table

The table below shows the CAGR and total growth for a 10,000 starting value over a fixed 5-year period, using the same formula the tool applies. It is a quick way to sanity-check a result.

Beginning	Ending	Years	Total growth	CAGR
10,000	12,000	5	20%	3.71%
10,000	15,000	5	50%	8.45%
10,000	20,000	5	100%	14.87%
10,000	25,000	5	150%	20.11%
10,000	30,000	5	200%	24.57%

Notice how total growth rises in even steps while CAGR climbs more slowly — that gap is compounding at work over the five years.

Common uses for CAGR

• Comparing investments — put two funds, stocks, or portfolios on the same footing by reducing each to one annual rate over the same window.
• Tracking a portfolio — enter what you invested, what it is worth now, and the years held to see your true annualized return.
• Business growth — measure how fast revenue, users, or profit have grown per year between two reporting periods.
• Goal setting — work backward: if you know a starting amount and a target, you can see what annual rate is required to get there.
• Sanity-checking marketing claims — a “doubled in three years!” headline is about a 26% CAGR; the tool lets you translate hype into a comparable number.

Tips and common mistakes

• Use the same currency and basis for both values. Beginning and ending must measure the same thing (for example both gross, or both after fees), or the rate is meaningless.
• Count years, not data points. A value at the start of year 1 and the end of year 5 spans 5 years, not 6. Off-by-one years are the most common CAGR error.
• Don’t confuse CAGR with average return. Averaging yearly percentages (an arithmetic mean) overstates growth when returns swing; CAGR is the correct geometric average.
• CAGR is not the same as total growth. A 150% total gain over 5 years is a 20.11% CAGR, not 30% — never divide total growth by the number of years.
• All three inputs must be positive. A zero or negative beginning value, ending value, or year count cannot produce a valid rate, so the tool requires positive numbers.

Limitations and notes

CAGR describes a smooth, hypothetical path. Real values almost never grow at a constant rate; they zig-zag, and CAGR simply reports the single rate that connects the start and end points. Because of that, it hides volatility and risk — two assets can share an identical CAGR while one was far more turbulent along the way.

CAGR also assumes a single lump sum with no deposits or withdrawals in between. If you added money regularly, the figure will not reflect your real per-dollar return; a contribution-aware tool is more appropriate. And like any growth metric, CAGR is sensitive to the start and end dates you pick — choosing a low starting point or a high ending point can flatter the result. Treat it as a comparison tool, not a forecast: past CAGR does not guarantee future returns.

For related money planning, try the compound interest calculator to project future value, the stock profit calculator for trade gains, or the SIP calculator for regular monthly investing — all in the finance calculators hub.