Free CAGR Calculator (+ Guide)

What is a CAGR calculator?

A CAGR calculator finds the compound annual growth rate: the yearly rate that, compounded, takes a start value to an end value.

The formula is CAGR = (end ÷ start)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. It ignores the path, so it tells you how fast something grew on average, not how smooth the ride was.

How to use the CAGR calculator

You need three things: what it was worth, what it's worth now, and when.

It works for investments, a business's revenue, a channel's subscribers or anything else that grows.

A worked example

Here's the example the calculator loads when you press Try an example.

An investment grew from $10,000 in October 2019 to $18,500 in October 2026, 7 years later.

The math is ($18,500 ÷ $10,000)^(1 ÷ 7) − 1 = 9.19%. At that steady rate, $10,000 would have reached $18,500 in exactly 7 years.

CAGR examples

Here's how the same start grows into different rates. The years make as much difference as the end value.

Doubling in 5 years takes about twice the yearly rate of doubling in 10. That's why a total return on its own says so little.

CAGR versus the average return

The average of yearly returns can look better than what you really earned.

Say an investment gains 50% one year and loses 50% the next. The average is 0%, but $100 became $150 and then $75.

The CAGR is −13.4%, and that's what happened to your money. So when someone quotes an average return, ask for the CAGR.

What is a good CAGR?

A good CAGR beats what you could have earned elsewhere over the same dates, after inflation.

Beat inflation first

A CAGR below inflation means you lost buying power. The calculator shows the real rate right beside it, and the inflation calculator shows what prices did in your country.

Then beat a simple index fund

A low-cost fund that owns the entire market is the plain alternative most investments compete with. The Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins makes the case for exactly that.

The Simple Path to Wealth

J

by JL Collins

JL Collins wrote the book his daughter needed on money and investing. It's the simplest, most practical guide to financial independence you'll find.

Buy now Read summary

I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

Then count the effort and the risk

A rental property or a business may need far more time than a fund for the same CAGR. Put a number on your hours too.

Mistakes to avoid

CAGR is simple, so it's easy to bend.

• Picking start and end dates that flatter the result
• Leaving out money you added or took out along the way
• Comparing a 2-year CAGR with a 20-year one
• Forgetting fees and taxes, which come off every year
• Reading CAGR as how smooth the ride was

For a balance with deposits along the way, the compound interest calculator fits better.

Wealth compounds

The longer a good rate runs, the more the years do the work.

For more on building the income that feeds it, read how to make money with AI.

Who is the CAGR calculator for?

It's for investors, founders and creators who want one fair growth number, and these tools take it further.

• Compound interest calculator – for growing a balance with monthly deposits
• Inflation calculator – for checking your rate against prices
• Net worth calculator – for tracking what you own over time
• Online course revenue calculator – for forecasting a course business you could grow
• LTV to CAC calculator – for checking a business's growth is worth what it costs

Run your best and worst investments through it, and compare them on the same dates.

More money calculators

Your currency and scene come with you to each one.

Once you know your real rate, put it into the retirement calculator as your return.