ROI Calculator (Return on Investment)
Measure return on investment, annualized return, payback period, and digital marketing campaign ROAS with side-by-side comparison. Your work stays on this device whenever possible.
How to use ROI Calculator (Return on Investment)
- Stay on 'Business & Asset ROI' and enter 'Initial Investment Capital ($)' and 'Gross Terminal Value / Total Proceeds ($)'.
- Fill 'Duration (Years)' and 'Annual Maintenance ($)', then set 'Cost of Capital / Hurdle Rate (%)'.
- Read the performance summary: return, net profit, annualized return, payback time and the hurdle message.
- Switch to 'Marketing Campaign (ROAS & CAC)' to enter ad spend, impressions, click-through rate, conversion rate, order value and cost per sale.
- Use 'Project A vs Project B' for a side-by-side check, then 'Copy ROI Executive Briefing'.
Worked example
Investment 20,000, proceeds 26,000, 3 years, maintenance 500 per year. Total maintenance is 1,500, outlay 21,500 and net profit 26,000 − 21,500 = 4,500, so ROI = 4,500 ÷ 20,000 = 22.50%. Annualized = (26,000 ÷ 21,500)^(1/3) − 1 ≈ 6.54%. Payback = 20,000 ÷ 8,166.67 ≈ 2.4 years.
When to use this tool
- A small-business owner judging whether new equipment will pay for itself.
- A marketer checking that a 1,000 ad spend producing 3,000 revenue is really profitable after product cost.
Important limitations
ROI figures reflect gross and net cash return calculations based on user-entered costs and revenues. Calculations do not constitute professional accounting, tax depreciation advice, or discounted cash flow net present value (NPV).
Comparing alternatives
Other options for roi calculator (return on investment) include Calculator.net ROI Calculator, HubSpot ROI Calculator, Omni ROI Calculator, FreshBooks ROI.
ToolkitPoint is not affiliated with those services.
Frequently asked questions
Which base does ROI use?
Simple ROI is net profit ÷ the initial investment only, where net profit already subtracts maintenance. The annualized figure instead uses proceeds ÷ total outlay, so the two figures rest on different bases.
How is payback calculated?
Initial cost ÷ average yearly cash flow, where yearly cash flow is (proceeds − total maintenance) ÷ years. It assumes even flows and shows N/A when that yearly figure is zero or negative.
What does the hurdle message compare?
It compares the annualized return with your hurdle rate and prints a pass or shortfall message. Beating the hurdle says nothing about risk, and it ignores when the cash arrives during the project.
How do ROAS and ROI differ in the marketing tab?
ROAS is revenue ÷ spend. ROI uses profit after product cost: (revenue − product cost − spend) ÷ spend. Clicks and sales are rounded to whole numbers along the way.
Why can Project A win on ROI but lose annualized?
A long project can show a bigger total return over more years. The annualized column divides by duration, so compare that column when lengths differ.