Calculate return on investment as a percentage and a multiple of the amount invested.
Try an example
Load a ready-made sample into this tool and run it. Every result you see is calculated live by the tool itself — nothing here is a pre-written answer.
Sample: invested: 1000; returned: 1250
How to Use
- Enter the amount invested.
- Enter the amount returned.
- Read ROI percent and the return multiple.
What this ROI calculator does
This ROI calculator measures return on investment as a percentage: enter the amount invested and the amount returned, and it reports the ROI percent plus the return expressed as a multiple of your stake. It provides a common yardstick for comparing ventures, campaigns or purchases of different sizes, by reducing each outcome to the gain achieved relative to its cost.
The formula
ROI = (amount returned − amount invested) ÷ amount invested × 100. If the returned amount is smaller than the investment, the result is negative, showing a loss. The multiple is simpler still: the amount returned divided by the amount invested, so 1.5× means you received back one and a half times the amount put in.
Good to know
ROI ignores time completely. A 50% return earned within one year and the same return spread over ten years produce identical figures here, even though they are very different outcomes. It also excludes ongoing costs unless you build them into the amounts entered, so compare investments on the same basis.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good ROI?
There is no universal figure. It depends on the risk involved, how long the money was committed and what else it could have done. The calculator supplies the number; context supplies the judgment.
Can ROI be negative?
Yes. If less comes back than was invested, the gain is negative, the ROI shows as a negative percentage, and the multiple falls below 1× — stating the loss relative to the stake.
Why show a multiple as well as a percent?
The multiple states the outcome plainly — 2× means double the money returned — which some readers absorb faster than percentages. Both figures come from the same two amounts; use either.
How to use ROI Calculator
- Enter the amount invested.
- Enter the amount returned.
- Read ROI percent and the return multiple.
Limitations
ROI ignores time, so a 50% return over one year and over ten years look identical here.