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CAGR Calculator - Compound Annual Growth Rate Calculator

Free online CAGR calculator. Calculate the Compound Annual Growth Rate of your investments, business revenues, and portfolios with year-by-year compounding breakdowns.

Inputs

🔒 Local Processing
Starting portfolio or investment value.
Ending value achieved over the period.
Total number of years between start and end dates.
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
+19.14%
Positive Growth
Total Profit / Gain+$7,000.00
Absolute Total Return+140.00%
Starting Capital$5,000
Final Value$12,000
YearProjectedValueCumulativeGain
Year 1$5,957$957
Year 2$7,097$2,097
Year 3$8,455$3,455
Year 4$10,073$5,073
Year 5$12,000$7,000

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter the initial beginning valuation of the asset or investment portfolio.
  2. Enter the final ending valuation at the conclusion of the holding period.
  3. Specify the total number of elapsed years between the two measurements.

Formula & Mathematical Method

Where Final Value is the ending balance, Initial Value is the starting capital, and n is the total number of years elapsed. Expressed as a percentage by multiplying by 100.

CAGR = [ (Final Value / Initial Value)^(1 / n) ] - 1

Explanation of Variables

SymbolVariable NameDescription & Role in Calculation
V_beginBeginning ValuationAsset value at the start of the measured timeframe.
V_endEnding ValuationAsset value at the conclusion of the measured timeframe.
tTime Horizon (Years)Number of full or fractional years between the two dates.

Worked Calculation Examples

5-Year Investment Doubling

Scenario: $5,000 invested grows to $10,000 over 5 years.

CAGR = (10,000 / 5,000)^(1 / 5) - 1 = 14.87% annual compounded return.

SaaS Business Revenue Scale

Scenario: Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) increases from $100k to $1M in 4 years.

CAGR = (1,000,000 / 100,000)^(1 / 4) - 1 = 77.83% compounded yearly.

Interpretation of Results

Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) represents the smoothed annual rate at which an investment would have grown if it grew at a steady constant rate. It eliminates short-term market noise to reveal true underlying geometric growth.

CAGR (%)

The constant annualized geometric growth rate linking beginning and ending valuations.

Key Context: Use CAGR to objectively compare volatile equities against stable fixed-income assets.

Practical Use Cases

Multi-Year Portfolio Performance Benchmarking

Measure the true annualized return of stock portfolios over 3, 5, or 10-year horizons.

Corporate Revenue & Growth Tracking

Analyze company compound revenue growth across multi-year fiscal reporting cycles.

Limitations & Key Assumptions

  • CAGR implies smooth exponential growth and completely obscures interim volatility, crashes, or peak drawdowns.
  • Assumes no capital was added or withdrawn during the measurement period; does not substitute for Money-Weighted Rate of Return (IRR).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between CAGR and Absolute Return?
Absolute return calculates the raw percentage change regardless of how long it took. CAGR smooths out annual fluctuations to show the steady geometric progression rate.
Does CAGR consider investment volatility?
No. CAGR provides a theoretical smoothed rate of return between the starting and ending balance, ignoring intermediate peaks and crashes.

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Authoritative References & Standards

Measuring Investment Performance: Geometric vs Arithmetic Returns
CFA Institute • CFA Program Curriculum Series