About CAGR Calculator

Calculates Compound Annual Growth Rate from a starting value, ending value, and time period. The formula—(ending / starting)^(1/years) – 1—is the standard way to express the smoothed annual return of an investment or metric that grew unevenly over time. Supports periods in years, months, or quarters, automatically converting to fractional years for the calculation. Three presets (index fund, rental property, side project) demonstrate typical use cases.

• CAGR formula: (ending value ÷ starting value)^(1 ÷ years) – 1, expressed as a percentage
• Period input accepts years, months (divided by 12), or quarters (divided by 4) for flexible time framing
• Total return calculated alongside CAGR: absolute dollar gain and percentage gain
• Three presets: Index Fund ($10K → $19.5K over 5 years), Rental Property ($200K → $290K over 7 years), Side Project ($5K → $18K over 30 months)
• Results update reactively as you change any input

Frequently Asked Questions

CAGR vs. average annual return—what’s the difference?

CAGR accounts for compounding; average return doesn’t. If an investment gains 100% one year and loses 50% the next, the average return is 25% but the CAGR is 0%—because you’re back where you started. CAGR tells you the actual equivalent annual growth rate.

Can I use this for non-financial metrics?

Absolutely. CAGR works for anything that grows over time: revenue, user counts, website traffic, subscriber numbers. The formula doesn’t care what the values represent.