CAGR Calculator
Turn a start and end value into one steady yearly growth rate, or work back.
A steady 10.29% a year turns $10,000 into $18,000. The simple average of 13.33% a year looks higher because it ignores compounding. At this rate a value doubles every 7.1 years.
Growth year by year
Drag the handle to read a yearAt a steady 10.29% a year, $10,000 is worth $13,416 after 3 years and $18,000 after 6 years. The dots are your actual yearly values: they wander above and below the steady line but start and end on it. Drag the handle or use the year slider to read any year.
Your yearly values
| # | Value ($) |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | |
| 5 | |
| 6 | |
| 7 |
- CAGR over 6 years
- 10.29%
- Average of the yearly returns
- 10.71%
- Best and worst year
- 20.2% and −7.6%
The average of the yearly returns is higher than the CAGR because the ups and downs compound on different amounts. Fund reports often quote the CAGR, called the average annual total return.
Compare another growth figure
B grew faster each year, even though yours grew more in total (80%), because it took longer.
Other yearly rates, same start
| After 6 years | Years to reach the end | |
|---|---|---|
| 8.29% | $16,126 | 7.4 |
| 9.29% | $17,041 | 6.6 |
| 10.29% (yours) | $17,998 | 6 |
| 11.29% | $18,999 | 5.5 |
| 12.29% | $20,047 | 5.1 |
One point of yearly growth matters more the longer it compounds.
Value at a steady rate
| 0 | $10,000.00 |
|---|---|
| 1 | $11,029.24 |
| 2 | $12,164.40 |
| 3 | $13,416.41 |
| 4 | $14,797.27 |
Before you rely on this result. This is an estimate for planning. Banks, lenders and other providers apply their own rules, fees and rounding, so confirm figures with them before you commit to a financial decision. Sources used on this page.
How it's worked out
CAGR is the one steady yearly rate that takes a value from where it started to where it ended. Real growth jumps around, but this single rate lets you compare a fund, a business or a price over different numbers of years.
- is the number of years. It can be a fraction: 30 months is 2.5 years.
- Turned around, the end value is the start times , and the years come from a logarithm. The tool solves whichever one you pick.
The simple yearly average divides total growth by the years. It is always higher than CAGR when growth is positive, because it ignores that each year's growth builds on the last. On the chart, that is the straight line, and CAGR is the curve under it.
With inflation switched on, the real rate uses the Fisher relation:
Worked examples
Priya's index fund
Priya invested $10,000 six years ago, and it is worth $18,000 today. That is 80% growth in total, but the CAGR is 10.29% a year, not the 13.33% you get by dividing by six.
Her statements show the value at the start of each year, including a dip in year two. The average of those yearly returns is 10.71%, a little above the CAGR, because the dip and the recovery compound on different amounts. After 3% inflation her real growth is 7.08% a year, and $18,000 buys what $15,075 bought when she started. Open this example in the tool
A shop's revenue for a loan application
A shop's yearly revenue went from $240,000 to $310,000 in three years. The lender asks for the growth rate: 8.91% a year, or 29.2% in total. Pasting the four year-end figures into the grid gives the same CAGR and shows each year's growth stayed close to it, which reads as steady. Open this example in the tool
How long to double at 7%
To find how long $25,000 takes to reach $50,000 at 7% a year, choose Years. The answer is 10.24 years. The rule of 72 (72 divided by 7) gives 10.29, which is close at rates like this. Open this example in the tool
Reading your result
CAGR says nothing about the ride. Two funds can both show 10% a year, one smoothly and one with a 30% fall along the way. The yearly values grid shows your best and worst year next to the CAGR.
The gap between the average of yearly returns and CAGR grows with the swings. A gain of 50% followed by a loss of 50% averages 0%, yet 100 ends at 75: a CAGR of −13.4%.
US fund documents report "average annual total return" using the same compounding formula as CAGR, so you can compare your own figure with a fund's published one over the same years (SEC Form N-1A). Compare like with like: a 3-year CAGR and a 10-year CAGR can tell very different stories.
CAGR assumes a single amount at the start and nothing added or taken out. If you added money along the way, your CAGR from start and end values will look too high. An IRR calculation that counts each deposit gives the true rate.
Common mistakes
- Counting the years wrong. Values at the start of 2020 and the start of 2026 are 6 years apart, though 7 years are named. The grid counts gaps, not values.
- Including new money. Deposits raise the end value without being growth. Use the value before any additions, or an IRR calculation.
- Mixing nominal and real figures. Comparing a 6% CAGR with a savings rate is fine, but comparing it with house prices adjusted for inflation is not. Switch inflation on for both or neither.
- Expecting losses and gains to cancel. A fall of 20% needs a gain of 25% to get back to where you were, because the gain starts from a smaller amount. With a negative CAGR, the tool shows the growth needed to recover.
- Projecting a short burst forward. A 45% CAGR over 2 years rarely lasts 20. The rate what-if table shows how much the end value depends on the rate.
Questions people ask
Sources
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov, Compound interest calculator and glossary
- Microsoft, RRI function (Excel), equivalent interest rate for the growth of an investment
- SEC, Form N-1A instructions (average annual total return)
- Fisher, I. (1930). The Theory of Interest (real and nominal rates)
Maintained by Anil ShahUpdated October 28, 2026Checked against 11 reference values