Marketing
ROI Calculator
Calculate simple return on investment from what you put in and what you got back.
Enter the investment cost and the final value to see net return and ROI.
Enter your values
Total amount invested. Must be greater than zero.
Total amount returned, not just the gain on top of the investment.
Results
ROI
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Enter investment cost and final value.
Net return
—
Final value less investment cost.
Investment cost
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The amount invested.
Final value
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The amount returned.
Results are estimates based on the values entered and are provided for general planning.
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Step by step
How to use the ROI
- Enter the Investment cost — the total amount you put in.
- Enter the Return or final value — the total you got back, not just the gain.
- Read the net return and the ROI percentage.
Method
How to calculate ROI
ROI compares what an investment returned with what it cost. Subtract the investment from the final value to get the net return, then express that net return as a percentage of the original investment. The percentage format lets you compare investments of very different sizes.
Formula
Net return = Final value − Investment cost ROI = Net return ÷ Investment cost × 100
Assumptions
- Investment cost is greater than zero, because ROI divides by it.
- Final value is the total amount returned, not the gain on top of the investment.
- This is simple ROI, not annualized ROI: it does not account for the time the investment was held.
- Taxes, financing costs, and inflation are excluded unless already reflected in the figures entered.
Net return and ROI are calculated at full precision before display. Currency displays two decimals; ROI displays two decimals.
How to interpret the result
A positive ROI means the final value exceeded the investment. Zero means you recovered exactly what you put in. A negative ROI means the final value was lower than the investment — this is a valid result, not an input error. Because this is simple ROI, a 30% return over one month and a 30% return over three years look identical here.
Comparing two investments with ROI
Project A costs $2,000 and returns $2,600 (30% ROI, $600 net). Project B costs $20,000 and returns $24,000 (20% ROI, $4,000 net). A has the higher percentage, B the larger profit. ROI tells you efficiency per dollar; net return tells you total gain. Look at both before choosing.
Because this is simple ROI, also compare how long each investment takes. A 20% return in six months usually beats a 30% return over four years.
What to include in investment cost
Include every cost needed to get the return: purchase price, setup, fees, software, and staff time if it was spent specifically on the project. Leaving costs out inflates ROI. Equipment bought for $8,000 with $1,000 of installation has an investment cost of $9,000, not $8,000.
ROI for marketing and business projects
For a campaign, use total campaign cost as the investment and gross profit generated, not revenue, as the gain on top of cost. Using revenue overstates ROI because it ignores the cost of goods sold. If you only need revenue per ad dollar, the ROAS Calculator answers that narrower question.
Positive, zero, and negative ROI
ROI above 0% means the investment returned more than it cost. ROI at exactly 0% means it broke even in nominal terms. ROI below 0% means part of the investment was not recovered.
Breaking even in nominal terms is not the same as breaking even in real terms: money returned later is worth less than money invested earlier, and this simple calculation does not adjust for that.
Limitations of simple ROI
Simple ROI ignores time, risk, and the cost of capital. Two investments with identical ROI can be very different if one returned in six weeks and the other in six years.
It also depends entirely on how completely you define the investment cost. Leaving out staff time, tooling, or ongoing maintenance inflates the result. Use one consistent definition when comparing options.
ROI compared with ROAS
Both measure return, but on different bases and in different units.
| Measure | Formula | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| ROI | (Final value − Investment) ÷ Investment × 100 | Net gain as a percentage of what was invested. |
| ROAS | Revenue from ads ÷ Ad spend | Revenue generated per dollar of ad spend, as a multiple. |
| Break-even point | ROI = 0% or ROAS = 1.0x | The same money back, with no gain. |
Frequently asked questions
Which calculator do you need?
- Measuring advertising return specifically? Use the ROAS Calculator.
- Want to see the profit margin behind the return? Try the Profit Margin Calculator.
Keep calculating
Related calculators
For advertising specifically, ROAS measures revenue per dollar of spend, and the profit margin calculator shows how much of that revenue is actually retained.