Start Value
$
End Value
$
Number of Years 6 years
Summary
CAGR
—
per year
Total Gain
—
absolute profit
Total Return
—
percentage growth
Start Value
—
initial amount
End Value
—
final amount
Doubling Time
—
Rule of 72
Total Gain
—
Principal (Start)
—
End Value
—
How Does Your CAGR Compare?
Year-by-Year Growth
| Year | Value | Annual Gain | Total Return | Progress |
|---|
CAGR Scenario Comparison
| CAGR Rate | End Value | Total Gain | Total Return |
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Frequently Asked Questions
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the single steady rate at which an investment would have grown each year to reach its end value from its start value. It matters because it eliminates volatility from year-to-year fluctuations, giving you a clean, comparable number. If Fund A grew 60% over 5 years and Fund B grew 55% over 4 years, CAGR lets you compare them on equal footing — Fund A at ~9.9% vs Fund B at ~11.8%.
CAGR = (End Value ÷ Start Value)^(1 ÷ Years) − 1. Example: $10,000 grew to $18,000 in 6 years → CAGR = (18,000 ÷ 10,000)^(1/6) − 1 = 1.8^0.1667 − 1 ≈ 10.3% per year.
It depends on the asset class. The S&P 500 has historically delivered ~10% CAGR over long periods. Individual stocks, equity mutual funds, or real estate can range from 8–18% CAGR when performing well. Fixed deposits and bonds typically return 3–7% CAGR. A CAGR significantly above your asset class average deserves scrutiny — higher returns usually mean higher risk.
CAGR works when you have a single starting investment and a single ending value. IRR (Internal Rate of Return) is more flexible — it handles multiple cash flows over time (like monthly SIPs or a business with irregular cash flows). For a simple lump-sum investment with no intermediate flows, CAGR and IRR give the same answer.
Yes. A negative CAGR means your investment lost value over the period. For example, $10,000 falling to $7,000 in 5 years gives a CAGR of approximately −6.9% per year. This tells you that each year, the investment shed roughly 6.9% of its value on a compounding basis.
The CAGR Formula Explained
CAGR = (End Value ÷ Start Value) ^ (1 ÷ Years) − 1
The exponent smooths out the compounding effect across all years, giving you the single annual rate that produces the same total growth. A CAGR of 10% means every ₹100 (or $100) at the start becomes ₹110 after year 1, ₹121 after year 2, and so on — each year's gain is calculated on the previous year's total, not the original amount.