Your return as an annual rate.
Compound annual growth rate between a starting and ending account value.
INPUTS
$
$
Decimals are fine — 2.5 = 30 months.
TRY ONE
RESULT
CAGR+20.11%
Total return+150.00%
Simple annualized (wrong, common)+30.00%
Started$10,000
Ended$25,000
Over5 years
ALSO USEFUL
HOW IT WORKS
Compound Annual Growth Rate is the smooth annual rate that would take your starting value to your ending value over the period. CAGR = (end / start)1/years − 1. Unlike the simple "total return ÷ years" people often quote, CAGR accounts for compounding. A 100% return over 5 years isn't 20%/year — it's about 14.87%/year compounded. For trading accounts, CAGR is the most-quoted comparison metric. The S&P 500 sits around 10%/year long-term; matching that with active trading is harder than it looks.
FAQ
What is CAGR?
Compound Annual Growth Rate — the smooth annual rate that would take your starting value to your ending value over the period, accounting for compounding. CAGR = (end / start)^(1/years) − 1.
Why isn't CAGR just total return ÷ years?
Compounding. A 100% return over 5 years isn't 20% / year — it's about 14.87% / year compounded. The simple version overstates the actual annual rate, sometimes dramatically.
What's a good CAGR for an active trader?
The S&P 500 sits around 10% / year long-term. Matching that with active trading is harder than it looks; beating it sustainably over a decade is rare-air territory.
NEXT
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