CAGR Calculator

How to use the CAGR calculator

1. Under Calculate, choose The CAGR (from a start and an end value) or The end value (from a CAGR).
2. Enter the Start value: the amount invested, last year’s revenue, a starting population… Any positive number works.
3. Enter the End value, or the CAGR (% per year) if you are projecting forward.
4. Under Period entered as, pick A number of years (decimals allowed: 2.5 is two and a half years) or Start and end dates to use the exact number of days between two dates.
5. Choose the Currency used to display amounts.

The results show the CAGR (or the End value), the Total growth, the Gain or loss, the Growth multiple, the Simple average (total ÷ years), the Doubling time and the Duration. The Value by year chart and the Year-by-year growth table show the path the value would follow if it grew at exactly the CAGR every year; Copy table copies it as tab-separated text you can paste into a spreadsheet. How it was calculated shows every step.

The CAGR formula

The compound annual growth rate is the constant yearly rate that turns the start value into the end value, with the growth of each year compounding on the previous ones:

CAGR = (end value ÷ start value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1

The reverse gives the end value from a rate:

End value = start value × (1 + CAGR)^years

Example: $10,000 that becomes $18,000 in 5 years has grown by 80% in total. The CAGR is 1.8^(1/5) − 1 = 12.47% a year. At 7% a year for 10 years, $10,000 becomes $19,671.51.

When you enter dates, the tool counts the days between them and divides by 365.25, so leap years are averaged out. A period of 1,461 days is exactly 4 years.

CAGR versus total growth and the simple average

The total growth (80% in the example) says how much the value changed over the whole period, but not how fast. Dividing it by the number of years gives a simple average of 16% a year, which overstates the real pace because it ignores compounding: 16% a year compounded for 5 years would give 110% growth, not 80%. The CAGR corrects this, which is why it is the standard way to compare investments, revenue or user growth over different periods.

The Doubling time is ln 2 ÷ ln(1 + CAGR). The rule of 72 (72 ÷ rate in %) is a quick mental approximation of the same thing: at 12.47%, 72 ÷ 12.47 ≈ 5.8 years, close to the exact 5.9 years.

Limits of the CAGR

• It smooths the path. A value that fell 40% and then recovered can have the same CAGR as one that grew steadily; the table shows a smooth, hypothetical path, not what actually happened.
• It only uses two points. Deposits or withdrawals along the way distort it; for those, a money-weighted return (IRR) is more appropriate.
• It ignores inflation, taxes and fees unless you include them in the values you enter.

The results are estimates to help you understand growth rates, not investment advice.