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
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 is 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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