🔍 /

Percentage Growth Calculator

Compute growth rates, CAGR, and inflation-adjusted returns. Includes visualization for year-over-year compounding.

User Rating 0.0 ★★★★★
Total Usage 0 times
Category Investments & Stocks
Is this tool helpful?

Your feedback helps us improve.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

About

Growth analysis is the backbone of strategic planning in business and personal finance. Whether evaluating a stock portfolio's performance over a decade or tracking the user acquisition rate of a startup, understanding the trajectory of numbers is critical. This tool goes beyond simple percentage change by integrating the element of time.

The specific focus here is on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), which smooths out the volatility of interim periods to provide a constant growth rate that would take you from the start value to the end value. Furthermore, the tool incorporates an inflation adjustment mechanism, allowing investors to distinguish between "Nominal Growth" (paper gains) and "Real Growth" (purchasing power). The built-in forecaster projects this trajectory into the future, visualizing the power of compounding.

cagr growth investment finance compound

Formulas

The core calculation for annualized growth uses the geometric mean:

CAGR = (
VfinalVinitial
)1n − 1

To project future value (FV) based on a calculated growth rate (r):

FV = PV × (1 + r)t

Reference Data

MetricFormulaDescription
Total GrowthVend − VstartVstartThe absolute percentage change over the entire period, ignoring time duration.
CAGR(VendVstart)1/n − 1Compound Annual Growth Rate. The geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period n.
Real Rate1 + rnom1 + i − 1Adjusts the nominal rate (rnom) for inflation (i) using the Fisher Equation logic.
Doubling Timeln(2)ln(1 + r)Approximate time required to double the investment (Rule of 72 is the simplified version).

Frequently Asked Questions

Average Annual Return is a simple arithmetic mean (e.g., +100% one year and -50% the next averages to +25%). CAGR is a geometric mean (0% in that same scenario). CAGR is the only accurate measure for investment performance over time because it accounts for the effects of compounding.
This illustrates exponential growth. Even with a constant percentage rate, the absolute amount added each year increases because the percentage is applied to a growing base.
If your investment grows by 5% but inflation is 3%, your "Real" purchasing power only grew by roughly 1.9%. This tool allows you to input an inflation rate to see this "Real" growth.