CAGR Calculator

CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate. It shows the smoothed annual rate that would take a beginning value to an ending value over a set number of years.

This calculator has four modes: calculate CAGR, estimate an ending value, work out how many years a fixed annual growth rate would need, or find the annual rate required to reach a target.

It works best when you have one clear starting value, one ending value, and one time period. If money was added or removed along the way, the story becomes more complicated: regular contributions, withdrawals, fees, taxes, inflation, and multiple cash flows can all change the real return. In those cases, use this page as a quick comparison point, then move to an IRR or investment projection tool for the fuller picture.

If a value grows from GBP 100,000 to GBP 180,000 over 5 years, the total growth is 80%, but the CAGR is about 12.5% per year.

That annualized figure makes it easier to compare with another business, portfolio, or project that grew over a different length of time, but it does not show the year-by-year path.

CAGR smooths the journey between the start and end values. It does not show volatility, drawdowns, cash flows, or whether growth was steady or arrived in one unusually strong year.

CAGR also ignores taxes, fees, and inflation unless those are already reflected in the values you enter. Use it as a comparison tool, then look at the year-by-year path before making investment or business decisions.

Use CAGR to compare investment returns, revenue growth, customer growth, portfolio performance, or market size over consistent periods.

Use the ending value, years, and required rate modes for simple fixed-rate scenarios. When cash is added or removed during the period, CAGR may be too simple; internal rate of return or money-weighted return may be more appropriate.

CAGR is a smoothed annual rate, not a record of what happened each year. It turns one beginning value and one ending value into a single comparable growth rate.

Use the ending value, years, and required rate modes for simple fixed-rate scenarios. They assume the same annual growth rate every year.

If deposits, withdrawals, taxes, fees, or inflation mattered during the period, build those effects into the beginning and ending values or use a fuller return tool.

For volatile assets, pair the CAGR result with risk context such as drawdowns, cash flow timing, and whether the start and end dates are representative.

Using CAGR for an investment with regular deposits or withdrawals, where a time value of money calculator or IRR money-weighted return calculator may be a better fit.

Comparing two CAGRs measured over different date ranges.

Treating a smoothed annual rate as if the value actually grew by that exact percentage every year.

Use investment when you need contributions or a fuller projection rather than a single start-to-end CAGR.

Use roi when the main question is total return or profit percentage over the whole period.

Use compound interest when the rate is already known and you want to see compound growth over time.

Rerun the calculation when the beginning value, ending value, or time period changes.

For forward planning, test several annual growth rates rather than building a decision around one optimistic figure.

Keep a note of the exact dates and values used so future comparisons are fair.

CAGR smooths volatile paths — a 50% drop and 100% recovery can still show a tidy annualised rate that hid a painful drawdown.

Use CAGR to compare multi-year performance, not single-quarter spikes; pair with max drawdown or volatility context when risk matters.

When CAGR feeds a forward plan, stress-test with a lower rate in investment calculator before committing to contribution targets.