ROI Calculator: Return on Investment and Payback Period
Enter how much you invested and how much you got back to see ROI, net profit and annualized ROI. The second tab estimates the payback of an app or IT project: development, support and monthly benefit.
Result
Enter the amounts on the left to see ROI, profit and payback.
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TL;DR: ROI = (amount returned − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100 %. If you invested 10,000 and got back 15,000, ROI is 50 %. Spread over three years, that is an annualized ROI of about 14.5 %. For an IT project, the calculator also shows in which month the development pays back and what the cash flow is worth today (NPV).
What is ROI and how is it calculated?
Return on investment shows how much you earned or lost for every unit of money invested. Total cost includes the investment itself and any additional costs: fees, taxes, maintenance. A positive ROI means the investment paid off, a negative one shows a loss.
What is annualized ROI?
A 50 % return over one year and over five years are very different results. Annualized ROI converts the total return into an average yearly rate: (amount returned ÷ total cost)1/years − 1. Use it to compare investments with different terms.
How to calculate the ROI of an app or IT project
- Development cost. Enter your quote or get a range with the project cost calculator.
- Support and hosting. Plan 15–20 % of the development cost per year for updates, servers and bug fixes.
- Benefit. For internal tools, count hours saved per month times the cost of an hour. For a product, count users × share of paying users × revenue per paying user.
- Horizon and discount rate. Choose 12, 24 or 36 months and a discount rate for NPV, 10 % by default.
Want to check AI automation specifically? Use the AI ROI calculator. Deciding whether to rewrite an old system? See the legacy modernization ROI tool.
Payback period and NPV
The payback period is the month in which cumulative cash flow turns positive. The discounted payback does the same with money valued at today’s prices, so it is always a little longer. NPV (net present value) is the sum of all monthly flows discounted to today: above zero means the project earns more than the discount rate.
The result is an estimate for planning, not financial advice. When you have a real quote, recalculate with it: we can prepare a detailed estimate of your MVP or custom software within one business day.
FAQ
What is a good ROI?
It depends on the risk and the term. For an IT project, many companies look for payback within 12–24 months and a positive NPV at a 10–15 % discount rate. Compare the annualized ROI with what the same money would earn elsewhere.
What is the ROI formula?
ROI = (amount returned − total cost) ÷ total cost × 100 %. Total cost is the amount invested plus additional costs such as fees, taxes or maintenance.
How is annualized ROI calculated?
Annualized ROI = (amount returned ÷ total cost)^(1 ÷ years) − 1. It turns the total return into an average yearly rate so you can compare investments with different terms.
What is the difference between ROI and payback period?
ROI shows how much you earn relative to the cost over the whole horizon. The payback period shows when you get the investment back. A project can have a high ROI but a long payback.
Why is the discounted payback longer than the simple one?
Money received later is worth less than money today. Discounting reduces future monthly benefits, so it takes more months to cover the initial investment.
Are my numbers sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. The share link stores the inputs after the # sign, which browsers do not send to the server. Data is sent only if you submit the request form.