Compare calculators
Both calculators run independently — change the inputs on either side to compare results.
Accounting
Return on Investment (ROI) Calculator
Compute the annualized return on an investment from its initial cost, final value, and the time it was held — putting investments of different durations on a common, comparable scale. Use it to evaluate whether a stock, real estate deal, or business investment outperformed alternatives like an index fund.
Accounting
Payback Period Calculator
Calculate how many years it takes to recover the initial cost of an investment from its annual cash flow — the simplest break-even measure for capital projects. Use it as a quick filter for business investments like equipment purchases, solar installations, or marketing campaigns before running deeper NPV or IRR analysis.
Key differences
| Return on Investment (ROI) Calculator | Payback Period Calculator | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Accounting | Accounting |
| Inputs required | 4 | 2 |
| Result | Annualized ROI (%) | Payback Period (years) |
| What it does | Compute the annualized return on an investment from its initial cost, final value, and the time it was held — putting investments of different durations on a common, comparable scale. Use it to evaluate whether a stock, real estate deal, or business investment outperformed alternatives like an index fund. | Calculate how many years it takes to recover the initial cost of an investment from its annual cash flow — the simplest break-even measure for capital projects. Use it as a quick filter for business investments like equipment purchases, solar installations, or marketing campaigns before running deeper NPV or IRR analysis. |