Stax

CAGR Calculator

Calculate Compound Annual Growth Rate or find future value.

₹
₹

Why CAGR matters for investors

Raw returns can be misleading. If your mutual fund portfolio went from ₹5L to ₹12L in 8 years, the 140% absolute return sounds impressive — but the CAGR is 11.5%, which puts it in context against a benchmark or alternative investment.

CAGR is the standard metric for comparing investments across different time periods. Fund factsheets, stock screeners, and investment reports all use it.

Three modes in this calculator

  • Find CAGR — you know the starting value, ending value, and time; want to know the annualised return.
  • Find Future Value — you know your investment, expected CAGR, and time horizon; want to project the final corpus.
  • Find Years— you know your starting value, target value, and expected CAGR; want to know when you'll reach the goal.

CAGR vs XIRR

CAGR assumes a single lump-sum investment with no interim cash flows. For SIPs (regular investments), XIRR is more accurate as it accounts for the timing and size of each investment. Most mutual fund apps show XIRR for SIP returns and CAGR for lump-sum investments.

Frequently asked questions

What is CAGR?
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the rate at which an investment would have grown if it grew at a steady rate compounded annually. It smooths out volatility to show the effective annualised return over a period.
What is the CAGR formula?
CAGR = (Final Value / Initial Value)^(1/Years) − 1. For example, if ₹1,00,000 grew to ₹2,00,000 in 6 years, CAGR = (2/1)^(1/6) − 1 = 12.25%.
What is a good CAGR for investments?
For Indian equity mutual funds, a 12–15% CAGR over 10+ years is considered good. Nifty 50 has historically delivered around 12–14% CAGR over 20 years. FDs offer 6–8% CAGR and PPF offers 7.1%.
How is CAGR different from absolute return?
Absolute return is the total % gain without considering time. CAGR normalises for time. A 100% absolute return in 1 year is a 100% CAGR; the same 100% return in 10 years is only a 7.18% CAGR — very different.
What is the Rule of 72?
The Rule of 72 is a quick way to estimate doubling time: divide 72 by the CAGR (%). At 12% CAGR, money doubles in ~6 years (72/12). This calculator gives the exact value, but Rule of 72 is useful for mental math.

Related tools