CAGR Calculator
Calculate the compound annual growth rate between a starting and ending value. Matches Excel and Google Sheets RRI, including a 10% five-year check.
Numbers stay in your browser. The default example grows 10,000 to 16,105.10 over five years, which is a 10% CAGR.
Quick answer: compound annual growth rate is the constant yearly rate that takes you from a starting value to an ending value in a given number of years. In Excel or Google Sheets, with the start in B2, the end in C2 and the years in D2:
=(C2/B2)^(1/D2)-1Format the cell as a percentage. The same figure also comes from the RRI function, which takes the years first:
=RRI(D2, B2, C2)A five-year example that comes out at exactly 10%
10,000 grown to 16,105.10 over five years is a clean check, because 10,000 × 1.105 = 16,105.10. In Google Sheets on 12 November 2026, both of these returned 0.10 exactly (displayed as 10%):
=(16105.1/10000)^(1/5)-1
=RRI(5, 10000, 16105.1)The calculator uses the first formula, and the results matched RRI on every case I ran, including a decline (200 down to 150 over four years, about −6.9395% a year) and a part-year (40,000 to 47,200 in 1.5 years, about 11.6661%).
A company whose revenue goes from 1,200,000 to 2,050,000 in six years has a CAGR of about 9.3357%. That is not the same as saying “revenue grew 71% in six years and 71 ÷ 6 ≈ 12% a year.” The 71% is a total percentage change (see the percentage change calculator). CAGR is the rate you could compound each year to get the same finish.
Why you should not average the yearly percentages
Suppose a balance goes 100 → 150 in year one (+50%) and 150 → 120 in year two (−20%). The simple average of those two percentages is 15%. The actual two-year result is 120, and the CAGR is (120/100)^(1/2)-1, which is about 9.54%. The average of the yearly rates ignores compounding, so it overstates the path that actually happened.
CAGR also hides the path: two funds can share a CAGR and have very different year-by-year swings. It is a summary of the start, the end and the time in between, not a promise that the rate was steady.
Counting the years
If you have two calendar dates rather than a ready-made year count, divide the day count by 365.25, or use year fractions that match how you report (365 days, actual/actual, and so on). The date difference calculator will give you the day count. For a rough holding period, =DATEDIF(B2,C2,"D")/365.25 is usually close enough for a CAGR you are computing yourself; official performance reports may be required to use a specified day-count convention.
The start value cannot be zero or negative in this formula. An ending value of zero is a CAGR of −100%. There is no useful real CAGR for a sign change (a loss becoming a profit, or the reverse) with this expression, because it raises a negative ratio to a fractional power.
Questions that come up
What is the CAGR formula in Excel or Google Sheets?
With the start value in B2, the end value in C2 and the number of years in D2, use =(C2/B2)^(1/D2)-1 or =RRI(D2,B2,C2). Format the result as a percentage.
Is CAGR the same as the average of yearly percentage changes?
No. CAGR is the single constant rate that gets you from the start value to the end value over the period. Averaging the individual yearly percentage changes ignores compounding and usually gives a different number.
Can the number of years be a fraction?
Yes. 18 months is 1.5 years in the same formula. =(47200/40000)^(1/1.5)-1 was 11.666…% in the Google Sheets check on this page.