How sale value, income and fees net out against what you put in
Simple return on investment measures net gain or loss against what was originally put at risk. Entering received income and explicit fees keeps the numerator closer to the real transaction than comparing purchase and sale prices alone.
ROI uses the original cost as its denominator. The numerator first brings together sale or current value and separate cash received, then removes entered transaction fees and original cost. A negative net figure remains negative, which makes a loss visible instead of hiding it behind an absolute-value chart.
The cash-flow bridge distinguishes ending value, separately received income and entered fees. A signed net result makes an investment loss as visible as a gain.
How cost, ending value, cash income and fees change the ROI percentage
Three inputs build the net gain and one sets the denominator. Moving a fee into the cost field, or the reverse, therefore changes the percentage even though the net gain stays the same.
- Initial investment cost
- The denominator, so the same gain looks smaller against a larger cost. Moving the example's 25 fee into cost keeps the 275 net gain but changes ROI from 27.5% to 26.83%, because 275 is divided by 1,025 instead of 1,000. If part of the purchase was borrowed, decide whether cost means your own cash or the full price, and keep that choice.
- Ending or sale value
- What the asset sold for, or is valued at today, before separately entered fees. It moves the net gain one for one: at a 1,000 cost, dropping the exit value from 1,250 to 900 turns 27.5% into −7.5%. An appraisal or listing price is not a completed sale, so treat that ROI as provisional.
- Cash income received
- Dividends, rent or interest paid out to you while you held the asset. In the example, 50 of income adds 5 percentage points; without it ROI falls from 27.5% to 22.5%. Leave it at zero if the income was reinvested and already sits inside the ending value.
- Fees and transaction costs
- Commissions, transfer charges and similar costs, subtracted once. Raising them from 25 to 100 in the example cuts ROI from 27.5% to 20%. A purchase fee already included in the cost field should not be entered here as well.
- Holding period
- There is no time input, by design. A 27.5% gain earned in one year and the same gain over five years show the same ROI here. When there were no interim cash flows, the CAGR Calculator converts a start and end value into a yearly rate.
Steps
- Enter the original cost and what the investment is worth at exit or valuation.
- Add income actually received and any fees you want included; use 0 where none applies.
- Read the signed ROI alongside the net gain bridge and check what costs remain outside the model.
Reading tip: Avoid double counting: if income has already been reinvested and is included in the ending value, do not add it again. Include only fees you can reasonably estimate.
Investment results this simple return can compare
Evaluate a sale
Compare net transaction gain with the capital originally invested.
Include distributed income
Account for cash received separately from the ending asset value.
Inspect entered fees
See how known transaction costs reduce the simple return percentage.
Compare loss cases
Keep a negative net result visible when proceeds are below cost and fees.
How the calculation works
- initial cost
- Positive original amount committed to the investment.
- final value
- Value at sale or valuation, excluding income entered separately.
- income
- Cash received during the holding period and not already included in final value.
- fees
- User-entered transaction and other costs counted once in the net outcome.
This simple ROI is not annualized and ignores when income and fees occurred.
What every part means
- initial cost
- Positive original amount committed to the investment.
- final value
- Value at sale or valuation, excluding income entered separately.
- income
- Cash received during the holding period and not already included in final value.
- fees
- User-entered transaction and other costs counted once in the net outcome.
Calculate it step by step
Combine what the asset is worth with cash distributed separately.
Subtract the capital put in and entered costs, preserving a negative loss.
Divide the gain by the positive starting cost, not by the sale value.
The input model deliberately separates value, paid-out income and fees. These amounts are all in the same currency; no exchange-rate conversion occurs.
See how Calculation Guide tests examples and handles calculation limits.
See it in practice
- Initial investment cost
- 1000 currency units
- Ending or sale value
- 1250 currency units
- Cash income received
- 50 currency units
- Total fees and transaction costs
- 25 currency units
Cost 1,000, final value 1,250, income 50, fees 25: net gain = 1,250 + 50 − 25 − 1,000 = 275; ROI = 275/1,000 × 100 = 27.5%.
- Initial cost1,000
- Exit value + income1,300
Interpretation & limitations
How to read your result
A 27.5% result means net gain is 27.5% of the original cost across the entire entered transaction. It says nothing about how long that gain took or whether it outperformed another opportunity.
Where this estimate stops
Holding period, cash-flow dates, taxes, financing, inflation and risk are not modeled. A current appraisal is not a realized sale price.
Frequently asked questions
01Is this an annual return?
No. It is simple ROI for the whole holding period. CAGR answers a different endpoint annualization question when no intervening cash flows need modeling.
02Where do dividends or rent go?
Enter cash received in the income field, provided it is not already included in the ending value.
03Can ROI be below −100%?
Yes if the entered fees exceed proceeds by more than the initial cost; this is mathematically possible under the entered cash flows.
04Should the original cost include purchase fees?
You can include them in cost or in the fee field, but never both. Use one consistent convention when comparing cases.
05Does ROI include the time value of money?
No. It compares net gain with initial cost without discounting or annualizing cash flows.
06Does income change the ending value?
Only through what you enter. The calculator adds cash income separately and does not assume it was reinvested.