CAGR Calculator India
2026

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) measures the annualized return of an investment assuming it grew at a steady rate. Formula: CAGR = (Final Value / Initial Value)^(1/Years) - 1. Example: Rs 1 lakh growing to Rs 3.1 lakh in 10 years = 12% CAGR. It smooths out volatile year-to-year returns into one comparable number. Use CAGR only for lump sum investments — not SIPs.

Never use CAGR for SIP or staggered investments — it will overstate your returns. SIP has multiple purchase dates at different NAVs, so XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is the correct metric. Also avoid CAGR for periods under 1 year — a 5% monthly gain annualized to 79.6% CAGR is meaningless. And never compare CAGR across different time periods — a 25% 3-year CAGR is not comparable to a 12% 15-year CAGR.

Depends on the category and time horizon. Nifty 50 index funds: 12-13% over 15+ years. Mid-cap funds: 14-16% over 10+ years. Large-cap active funds: 11-14%. Debt/hybrid funds: 7-9%. If a fund claims 20%+ CAGR, check the period — it is likely cherry-picked from a market bottom. The real test is rolling 10-year CAGR across multiple market cycles, not point-to-point returns.

Use CAGR for lump sum (one-time investment). Use XIRR for SIPs, STPs, or any investment with multiple cash flows at different dates. Example: Rs 5 lakh lump sum to Rs 15 lakh in 10 years = 11.6% CAGR. But a Rs 5,000/month SIP giving Rs 15 lakh in 10 years has an XIRR of ~14.8%, not a CAGR of 11.6%. Using CAGR for SIP understates early installments and overstates later ones.

Absolute return = (Final - Initial) / Initial x 100. It ignores time. CAGR annualizes the return. Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh = 100% absolute return. But over 5 years, CAGR is 14.9%. Over 10 years, CAGR is just 7.2%. Always use CAGR for comparing investments over different time periods. Use absolute return only for same-period comparisons under 1 year.

Yes. If your final value is less than your initial value, CAGR is negative. Rs 10 lakh invested in January 2008 was worth Rs 5.2 lakh by March 2009 — a CAGR of approximately -36%. Nifty 50 had negative 5-year CAGR from 2008-2013 for specific start dates. Negative CAGR over long periods (10+ years) is extremely rare for diversified equity in India but common for individual stocks and sector funds.

Two funds can have identical 12% CAGR over 10 years with completely different paths. Fund A grew steadily 12% each year. Fund B crashed 40% in year 3, recovered 60% in year 4, and oscillated wildly. Both show 12% CAGR, but Fund B gave you sleepless nights and real risk of panic-selling at the bottom. CAGR flattens the journey into a single number — always check maximum drawdown and standard deviation alongside CAGR.

Use the Rule of 72: divide 72 by the CAGR to get approximate years to double. At 12% CAGR: 72/12 = 6 years. At 8%: 9 years. At 15%: 4.8 years. At 7.1% (PPF rate): ~10 years. To double in 5 years, you need ~14.9% CAGR. To double in 3 years: 26% CAGR — achievable only in exceptional bull markets, not sustainable long-term.

As of April 2026: Nifty 50 10-year CAGR is approximately 12.5%, 15-year CAGR is approximately 11.8%, and 20-year CAGR is approximately 15.2%. However, these are point-to-point numbers sensitive to start/end dates. Rolling 10-year CAGR since 2000 ranges from 5% to 20% depending on entry point. The worst 10-year CAGR (entering at 2008 peak) was around 6%. The best (entering at 2003 bottom) exceeded 18%.

AMCs and distributors pick start dates at market bottoms and end dates at market peaks to show impressive CAGR. Shifting the Nifty 50 measurement window by just 3-6 months can change 10-year CAGR by 3-5 percentage points. A fund showing 18% CAGR from March 2020 (COVID bottom) is not comparable to 12% CAGR from January 2018 (pre-COVID peak). Always look at rolling returns over multiple periods, not single point-to-point CAGR.

Real CAGR = Nominal CAGR - Inflation Rate (approximately). At 12% nominal CAGR and 6% inflation, your real CAGR is roughly 5.7% (exact formula: (1.12/1.06) - 1 = 5.66%). This means your money doubles in real purchasing power every ~12.7 years, not every 6 years as nominal CAGR suggests. Most calculators show nominal CAGR — making returns look far better than what your corpus actually buys.

Reverse CAGR calculates the future value of your investment given a starting amount, expected CAGR, and time period. Example: Rs 5 lakh at 12% CAGR for 15 years = Rs 27.4 lakh. Use it for goal planning: need Rs 1 crore in 20 years? At 12% CAGR you need to invest Rs 10.4 lakh today as lump sum. Our calculator has a dedicated Reverse CAGR mode for exactly this.

Two methods: (1) Formula: =(Final/Initial)^(1/Years)-1. Example: =(310000/100000)^(1/10)-1 gives 12.0%. (2) RATE function: =RATE(10,0,-100000,310000) also gives 12.0%. Format the cell as percentage. For XIRR (SIP returns), use =XIRR(cashflows, dates) where cashflows include negative values for investments and a positive value for final redemption.

Almost never. For equity held over 1 year, LTCG tax at 12.5% applies on gains above Rs 1.25 lakh per year. A 12% pre-tax CAGR on Rs 5 lakh over 10 years gives Rs 15.5 lakh (Rs 10.5 lakh gains). After LTCG on taxable portion: approximately Rs 14.4 lakh — effective post-tax CAGR drops to ~11.1%. For debt funds, gains taxed at slab rate reduce effective CAGR by 2-3 percentage points at the 30% bracket.

Headline real estate CAGR is misleading. Actual returns must deduct: stamp duty (5-7%), registration (1-2%), brokerage (1-2%), maintenance (Rs 3-6/sqft/month), property tax, loan interest (8-9% for 20 years), and opportunity cost. A flat bought at Rs 50 lakh and sold at Rs 1.2 crore in 15 years shows 6% CAGR nominally — but after all costs, real CAGR is often 2-4%. Compare honestly with SIP in index funds at 12% CAGR.