Mutual fund return calculator

How the mutual fund return calculator works

A mutual fund return calculator measures the return you actually earned, by comparing what you put in with what it is worth now. Most calculators labelled this way do something else entirely: all three checked on 14 September 2026, at Groww, Angel One and ClearTax, take an amount, an expected rate and a tenure and project forward, which is the same tool those sites already publish as a lumpsum calculator under another name.

This one looks backward at real money. Give it the amount you invested, the current value, and how long you held it, and it reports what you made. A ₹1 lakh investment worth ₹1,76,234 after 5 years earned a 76 percent absolute return, which is a 12 percent CAGR.

The two numbers come from two simple formulas. Absolute return is (current value minus invested) divided by invested, times 100. CAGR is (current value divided by invested) raised to the power of one over the years, minus one. The first tells you the size of the gain; the second tells you the pace.

Absolute return or CAGR?

Absolute return is the total percentage gain; CAGR is that gain spread evenly across the years. The gap between them is where most people misread a fund. A 100 percent absolute return sounds identical whenever it happens, and its annual rate is anything but, as the table shows.

Doubling your money in 3 years is a superb 26 percent a year; doubling it in 10 is a modest 7.2 percent, below what many debt funds target. A headline like "my fund gave 100 percent" is meaningless until you know the years, which is exactly why fund factsheets quote CAGR.

The switch between the two has a conventional threshold, and IndMoney, mStock, TrueData and Finedge all put it in the same place: absolute return for a holding period of a year or less, CAGR once you pass a year. Below twelve months there is no annualising to do, and above it the raw gain stops being comparable to anything.

The same money, three different answers

Pick a different metric and the same investment can look three times better or half as good, which is the part nobody warns you about before you compare two funds.

Bajaj AMC works a case of ₹1,20,000 invested over five years reaching ₹1,80,000:

Running those figures here reproduces the first two exactly. The third lands at 15.1 percent on an end-of-month assumption against Bajaj's 15.9, and that small disagreement is worth more than the number itself: XIRR turns on the exact dates money moved, so two correct calculations of the same SIP differ by three quarters of a percentage point purely on whether instalments land at the start or the end of each month.

Note which direction it moves. A SIP investor reading the 8.45 percent CAGR would badly understate what they earned, because most of their money was in the market for far less than five years. That is the whole reason XIRR exists.

What XIRR is, and when you need it

XIRR is the annualised return when money went in on many different dates, like a SIP. CAGR assumes one amount invested at the start and one value at the end, so it quietly breaks for a SIP where each instalment has its own start date. XIRR fixes that: it is the rate r that makes the sum of every cashflow, each divided by (1 plus r) raised to its own days over 365, come out to zero. CAGR judges the fund; XIRR judges your money, given when you actually put it in. For a lumpsum this calculator is exact, and for a SIP the CAGR here is only a rough read, so the dated-cashflow case belongs in the XIRR calculator.

Where the number can mislead

A measured return describes the past and promises nothing about the future, because mutual fund returns are market-linked and swing year to year. The current value you enter already sits after the fund's expense ratio, so fees are baked in, but the tax on your gain when you redeem is not, which makes this a pre-tax figure.

CAGR has a specific blind spot worth naming. It smooths the whole period into one rate, which is what makes it comparable, and in doing so it hides the path entirely. mStock puts it plainly: the figure does not reflect interim volatility. TrueData goes further, noting a fund can post a high CAGR and still carry poor risk if that return arrived through large swings. Two funds showing 12 percent over five years can have felt completely different to hold, and this number cannot tell them apart.

A single period can also flatter or punish a fund unfairly: a great three-year run says little about the next three. Read the CAGR next to the risk you took and the time you gave it. This is a review, not investment advice, so for decisions talk to a SEBI-registered adviser. To estimate a future value instead, the SIP calculator and the lumpsum calculator do the forward projection.

Frequently asked questions

What is a mutual fund return calculator? A mutual fund return calculator measures the return you actually earned by comparing what you invested with what it is worth now. It reports the absolute return, which ignores time, and the CAGR, which turns that gain into a yearly rate you can compare across funds.

What is the difference between absolute return and CAGR? Absolute return is the total percentage gain, so ₹1 lakh growing to ₹2 lakh is 100 percent regardless of how long it took. CAGR spreads that gain over the years: the same doubling is a strong 26 percent a year over 3 years, but only 7.2 percent a year over 10.

How is CAGR calculated? CAGR is (current value divided by invested amount) raised to the power of one over the number of years, minus one, written as a percent. A ₹1 lakh investment worth ₹1,76,234 after 5 years works out to a 12 percent CAGR.

What is XIRR, and when do I need it? XIRR is the annualised return when money went in on many different dates, like a SIP, and it is the rate r that makes the sum of every cashflow divided by (1 plus r) raised to its days over 365 equal zero. Use CAGR for a single lumpsum and XIRR once there are multiple dated instalments or withdrawals.

Does this calculator include tax and fees? The current value you enter already reflects the fund fees, since it is the real worth of your units after the expense ratio. Tax on the gain when you redeem is separate and not deducted here, so the number is your pre-tax return.

What is a good mutual fund return? Equity funds in India are often discussed around a 10 to 12 percent long-run CAGR, though any single period can be far higher or lower. A return only means something next to its risk and its time frame, which is why CAGR beats a raw absolute figure.

Why is my CAGR lower than the absolute return? Because CAGR divides the gain across the years while absolute return does not. A 50 percent absolute gain over 5 years is only about 8.4 percent a year, so a big-looking absolute number can hide a modest annual rate.

Can I use this for a SIP? For a rough read you can enter the total invested and the current value, but a SIP puts money in on many dates, so CAGR overstates or understates the real rate. XIRR is the accurate measure for a SIP, and this tool is best for a lumpsum held over a period.

When should I use absolute return instead of CAGR? Below a year. IndMoney, mStock, TrueData and Finedge all put the threshold in the same place: absolute return for a holding period of a year or less, CAGR once you pass a year. Under twelve months there is nothing to annualise, and beyond it the raw gain stops being comparable between funds held for different lengths of time.

Can the same investment show three different returns? Yes, and the spread is wide. Bajaj AMC works a case of ₹1,20,000 over five years reaching ₹1,80,000 that reads as 50 percent absolute, 8.45 percent CAGR, and about 15.9 percent XIRR if the money arrived as a monthly SIP. Each is correct for the question it answers. A SIP investor quoting the CAGR would understate what they earned, because most of their money was invested for well under five years.

Does past return predict future return? No. A measured CAGR describes what already happened and carries no promise about what comes next, since mutual fund returns are market-linked and vary year to year. It is a review of the past, useful for comparison, not a forecast.

How do I project a future value instead? This tool measures a return you have already earned. To estimate what a monthly or one-time investment might grow to at an assumed rate, the SIP calculator and the lumpsum calculator do the forward projection.

Sources

Fetched 14 September 2026.

• Bajaj AMC, the difference between CAGR, XIRR and absolute returns, for the three-metric worked case
• Kotak Mutual Fund, XIRR against CAGR, on why the two are not comparable
• IndMoney, absolute return against CAGR, for the one-year threshold
• mStock, CAGR against absolute returns, on the volatility CAGR hides
• TrueData, CAGR against absolute return, on high CAGR carrying poor risk
• Axis Mutual Fund, assessing mutual fund returns across the three metrics
• Groww mutual fund returns calculator, a forward projection under this name
• Angel One mutual fund returns calculator, the same forward projection

Carried over from the 10 July 2026 teardown and not re-fetched for this pass:

• Quantum Mutual Fund, how to calculate your mutual fund returns
• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), investor education on mutual funds