Growth Rate Calculator
Calculate total growth % and per-period growth (CAGR-style) between any two values.
Written by Golam Rabbani, Founder & Lead Engineer
How to use this growth rate calculator
- Enter the starting value (e.g., revenue at the beginning of the period).
- Enter the ending value (e.g., revenue at the end of the period).
- Enter the number of periods between the two values (1 for a simple % change, more for compounded).
- Press Calculate to see total growth % and per-period growth (CAGR-style).
- Copy the result for a report or compare against other metrics.
About this growth rate calculator
The growth rate calculator answers two related questions in one shot: how much did this number change overall, and what is the equivalent steady per-period growth rate? Total growth is just the percentage change between two values. The per-period figure is the geometric mean — the rate that, compounded over the same number of periods, takes the start to the end.
Worked example: a SaaS company's ARR grew from $100,000 to $150,000 over 5 years. Total growth = ((150,000 − 100,000) ÷ 100,000) × 100 = 50.00%. CAGR-style per-period = (150,000 ÷ 100,000)^(1/5) − 1 ≈ 8.45% per year. The per-period figure is the comparable apples-to-apples number you would put against an index return or a competitor's growth.
For a monthly example, a newsletter grew from 8,000 to 11,200 subscribers over 8 months. Total growth = ((11,200 − 8,000) ÷ 8,000) × 100 = 40.00%. Monthly growth rate = (11,200 ÷ 8,000)^(1/8) − 1 ≈ 4.31% per month — a figure you can directly compare against industry benchmarks or a prior cohort's growth rate. Use it for revenue growth, user growth, traffic growth, or any time-series. For unit-period changes (month over month), set periods to 1. All math runs in your browser.
FAQ
- When should periods be 1?
- When you want a simple percentage change between two values with no compounding involved — e.g., this month vs. last month, this quarter vs. last quarter. Use higher values when the two endpoints span multiple periods you want compounded.
- What is CAGR?
- Compound Annual Growth Rate — the constant yearly rate that would turn the start value into the end value over the given number of years. This calculator computes the same metric for any unit period (months, quarters), as long as you enter the matching count.
- Why is my per-period rate lower than the simple growth divided by years?
- Because compounding stacks. A constant 8.45% per year for 5 years gives a 50% total — not 50% ÷ 5 = 10% per year. The geometric mean is always lower than the arithmetic mean for positive growth.
- Can I use it for negative growth (decline)?
- Yes for simple growth (any two values, periods = 1). For compounded per-period growth, both values need to be positive; the formula uses a root and is not defined across a sign change. The tool flags this and asks you to use periods = 1.
- Is the calculator free and private?
- Yes. It runs entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded or stored.