Please enter valid positive numbers. Initial value and periods cannot be zero.
Total Percentage Increase:
0%
Annual Growth Rate (CAGR):
0%
Understanding Growth Rates and CAGR
Calculating the growth rate of a specific variable—whether it is population growth, business revenue, or user acquisition—is essential for tracking performance over time. This calculator helps you determine the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and the total percentage change between two points in time.
What is the Growth Rate?
The growth rate represents the change in a specific metric over a defined period, expressed as a percentage. Unlike simple growth, which only looks at the start and end points, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) provides a smoothed annual rate, assuming the growth happened steadily over the entire duration.
The Formula
To calculate the total growth percentage, we use:
Total Growth = ((Final Value – Initial Value) / Initial Value) * 100
To calculate the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), the formula is:
Where n represents the number of periods (typically years).
Practical Example
Imagine you are tracking the growth of a website's monthly traffic over a 3-year period:
Initial Traffic: 10,000 visitors
Final Traffic: 25,000 visitors
Periods: 3 Years
Using the calculator, the total growth is 150%. However, the CAGR (the "x rate" of growth per year) is approximately 35.72%. This means the traffic grew by roughly 35.72% every year to reach the final goal.
Why Use a Growth Rate Calculator?
Manually calculating exponents and roots can be prone to error. This tool provides an instant, accurate look at your progress. It is particularly useful for:
Field
Application
Business
Measuring Year-over-Year (YoY) revenue increases.
Demographics
Calculating population expansion in a specific region.
Marketing
Tracking subscriber growth across different social platforms.
Science
Monitoring the rate of chemical reactions or biological cultures.
function calculateGrowthRate() {
var start = parseFloat(document.getElementById("initialValue").value);
var end = parseFloat(document.getElementById("finalValue").value);
var periods = parseFloat(document.getElementById("timePeriods").value);
var errorDiv = document.getElementById("errorDisplay");
var resultDiv = document.getElementById("resultArea");
// Reset display
errorDiv.style.display = "none";
resultDiv.style.display = "none";
// Validation
if (isNaN(start) || isNaN(end) || isNaN(periods) || start <= 0 || periods <= 0) {
errorDiv.style.display = "block";
return;
}
// Calculate Total Percentage Growth
var totalGrowth = ((end – start) / start) * 100;
// Calculate CAGR
// Formula: ((End / Start)^(1 / Periods)) – 1
var cagr = (Math.pow((end / start), (1 / periods)) – 1) * 100;
// Display Results
document.getElementById("totalGrowthResult").innerText = totalGrowth.toFixed(2) + "%";
document.getElementById("cagrResult").innerText = cagr.toFixed(2) + "%";
resultDiv.style.display = "block";
}