What is the difference between CAGR and XIRR?

CAGR assumes a single lump-sum investment growing to a single final value over a fixed period. XIRR handles irregular, multiple cash flows (like staggered investments or partial withdrawals) occurring on different dates, and returns the effective annualized rate that reconciles all of them.

What is Goal Seek in a CAGR calculator?

Goal Seek works backward: instead of computing CAGR from a known final value, you specify your target corpus and time horizon, and the calculator solves for the annual return you would need to achieve it.

How is post-tax CAGR calculated for Indian equity investments?

For holding periods over one year, Long-Term Capital Gains exceeding Rs 1.25 lakh in a financial year are taxed at 12.5% under current rules. For holdings under one year, Short-Term Capital Gains are taxed at 20%. The calculator deducts the applicable tax from the profit before re-deriving the annualized rate.

Advanced CAGR & XIRR Calculator

Handle single lump-sums, irregular multi-investment cash flows, goal-seek return targets, post-tax returns, and benchmark comparisons.

📅 Updated: August 2026 • 📐 Standard: Annualized Compounding + XIRR • 🔍 Verified by: KitnaPaisa Research Team

Initial Investment (Buy Value)

₹

₹1 Lakh

Final Value (Sell Value)

₹

₹2.5 Lakh

Duration (Years)

Yrs

Calculate Real (Inflation-Adjusted) Rate

Show Post-Tax (Capital Gains) Rate

Nominal CAGR
0%
Compounded Per Year

Absolute Total Return

Overall Percentage Gain

Total Profit / Loss

₹0

Wealth Growth Multiplier

0.0x

Times of Initial Capital

Post-Tax CAGR

—

Capital vs Profit Ratio

Compounded Growth Trajectory

Your Return vs Common Benchmarks (Historical Averages)

Benchmark figures are long-run historical approximations, not guarantees — actual returns vary by period and fund selection.

Yearly Compounding Breakdown

Year	Opening Value	Yearly Gain	Closing Value

Sensitivity: Final Value Across Rate & Duration

Years \ Rate

Highlighted cell is your current input combination. Each column is a CAGR scenario; each row is a duration scenario.

📐 Mathematical Methodology & Verification

Nominal CAGR = (Final Value / Initial Value)^{(1 / Years)} − 1
Real CAGR = [(1 + Nominal CAGR) / (1 + Inflation Rate)] − 1
XIRR: solves Σ CFᵢ / (1 + r)^(daysᵢ/365) = 0 for r, via Newton-Raphson, across irregularly dated cash flows
Post-Tax CAGR = derived by re-annualizing (Final Value − Applicable Capital Gains Tax) over the same holding period

Client-Side Execution: All calculations run locally in your browser. No financial data is transmitted.
Date Precision: Date calculations use actual calendar day counts divided by 365.25 to account for leap years.
XIRR Convergence: Newton-Raphson is capped at 100 iterations with a 1e-7 tolerance; highly irregular or sign-inconsistent cash flow sets may not converge, in which case a fallback estimate is shown.

Researched & Maintained by the KitnaPaisa Financial Team

KitnaPaisa provides free, transparent financial tools for Indian retail investors, adhering to standard compounding and IRR formulas and regulatory norms.

Understanding CAGR vs XIRR vs Goal Seek

CAGR answers "what was my annualized return" for a single lump sum. XIRR answers the same question when money went in (or came out) on multiple different dates and amounts — the common real-world case for anyone topping up an investment over time. Goal Seek flips the question around: given what you have and what you want, what return do you need?

CAGR vs. Absolute Return

If an investment of ₹1 Lakh grows to ₹2 Lakh in 5 years, Absolute Return is 100%, while CAGR (annualized) works out to roughly 14.87% p.a. — CAGR is the fairer number for comparing investments held over different lengths of time.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use XIRR instead of CAGR? ▼

Use XIRR whenever you've invested more than once on different dates, or made partial withdrawals — SIPs, staggered lump sums, and top-ups all fall into this category. Plain CAGR only fits a single buy and a single sell.

Is the required CAGR from Goal Seek guaranteed? ▼

No. It's the annualized return your investment would need to average to hit your target — actual markets are volatile, so treat it as a planning benchmark, not a promise.

What is a good CAGR benchmark in India? ▼

Historically, Nifty 50 index funds have delivered roughly 12–13% CAGR, mid/small-caps around 15–18%, and bank fixed deposits around 6.5–7.5% over 10+ year periods. These are long-run averages, not year-to-year guarantees.