---
title: "ROI (Return on Investment) — What It Means | Ondo RE"
canonical: https://www.ondorealestate.com/glossary/roi/
---

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Investing[All terms starting with R](/glossary/#letter-R)

# ROI (Return on Investment)

Also called: return on investment

Total return relative to what was invested, usually including cash flow, principal paydown, and appreciation.

ROI is deliberately broad, which makes it useful for a full picture and easy to misuse in comparisons. A cash-flow-only ROI and one including appreciation are not the same measurement.

Whenever ROI is quoted, the useful question is what is in the numerator and over what period.

## Put a number on it

This term feeds the calculators below.

- [ROI CalculatorMeasure total ROI for a real estate investment with costs.](/calculators/roi/)
- [CAGR CalculatorCompute the compound annual growth rate between two values over time.](/calculators/cagr/)
- [Retirement Savings CalculatorProject retirement savings growth and future income needs.](/calculators/retirement/)

## Related terms

- [Cash-on-cash returnAnnual pre-tax cash flow divided by the cash you actually invested, measuring return on money out of pocket.](/glossary/cash-on-cash-return/)
- [CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)The smoothed annual rate at which a value would have grown to reach its ending amount over a period.](/glossary/cagr/)
- [AppreciationAn increase in a property’s value over time, from market movement or from improvements made to it.](/glossary/appreciation/)
- [EquityThe difference between what a property is worth and what is owed against it.](/glossary/equity/)

## More in Investing

- [1% rule](/glossary/one-percent-rule/)
- [1031 exchange](/glossary/1031-exchange/)
- [50% rule](/glossary/fifty-percent-rule/)
- [Appreciation](/glossary/appreciation/)
- [CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate)](/glossary/cagr/)
- [Cap rate (Capitalization rate)](/glossary/cap-rate/)

## Have a question about your own situation?

Ondo handles brokerage, lending, property management and notary under one roof, so the answer does not change depending on who you ask.

[Talk to Ondo](/contact/)[Browse all terms](/glossary/)