Real Return Calculator

About this calculator

This calculator finds the inflation-adjusted real return using the exact Fisher equation, real return = (1 + nominal return)/(1 + inflation rate) − 1, rather than the common but less accurate shortcut of simply subtracting inflation from the nominal rate. The exact formula matters more as rates rise, since the simple subtraction increasingly overstates real returns when both nominal returns and inflation are high.

Investors and retirees use this to see how much an investment's growth actually increased their purchasing power, not just its nominal dollar value; economists use it to analyze living-standard trends across periods of different inflation; and financial planners use it to compare bond yields, savings account rates, and other returns on a purchasing-power-adjusted, apples-to-apples basis. Enter the nominal return and inflation rate to get the real return.