HODL Time Value Calculator

How to read these numbers

• ROI: Simple total return. Good for a quick glance.
• CAGR: Annualized return; lets you compare different holding periods apples-to-apples.
• Benchmark final & gap: Shows how your HODL would look if it matched a chosen traditional return, and the difference.

Educational only. Markets carry risk. This tool ignores taxes, fees, and contributions/withdrawals during the period.

Why the time value of HODLing matters

Long holding periods can make great-looking total returns feel less impressive once you annualize them. A 2× over six years is a solid outcome, but the annualized CAGR is about 12.2%—closer to a strong stock index run than a moonshot. This calculator exists to make that nuance obvious: it turns a headline ROI into an annualized figure and then stacks it against a benchmark you choose. Seeing the benchmark line next to your final value is a quick gut check on whether your risk, volatility, and opportunity cost were worth it.

The math is simple but easy to skip when celebrating gains. CAGR uses the same idea that powers compound interest: (Final / Initial)^(1/years) − 1. Benchmarks use the same compounding, so a 6% annual return becomes 6.18% effective if you compound daily, but 6% works fine for ballpark comparisons. Because the calculator lets you enter fractional years, you can evaluate awkward timelines like 1.4 or 2.7 years without rounding to whole numbers. That’s useful for comparing uneven holding periods across multiple assets or accounting for mid-cycle exits.

A big part of the educational value is thinking about opportunity cost. If your HODL returned 80% in two years, but a diversified benchmark would have delivered 12% per year with much lower volatility, the “gap vs benchmark” puts a dollar figure on the difference. That number is not advice, but it helps frame whether the extra risk felt worthwhile and whether future allocations should be sized differently. Conversely, if your HODL crushed the benchmark, the comparison can highlight how outsized winners can offset a basket of smaller or flat positions.

Remember that this tool is deliberately minimal: it ignores taxes, trading fees, funding costs, and intra-period cashflows. It assumes a single buy and a single valuation at the end of the holding period. If you regularly buy or sell during the hold, a money-weighted return (IRR) may tell a more accurate story. Likewise, if you’re comparing to a yield-bearing asset like bonds or savings, adjust the benchmark to reflect that yield plus any expected price drift. The goal here is clarity, not prediction—turn raw ROI into an apples-to-apples annualized view, then decide how that stacks up against calmer alternatives.