What XIRR actually tells you
XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is the annualised return of an investment that accounts for the exact date and size of every cash flow. If you invested ₹1 lakh three years ago, ₹50,000 two years ago and another ₹50,000 last year, a simple "total return %" cannot tell you how well that money actually performed — because each rupee was invested for a different length of time. XIRR can.
It is the single most honest performance number available to a retail investor, and the only fair way to compare your portfolio against a benchmark like the Nifty 50.
How to use this calculator
- Enter every investment as a negative amountMoney leaving your pocket is negative — each SIP instalment, each lump sum, on the date it actually went in.
- Enter withdrawals and your current value as positiveMoney coming back is positive. If you still hold the investment, add today's date with the current market value.
- Read the annualised figureThat is your true yearly rate of return. Compare it against the Nifty 50 over the same period, not against a number you hoped for.
XIRR vs CAGR — which should you use?
| CAGR | XIRR | |
|---|---|---|
| Handles multiple investments | No | Yes |
| Accounts for timing of cash flows | No | Yes |
| Right for a single lump sum | Yes | Yes (identical result) |
| Right for SIPs or irregular top-ups | No — it will mislead | Yes |
For a single investment held to a single exit, CAGR and XIRR give the same answer. The moment you add money at different times — which is what almost every real investor does — only XIRR is correct. Read the full definition in our XIRR glossary entry.
Get XIRR computed on your real holdings
AIVITTA reads your actual broker portfolio and calculates XIRR against Nifty benchmarks automatically — no spreadsheet.
A good XIRR is a relative number
There is no universal target. Judge your XIRR against a relevant benchmark over the same window and against the risk you took to get it — a 14% return with half the market's volatility is a better result than 16% with double the swings. See understanding portfolio risk and the Sharpe ratio.