Yield on Cost Calculator
Separate the yield on what you paid from the yield on today’s price. This per-share snapshot does not measure total return.
Per-share assumptions
Calculated locally from your assumptions.
Current yield on today’s price: 4%. Original cost changes only yield on cost, not the dividend you receive.
Reading this result
- What it shows
- The annual dividend per share as a percentage of what you paid per share. Current yield, beside it, uses today’s share price.
- What changes it
- The annual dividend and your original cost. The current share price changes only current yield.
- Not included
- Price gains or losses, dividends already received, tax and fees. Yield on cost is not total return.
Educational estimates from your inputs. Dividends, prices, and taxes can change. Not investment advice or guaranteed income.
The formula
Yield on cost = annual dividend per share ÷ original cost per share × 100. Current yield uses current share price instead.
Calculation conventions and limitationsA worked example
A share bought for $40 now trades at $50 and pays $2 annually. Yield on cost is 5%, while current yield is 4%. The original cost does not change the dividend you receive.
What is the difference between yield on cost and current yield?
Both divide the same annual dividend by a price. Yield on cost uses the price you paid, so it describes income on your original outlay. Current yield uses today’s price, so it describes income relative to what the shares are worth now, which is also what a new buyer would receive.
Yield on cost is not always the higher figure. Shares bought at $60 that now trade at $50 and pay $2 a year have a 3.33% yield on cost and a 4% current yield.
Why do purchase price and market value answer different questions?
Your purchase price is history: it shows how the dividend compares with the money you put in. Market value is what the shares could be sold for today, before costs and tax, so it is the figure to compare with other uses of the same money.
If you sold and bought something else, your new income would depend on today’s value, not on what you paid. That is why the calculator shows current yield beside yield on cost.
See how current yield moves with the share price in the Dividend Yield CalculatorWhat are the limitations of yield on cost?
A high yield on cost can mostly reflect how long ago, or how cheaply, the shares were bought. It ignores price changes, so it can stay high while the holding loses value, and it says nothing about how today’s income compares with alternatives.
It also depends on how cost is measured. If you bought at several prices or reinvested dividends, use your average cost per share, and enter cost and dividend on the same basis, for example both adjusted for a stock split.
Yield on Cost Calculator questions
Does yield on cost include reinvested dividends?
Only through your cost. Reinvested dividends buy shares at later prices, which changes your average cost per share. Enter the average cost from your records; the calculator does not track individual purchases.
Can yield on cost go down?
Yes, if the dividend is cut. Your original cost does not change, so yield on cost moves only with the dividend: a $2 dividend cut to $1.50 on a $40 cost takes it from 5% to 3.75%.