Dividend Yield & Yield on Cost Calculator
Work out what a stock yields today and what it yields against what you actually paid, side by side. Add your share count for income figures. Free, no signup, and everything runs in your browser.
How do you calculate dividend yield?
Divide the annual dividend per share by the current share price and multiply by 100. Yield on cost uses the same dividend but divides by what you paid instead.
Dividend yield = Annual dividend per share ÷ Share price × 100
Your figures
Results
Enter your figures and press Calculate.
How this calculator works
Both figures divide the same annual dividend. Only the denominator changes.
Annual dividend per share = Dividend per payment × Payments per year
Dividend yield = Annual dividend per share ÷ Current share price × 100
Yield on cost = Annual dividend per share ÷ Your cost per share × 100
Working the default figures through: $0.75 paid quarterly is $3.00 a year. Against a $100 share price that is a 3.00% dividend yield. Against an $80 cost basis it is a 3.75% yield on cost. On 100 shares the position produces $300 a year and is worth $10,000 at today's price.
Trailing versus forward
There are two ways to arrive at the annual dividend, and they answer slightly different questions. Adding up the payments actually made over the last twelve months gives a trailing figure built on real data. Multiplying the most recent payment by the number of payments per year gives a forward figure that assumes the current rate holds.
Forward is the more useful of the two right after a company raises or cuts, because the trailing number still reflects the old rate. Trailing is safer when payments have been irregular, which is common with funds whose distributions vary. This calculator will do either; the difference is only which dividend figure you type in.
What it does not do
It does not model taxes, and dividend income in a taxable account arrives lighter than the figures here suggest. It does not fetch prices or dividend data, so the numbers have to come from your brokerage or the company's investor relations pages. It takes no view on whether a yield is sustainable, and a high yield is frequently a sign that the market expects the payout to fall.
Why your current yield is also a hurdle rate
This is the part of the calculation people miss, and it falls out of the arithmetic without any extra work.
Yield on cost is a scorecard for a decision you already made. It measures today's dividend against a price you paid years ago, so it says nothing about whether the capital is well deployed now. Your current yield does, because it measures the same dividend against what the position is worth today.
That makes the current yield a threshold. If your holding yields 3% at today's price, then anything yielding more than 3% would produce more income from the same market value. Anything yielding less would produce less. The comparison is that direct.
Two caveats keep it honest, and the calculator states both alongside the number. Selling to redeploy would usually trigger tax on any gain, which reduces the capital available to reinvest. And neither side of the comparison accounts for future dividend growth, so a lower-yielding holding that raises its payout quickly can still be the better long-run choice. The hurdle is a starting point for the question, not an answer to it.
The wider argument about what yield on cost is good for, including published pieces calling it useless, is covered in the yield on cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate dividend yield?
Divide the annual dividend per share by the current share price and multiply by 100. If the dividend is paid quarterly, first multiply one payment by four to get the annual figure. A stock paying $0.75 quarterly, which is $3.00 a year, trading at $100 has a dividend yield of 3.00%.
What is the difference between dividend yield and yield on cost?
Both divide the same annual dividend, but by different denominators. Dividend yield uses today's market price and tells you what a new buyer would receive. Yield on cost uses what you originally paid and tells you what your own past decision has produced. If the share price has risen since you bought, your yield on cost will be higher than the current yield.
What is trailing yield versus forward yield?
Trailing looks back at what was actually paid over twelve months. Forward assumes the latest payment repeats. Which one you want depends on whether the dividend has just changed, and the section above covers when each is the safer choice.
Does a higher dividend yield mean a better investment?
Not by itself. Yield is a ratio, and it rises when the share price falls just as readily as when the dividend is raised. A yield that has climbed sharply because the price dropped can signal that the market doubts the payout will hold. The figure tells you the current rate, not whether it is sustainable.
What yield would an alternative investment need to beat my current holding?
Your current yield, exactly. The calculator states the figure using your own numbers, and the section above works through why it falls out of the arithmetic. Two things it cannot account for: tax on a sale, and future dividend growth on either side.
Should I use the quarterly dividend or the annual figure?
Either works as long as you are consistent. Enter one payment and set the matching number of payments per year, or enter the full annual figure and set payments per year to one. Mixing them up, such as entering a quarterly amount and treating it as annual, is the most common source of a wrong answer.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only and is not financial, investment, or tax advice. Figures are before tax and before fees. A dividend yield describes the current rate only and carries no guarantee that the payout will continue; dividends can be reduced or eliminated at any time. The hurdle rate shown compares income alone and ignores taxes on a sale, transaction costs, and future dividend growth. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. Always consult a qualified financial professional before making investment decisions.
Last updated: August 1, 2026