NPV Calculator
Calculate Net Present Value for investment analysis and capital budgeting decisions.
Initial Investment
Discount Rate & Parameters
Required rate of return or cost of capital
Annual inflation adjustment
Corporate tax rate if applicable
Projected Cash Flows
NPV Analysis Results
Net Present Value
Decision: Accept
Internal Rate of Return
vs. 10.00% required
Payback Period
Time to recover investment
Profitability Index
PV of benefits / Initial cost
Total ROI
Simple return on investment
Break-Even Rate
Maximum acceptable discount rate
How it works
Net Present Value discounts a project's future cash flows back to today's dollars and subtracts the initial cost. A positive NPV means the investment is expected to create value at your required rate of return; a negative NPV means it destroys value.
Net Present Value
NPV = Σ [ CFₜ ÷ (1 + r)ᵗ ] − initial investment
- CFₜ
- cash flow in period t
- r
- discount rate (required return)
- t
- the period number
Worked example
- Invest $10,000 now
- Get $4,000/year for 3 years at 10% discount
- PV = 4,000/1.1 + 4,000/1.21 + 4,000/1.331 ≈ $9,947
- NPV = 9,947 − 10,000
NPV ≈ −$53 — just below break-even at a 10% hurdle.
Good to know
- Take projects with positive NPV; reject negative ones. NPV = 0 means it exactly earns the discount rate.
- The discount rate reflects risk and opportunity cost — a higher rate lowers NPV.
- NPV pairs with IRR, the discount rate at which NPV equals zero.
Related Calculators
Frequently Asked Questions
What is net present value (NPV)?
NPV is the sum of an investment's future cash flows discounted to today's dollars, minus the initial cost. It answers whether a project creates value: each year's cash flow is divided by (1 + r)ᵗ, reflecting that money later is worth less than money now.
What does a positive or negative NPV mean?
Positive NPV means the investment is expected to return more than your discount rate — it creates value and clears your hurdle. Negative NPV means it underperforms the alternative use of the money and should generally be rejected. NPV near zero means it merely matches your required return.
What discount rate should I use?
Use your cost of capital or required rate of return: companies often use their weighted average cost of capital (WACC), while individuals might use the return available on comparable-risk alternatives. Riskier cash flows deserve a higher discount rate, which lowers their present value.
What's the difference between NPV and IRR?
IRR is the discount rate at which NPV equals zero — the project's implied return. NPV measures dollars of value created at your chosen rate. NPV is more reliable for comparing projects, since IRR can mislead when cash flows change sign multiple times or projects differ in scale.
What is the payback period and why isn't it enough?
Payback is how long until cumulative cash flows recover the initial investment. It's intuitive but ignores the time value of money and everything that happens after payback — a project can pay back quickly yet still have a negative NPV, or pay back slowly and be very valuable.