About the NPV & IRR Calculator
Net present value (NPV) tells you what a series of future cash flows is worth today at a chosen discount rate, and the internal rate of return (IRR) is the rate at which that NPV becomes zero. Enter an upfront cost as a negative number followed by the returns for each period to compare projects, rental properties, equipment purchases or side businesses on equal footing.
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The Curator field notes
A closer look at NPV & IRR Calculator
FIELD NOTE 1
A positive NPV means the project beats your required rate of return.
FIELD NOTE 2
Use the same period length throughout — all yearly or all monthly flows.
FIELD NOTE 3
Cash flows that change sign several times can have more than one IRR; this tool reports the lowest.
FIELD NOTE 4
Compare NPV, not just IRR, when projects differ in size.
From input to result
- 1
Enter today's cash flow first, usually a negative investment.
- 2
Add each following period's cash flow on its own line.
- 3
Set your discount rate and read the NPV and IRR.
Category reference · illustrative chart
Compounding: time changes the comparison
Illustration only: 1,000 units growing at a fixed 5% per year, compounded annually, with no contributions, taxes, inflation or fees. Values use 1,000 × 1.05^years; this is not a forecast or an output of this calculator.
0 years · 1,000 currency units
5 years · 1,276.28 currency units
10 years · 1,628.89 currency units
20 years · 2,653.3 currency units
About money & business tools
Financial calculators are only useful if you understand the formula behind them. Each calculator on this page shows its working: the inputs it uses, the standard formula it applies, and what the result does and does not include. A mortgage figure that ignores property tax, or an ROI that ignores time, can be technically correct and still misleading.
These calculators are educational. They use widely published formulas — the same ones in finance textbooks and bank disclosures — but they cannot know your local taxes, fees or lender terms. Use them to understand the shape of a decision and to compare options, then confirm the final numbers with the institution or a qualified adviser. Nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.
Two habits make any calculator more useful. First, change one input at a time and watch how the result moves — that shows you which assumption actually drives the decision, whether it is the interest rate, the term or the price. Second, run a pessimistic and an optimistic scenario rather than a single 'expected' one; real rates, returns and costs rarely stay fixed for years. All figures are shown in whatever currency you are using, because the formulas are the same in dollars, euros or Icelandic krónur. Rounding is applied only for display, so the underlying maths stays precise.
Popular ways people use money & business tools
- Comparing a 15-year and a 30-year mortgage to see the real difference in total interest paid.
- Checking whether a shop's 'extra 10% off sale items' is as generous as it first sounds.
- Converting a contractor's hourly rate into an annual figure to compare it fairly with a salaried job.
- Setting retail prices that reliably hit a target profit margin after product costs.
- Estimating how regular monthly savings could grow over ten or twenty years with compounding.
How we build and test our free tools
Every tool in this collection is built and tested by The Curator team. Before a tool is published we check it against known reference results — textbook loan schedules, standard test vectors for hashes, sample files for conversions — and we re-check it whenever browsers change. Each page explains the method so you can verify the answer yourself rather than take it on trust.
The tools run as JavaScript inside your browser tab. When you choose a file, your browser reads it from your disk into memory; the tool processes it and gives you the result as a download. No copy is sent to us or to anyone else, and nothing is kept after you close the tab. That is why these tools are safe for personal documents, and why they keep working on a slow or interrupted connection once the page has loaded.
The collection is free because it is supported by advertising on these guide pages. We never charge for a tool, never add watermarks and never sell what you type. If something doesn't work as described, or you would like a tool we don't have yet, please contact us — new tools are added in regular batches based on what readers ask for.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does it say No IRR?
- IRR needs at least one negative and one positive cash flow, and a rate where NPV crosses zero.
- Is this the same as Excel's NPV?
- Excel's NPV discounts the first value too; here the first value is today (undiscounted), matching how most textbooks define it.
- Is my input stored or sent anywhere?
- No. Everything runs inside your browser tab and disappears when you close it.
- Is the NPV & IRR Calculator really free?
- Yes. There is no account, no trial and no watermark. The Curator is supported by advertising on its guide pages, never by charging for tools or selling your data.
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