Present Value Calculator
Find what a future amount of money is worth in today’s money.
Results update as you type.
About this calculator
Present value (PV) is what a future sum of money — or a future stream of payments — is worth today, once you discount it at a given rate. It answers "how much should I pay now for money I receive later?" and underpins bond pricing, loan valuation and investment decisions. This calculator discounts a future lump sum and, optionally, a recurring payment back to today at the rate and frequency you choose.
The maths reverses compounding. A single future amount is worth PV = FV ÷ (1 + i)^n today, where i is the rate per period and n the number of periods; a level stream adds an annuity term, PV = PMT × (1 − (1 + i)^−n) ÷ i. For example, 10,000 due in 10 years discounted at 5% (compounded monthly) is worth only about 6,072 today — the 3,928 gap is the discount, the return you forgo by waiting.
Use it to decide what a future payout, inheritance or bond redemption is worth now, to compare a lump sum against instalments, or to sanity-check whether an investment price is fair. A higher discount rate or a longer wait both shrink the present value, which is why money promised far in the future is worth surprisingly little today.
Frequently asked questions
How is present value calculated?
PV = FV ÷ (1 + i)^n discounts a single future sum back to today. A stream of payments adds an annuity term, PV = PMT × (1 − (1 + i)^−n) / i. Here i is the rate per period and n the number of periods.
Why is present value less than future value?
Because money you have today can be invested to earn a return, a dollar in the future is worth less than a dollar now. The higher the discount rate or the longer the wait, the smaller the present value.
What discount rate should I use?
Use the return you could realistically earn on the money instead — often a market interest rate, your required rate of return, or a project’s cost of capital. There is no single correct rate; a higher rate reflects more risk or better alternatives and produces a lower present value.
What is the difference between present value and net present value?
Present value discounts future inflows to today. Net present value (NPV) does the same but then subtracts the upfront cost of the investment, so a positive NPV means the discounted returns exceed what you pay in. This tool gives the present value of the inflows only.
How does compounding frequency affect present value?
More frequent compounding raises the effective discount rate slightly, so a future sum discounted monthly is worth a touch less today than the same rate compounded annually. Match the frequency to how the underlying investment actually pays or accrues.
Can I use this to value a bond?
Broadly yes. A bond’s price is the present value of its coupon payments (the recurring amount) plus the present value of its face value at maturity (the future lump sum), all discounted at the market yield. Enter the coupon as the payment and the face value as the future value.
API — use this calculator from code
Call this calculator as a free JSON endpoint — no key required. Send the field values below as query parameters or JSON. Read the full API docs →
Endpoint
GET https://calculator.free/api/v1/present-value/curl
curl "https://calculator.free/api/v1/present-value/?fv=10000&rate=5&years=10&pmt=0"JavaScript fetch()
const r = await fetch(
"https://calculator.free/api/v1/present-value/?" + new URLSearchParams({
"fv": "10000",
"rate": "5",
"years": "10",
"pmt": "0"
}));
const data = await r.json();
console.log(data.results);Results are estimates for general guidance only, not financial, medical or tax advice.