Present Value Calculator
Discount a future amount and any stream of payments back to today's value. Pick a compounding frequency and ordinary or due annuity timing.
Present value details
Present value
$24,760.20
- PV of future amount
- $24,760.20
- PV of payments
- $0.00
- Total future cash flow
- $100,000.00
- Total discount
- $75,239.80
Frequently Asked Questions about the Present Value Calculator
What is present value?
Present value is what a future amount is worth today after discounting it at a chosen rate. It answers the question: how much would I need today, invested at this rate, to grow into that future amount?
Why do future dollars discount?
Money today can be invested to earn returns, so a dollar received now is worth more than a dollar received later. The discount rate captures the opportunity cost (returns you give up while waiting).
What discount rate should I use?
A common choice is your best available risk-adjusted return: the long-run stock-market return (~7% real) for personal planning, a corporate weighted average cost of capital for business decisions, or a Treasury yield for risk-free comparisons.
How does this differ from a future value calculator?
Future value compounds today's money forward in time; present value discounts tomorrow's money backward. The formulas are inverses, and the calculator handles both directions.
When should I include payments along with a future amount?
Whenever you want to value a stream (a pension, a bond, a lease). Add a periodic payment plus the future lump sum, and the calculator returns the combined present value.