Find what a single future sum of money is worth today. Enter the amount, the annual discount rate, and the time horizon — you get the present value, the discount factor, and a year-by-year schedule. 100% client-side: nothing leaves your browser.
Educational tool, not financial advice. This calculator applies a standard finance formula to the numbers you enter. It does not know your taxes, inflation outlook, or risk — and its output is not a recommendation about any investment, loan, or settlement.
Calculate present value
e.g. 10000
Present value
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Discount factor
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each future $1 is worth this today
Eroded by discounting
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This is a mathematical discount of one lump sum — it is not financial advice and does not account for taxes, inflation, fees, or risk. See the FAQs for what this number does and does not mean.
Year-by-year schedule
What the future amount is worth if you received it at the end of each year instead.
Year
Value if received then
Discount factor
Schedule truncated at 50 years.
How present value works
PV = FV ÷ (1 + r)n
FV — the future amount, a single lump sum received once.
r — the discount rate per period (your required return, as a decimal).
n — the number of periods until you receive it.
Each future dollar is divided by (1 + r)n — the discount factor — to express it in today's money. Money today can earn a return, while future money cannot; it also faces inflation and uncertainty. Discounting reverses that growth.
Worked example
$10,000 due in 10 years, 10% annual discount rate:
Compound factor: (1.10)10 = 2.59374246
Discount: $10,000 ÷ 2.59374246 = 3855.4329
Present value = $3,855.43
So $10,000 in ten years is equivalent to $3,855.43 today at a 10% return. Change the rate and watch how sensitive the answer is: at 5% the same $10,000 is worth $6,139.13; at 15% only $2,471.85.
Frequently asked questions
What is present value?
Present value is what a sum of money due in the future is worth today. Money today is worth more than the same amount later because it can earn interest, because inflation erodes purchasing power, and because the future is uncertain. Present value reverses that growth: instead of asking what today's money becomes, it asks what future money is worth now. Example: $1,000 due in 10 years at a 5% discount rate has a present value of $613.91.
How do I calculate present value? (worked example)
Use PV = FV / (1 + r)^n, where FV is the future amount, r is the discount rate per period, and n is the number of periods. Example: $10,000 due in 10 years at a 10% annual discount rate. Step 1: compute (1.10)^10 = 2.59374246. Step 2: divide $10,000 / 2.59374246 = $3,855.43. So $10,000 in ten years is worth $3,855.43 today at 10%. This calculator reproduces these exact figures.
What is the discount factor?
The discount factor is 1 / (1 + r)^n — the multiplier that converts a future amount into today's money. It is always between 0 and 1: a factor of 0.38554329 means each future dollar is worth about 38.6 cents today. Example: at a 10% annual rate over 10 years, the discount factor is 1 / 2.59374246 = 0.38554329, so $10,000 x 0.38554329 = $3,855.43. The calculator shows this factor for every result.
What discount rate should I use?
Use the return you could realistically earn elsewhere with similar risk — your opportunity cost. Common choices: a savings or bond yield for low-risk comparisons (2-5%), a stock-market expected return for investment decisions (7-10%), or your company's cost of capital for business choices. Present value is very sensitive to this choice: $5,000 due in 20 years is worth $1,884.45 at 5%, but only $743.22 at 10%. Try a few rates in the calculator to see the range before deciding.
Does compounding frequency change the present value?
Yes. The rate you enter is the annual rate, and the calculator splits it across the compounding periods you choose: semiannual (2/yr), quarterly (4/yr), or monthly (12/yr). More frequent compounding discounts slightly harder. Example: $1,000 due in 5 years at 6%. Annual compounding gives $747.26; quarterly compounding gives $742.47. The difference is small at low rates and short terms, and larger over long horizons.
What is the difference between present value and net present value (NPV)?
Present value discounts a single future amount. Net present value discounts a whole series of cash flows over multiple periods and subtracts the upfront cost: NPV = sum of CFt / (1+r)^t minus C0. If you are valuing one lump sum received once, this basic present value calculator is all you need. If you are valuing a project with cash flows in several years, plus an initial investment, use our net present value calculator instead.
What if I receive payments every year, not one lump sum?
Then you need the present value of an annuity, not this single-sum formula. An annuity discounts a series of equal payments: PV = PMT x [1 - (1+r)^-n] / r. Example: $1,000 per year for 10 years at 5% has a present value of $7,721.73 — much higher than the $6,139.13 present value of a single $10,000 payment in year 10, because earlier payments are discounted less. Use our annuity calculator for payment streams.
Is this financial advice?
No. This calculator is an educational tool that applies a standard finance formula to the numbers you enter. It does not know your taxes, inflation outlook, or risk tolerance, and its output is not a recommendation to accept, reject, or price any investment, loan, or settlement. For decisions involving real money — especially large or irreversible ones — consult a licensed financial professional.
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