IRR Calculator
Enter a list of cash flows to find the internal rate of return, and see the net present value at a discount rate you choose. It runs in your browser.
Also searched as: internal rate of return calculator · npv calculator · net present value calculator · project irr calculator
Updated November 9, 2026
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How to use it
- 1
Enter the cash flows
List one amount per period, with money paid out as a negative number.
- 2
Add a discount rate
Enter the rate to use for the net present value.
- 3
Read the IRR and NPV
See both results and the present value of each period.
Questions about irr calculator
What is IRR?
The discount rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows is zero. If each period is a year, it is the yearly return of the project.
What is NPV?
The value today of all the cash flows, discounted at the rate you choose. Above zero means the project beats that rate.
Why is there no IRR?
IRR needs at least one payment out and one payment in. Cash flows that are all positive or all negative have none.
Reading the IRR and the NPV
The IRR is the rate at which the cash flows add up to zero once each is discounted back to period 0. A project that costs 10,000 and pays back 2,500, 3,000, 4,000 and 4,500 in the next four periods has an IRR of 13.41%. The NPV adds up the same flows at a discount rate you pick: at 10% it is 830.89, which is positive because the IRR is above 10%.
| Discount rate | NPV |
|---|---|
| 5% | 2,259.55 |
| 8% | 1,369.79 |
| 10% | 830.89 |
| 12% | 330.68 |
| 15% | -354.70 |
| 20% | -1,348.38 |
Cautions
The tool reads the first number as period 0, the next as period 1, and so on, with equal gaps between them. If the periods are months, the rates it shows are per month. Money you pay out is negative and money you receive is positive.
Flows that change sign more than once can have more than one IRR, and the tool shows the lowest one above -90%. IRR also ignores size: a small project can have a high IRR and a small gain, so use NPV to compare projects of different sizes.
Comparing the IRR with the rate you need
An IRR is most useful next to the return you need, often called the hurdle rate. The example project returns 13.41%, so it clears a 10% hurdle and falls short of a 15% one, which matches the sign of the NPV in the table above.
For borrowed money, or money you could invest elsewhere, the hurdle is what that money costs you. If the IRR is lower, the project loses value even when it pays back more than you put in.