Blog
Finance

Cash flow discounting calculator

Enter the discount rate and add cash flow by year. The calculator discounts each year and works out the total present value.

Usually the cost of capital (WACC) or the investor's required return

Cash flow by year

Year Cash flow Remove row
1
2
3
4

Result

Total present value

Total without discounting

Your inputs are stored in this browser, so everything is still here next time. Nothing is sent to a server.

This calculation is for informational purposes only and does not replace advice from a qualified professional. Formulas and rates may not fit your exact situation — double-check the figures before making decisions.

How it is calculated

Present value of year t's flow = cash flow in year t ÷ (1 + discount rate)^t. Total present value is the sum of the present values across all years. The further out a year is, the more its amount shrinks under discounting.

Unlike the NPV calculator, there's no initial investment subtracted from the result here — this just converts future amounts into today's money, rather than assessing whether a project is worthwhile. For evaluating an actual investment project with an upfront outlay, use the separate NPV calculator.

The gap between the undiscounted total and the present value shows what time 'costs': the higher the discount rate and the longer the horizon, the bigger that gap — future money is always worth less than today's money.

Other calculators

All calculators