Enter a future value, discount rate per period, and number of periods to calculate the present value.
How to Use the Present Value Calculator
Future value, discount rate, and number of periods — the mirror image of the Future Value calculator, same three inputs, opposite direction.
A dollar promised a year from now is worth less than a dollar in hand today — not because of inflation specifically, but because today's dollar could be earning a return in the meantime. Present value puts a number on exactly how much less.
PV = FV ÷ (1 + r)ⁿFV is the future amount, r the discount rate per period, n the number of periods. The discount rate you choose represents the return you could otherwise earn on your money — a higher rate makes future money worth less today, since the opportunity cost of waiting for it is greater.
This is the mirror image of the future value calculator: same formula, solved for the opposite variable.