Present Value & Future Value Calculator
Pick a direction, then enter an amount, a rate, and a number of years. Present value mode discounts a future sum to what it is worth today; future value mode grows a sum you have now. Results update live with annual or monthly compounding, and the table walks through every year.
What do you want to find?
What you expect to receive or need later
What the money could earn elsewhere in the meantime
How far apart today and that future date are
Compounding
Worth today
$55,839
$100,000 received in 10 years, discounted at 6.0%
Total discount
$44,161
the cost of waiting, in today's dollars
Effective annual rate
6.00%
with annual compounding, nominal and effective match
What the same amount is worth today, by year received
| Year | Worth today | Change that year | Total discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | $100,000 | $0 | |
| 1 | $94,340 | $5,660 | $5,660 |
| 2 | $89,000 | $5,340 | $11,000 |
| 3 | $83,962 | $5,038 | $16,038 |
| 4 | $79,209 | $4,753 | $20,791 |
| 5 | $74,726 | $4,484 | $25,274 |
| 6 | $70,496 | $4,230 | $29,504 |
| 7 | $66,506 | $3,990 | $33,494 |
| 8 | $62,741 | $3,764 | $37,259 |
| 9 | $59,190 | $3,551 | $40,810 |
| 10 | $55,839 | $3,350 | $44,161 |
Each row is what the same future amount would be worth today if it arrived in that year instead. Sooner is worth more, and the gap widens with every year of waiting.
Time value of money, in plain words
A dollar today is worth more than a dollar next year, because today's dollar can be put to work in the meantime. That single idea is the time value of money, and it turns the question of how much into how much, and when. Present value pulls a future sum back to today's terms by removing the growth it would have earned; future value pushes a sum you have now forward by adding that growth. The rate you use is the opportunity cost of the money: what it could earn elsewhere while you wait.
The formula, read in both directions
Future value equals the present amount multiplied by (1 + rate) raised to the number of years. Present value is the same expression flipped: the future amount divided by that growth factor. With monthly compounding the rate is split into twelve parts and the exponent counts months instead of years, which compounds slightly faster; the calculator reports the resulting effective annual rate so the two settings are comparable. Discounting is compounding run backwards, so the year-by-year table traces the same curve whichever mode you pick.
Two worked examples
Suppose you expect to receive $100,000 in 10 years, and you could earn 6% a year on money in the meantime. The growth factor at 6% for 10 years is about 1.79, so the present value is $100,000 divided by 1.79, roughly $55,840. The other $44,160 is the discount: the price of waiting a decade. Now run it forward. Invest $10,000 today at the same 6% and the same factor applies: $10,000 times 1.79 is about $17,910 in 10 years, with $7,910 of that being growth. The rule of 72 gives a gut check: at 6%, money doubles roughly every 12 years, so 10 years should land a little short of a double, and it does.
Where present value shows up in real decisions
Pension and annuity choices are the classic case: a monthly payment for life versus a lump sum now is a present value comparison, and the discount rate you believe in decides the winner. Legal settlements and buyouts work the same way, since a structured payout and a single check are only comparable in today's dollars. Even the retirement 4% rule is present value in disguise: needing $40,000 a year from a portfolio and sizing that portfolio at $1,000,000 is a statement about how much today supports a stream of future withdrawals. Use this calculator when someone offers you money later instead of now, when you are setting a savings target for a fixed future cost, or when you want to know what an inheritance, bonus, or windfall due in several years is really worth in the present.
Frequently asked questions
What is present value?
The amount today that is equivalent to a payment in the future, once you account for what money could earn in between. If your money could earn 6% a year, $100,000 arriving in 10 years is worth about $55,800 today, because $55,800 invested at 6% grows to $100,000 by then. Present value is how you compare dollars that arrive at different times.
What discount rate should I use?
The return you could realistically earn on the money in the meantime, which is the rate you give up by waiting. Conservative choices use a safe rate similar to what a long-term bond or high-yield savings account might pay; comparisons against stock investing use a higher expected return. The slider makes the sensitivity visible: at 4% the $100,000 example is worth about $67,600 today, at 8% about $46,300.
What is the difference between present value and future value?
They are the same formula read in opposite directions. Future value grows an amount forward: $10,000 today at 6% becomes about $17,900 in 10 years. Present value shrinks an amount backward: $17,900 due in 10 years is worth $10,000 today at the same rate. Growth and discounting are mirror images, which is why one calculator handles both.
How does compounding frequency change the answer?
Monthly compounding applies one-twelfth of the rate twelve times a year, which grows slightly faster than one annual step. At 6% nominal, monthly compounding is an effective 6.17% a year, so $10,000 grows to about $18,190 in 10 years instead of $17,910, and the present value of a future $100,000 drops to about $54,960 instead of $55,840. Small per year, noticeable over decades.
Should I take a lump sum or monthly payments?
Present value is the tool for that comparison, though it cannot make the decision for you. Discount each future payment at a rate you could earn, add them up, and compare the total to the lump sum on offer. Lower discount rates favor the payment stream; higher ones favor the lump sum. Life expectancy, taxes, inflation adjustments, and who bears the investment risk belong in the decision too, so treat the calculator as the first pass, not the last word.
Does this calculator save my numbers?
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
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