About the IRR Calculator
IRR Calculator finds the internal rate of return of an investment from its cash flows: the yearly (or per-period) rate at which the money coming in exactly pays back the money going out. Enter the flows in order, with payments out as negative numbers and money received as positive, and you get the IRR per period. If your flows happen on specific dates, switch to XIRR, type one date and amount per line, and you get an annual rate that accounts for the exact number of days. The tool also shows the net present value at a discount rate you choose, the total of all flows and, for equal periods, the payback period. Because some sets of cash flows have more than one valid rate, the tool lists all the rates it finds and warns you. Nothing is sent anywhere, and the result is a calculation, not financial advice.
Updated September 2026
How to use the IRR Calculator
- 1Choose Equal periods (IRR) or With dates (XIRR).
- 2Type the cash flows: the first one is usually the negative investment, followed by returns.
- 3For XIRR, enter each line as a date in the form 2024-01-15 and the amount, separated by a comma.
- 4Set a discount rate if you want the net present value.
- 5Read the IRR, the NPV, the total and the payback period.
How to enter cash flows
- Use negative numbers for money you pay: the initial investment and any later costs.
- Use positive numbers for money you receive: income, sales, dividends or the final sale value.
- For equal periods, start with time 0 and keep the order: every number is one period later than the one before.
- For XIRR, the first line is the base date, and the flows can be in any order.
- Amounts in brackets, such as (500), are read as negative.
Reading the results
The IRR is shown as a percentage per period, or per year for XIRR. Compare it with the rate you need. The NPV shows the value in today's money at the discount rate you type, and it is positive when the IRR is above that rate. The payback period is the number of periods needed before the money returned equals the money invested, counted without discounting.
Timing matters: 10,000 that comes in the first year raises the IRR much more than the same amount in year five. That is why the same total profit can give quite different rates.
Example
Suppose you buy equipment for 10,000 and it brings in 3,000, 4,200 and 6,800 in the next three years. Enter -10000, 3000, 4200, 6800. The total profit is 4,000 and the IRR is about 16.3 percent per year. At a 10 percent discount rate the NPV is about 1,300, so the project beats a 10 percent alternative. If the money came at dates that are not a year apart, use XIRR with the exact dates instead.
You can also use the tool for personal investments: put in your deposits as negative amounts, and the current value of the account as the last positive flow, to see the rate you have actually earned.
Limits and related tools
IRR assumes that the money you receive can be reinvested at the same rate, which can be too optimistic for high results. It also ignores the scale of the project and the risk. Use it with NPV and payback, and not on its own.
For a simple gain on one investment, ROI Calculator is easier, Compound Interest Calculator shows growth from a known rate, and Future Value Calculator finds the value of regular payments. This is general information, not financial advice.
Features
- IRR for equal periods
- XIRR for flows on exact dates
- Net present value at your discount rate
- Payback period
- Finds and warns about multiple rates
- Accepts commas, spaces, new lines and negatives
- Runs in your browser
Frequently asked questions
What is IRR?
The internal rate of return is the discount rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows equals zero. In plain terms, it is the annual growth rate that your investment effectively earned. A project that costs 10,000 and returns 3,000, 4,200 and 6,800 over three years has an IRR of about 16.3 percent.
What is the difference between IRR and XIRR?
IRR assumes cash flows come at equal intervals, such as once a year, and gives a rate per period. XIRR uses the actual dates of each flow, so it is better when payments are irregular, and it always returns an annual rate. Spreadsheet programs have both functions, and this tool works in the same way.
What does NPV mean?
Net present value adds up all cash flows after discounting each back to today at your chosen rate. A positive NPV means the investment earns more than your discount rate, and a negative one means it earns less. IRR is the discount rate at which NPV is zero.
Why does it say no rate can be found?
IRR needs at least one negative flow (money out) and one positive flow (money in). If every flow has the same sign, or the returns are so small that the total is far below the investment, there is no rate that balances them within the range the tool searches, from −99 percent up to very high rates.
Why does it show more than one rate?
When the sign of the cash flows changes more than once, for example an outlay, an income and then a big clean-up cost, the equation can have several solutions. In that case IRR alone is misleading, and NPV at a sensible discount rate is a better guide.
What is a good IRR?
It depends on the risk and on what else you could do with the money. Compare the IRR with the return of alternatives, your cost of borrowing or a required return set for the project. A higher IRR is better, but a high IRR on a small project can be worth less than a modest IRR on a big one.