Written and reviewed by FormulaCraft Team. Each formula on this page is run through our verification engine before publishing.
Last reviewed:
PV
PV discounts future payments or a lump-sum future value back to today's dollars using a specified periodic interest rate. Use it to evaluate whether a series of future cash flows is worth a given price today, compare leasing vs. buying, or price bonds and annuities.
Excel
=PV(0.06/12,120,-200,0,0)Google Sheets
=PV(0.06/12,120,-200,0,0)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Rate | Nper | Pmt | FV | PresentValue |
| 0.005 | 120 | 200 | 0 | |
| 0.005 | 60 | 500 | 0 | |
| 0.00417 | 240 | 100 | 0 | |
| 0.005 | 12 | 0 | 10000 |
=PV(0.06/12,120,-200,0,0)→18014.6906654335
Try it with your data
Edit the grid or formula, then run it through a real spreadsheet engine — no signup.
Sample data — click any cell to edit
Runs server-side · free · no signup
How it works
- 1Supply the periodic interest rate (annual rate ÷ frequency), total number of periods, and the periodic payment.
- 2Type =PV(rate, nper, pmt, [fv], [type]) — payments you receive are positive, payments you make are negative.
- 3The result (often negative) is the present value; take its absolute value if you want a cost figure.
Need a version for your data?
Try: “What is the present value of receiving $200 per month for 10 years at a 6% discount rate?”