Is an investment worth it? Net present value and internal rate of return of what it costs today and brings each year.
Figures checked: October 2026 · Methodology and sources
Cash flows arrive at the end of each year. Use as discount rate what the money would earn elsewhere.
Money received in the future is worth less than money today, because today's money could earn a return in the meantime. The net present value (NPV) brings every future cash flow back to today at a discount rate and subtracts the investment. A positive NPV means the investment earns more than the discount rate.
The internal rate of return (IRR) is the discount rate at which the NPV is exactly zero: the yearly return the investment itself delivers.
What the money would earn elsewhere at a similar risk: a savings rate for safe projects, a higher rate for risky ones.
Anything with a cost today and income or savings later: solar panels, a rental flat, a machine, insulation.
When the cash flows never pay back the investment, no rate makes the NPV zero.
Indicative results. This is not financial advice.
Know how much you will have left at the end of the month
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