DCF Calculator — Discounted Cash Flow & NPV
Evaluate whether an investment creates value by discounting all future cash flows back to today. Enter the initial outlay, expected annual cash flow, discount rate and time horizon to get the Net Present Value (NPV).
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Positive NPV — project likely adds value at this discount rate.
- 1
Discount rate
r = 10% ÷ 100 = 0,1 - 2
PV of year 1 cash flow
20.000 ÷ (1 + 0,1) = 18.181,82 - 3
Total PV — 10 years
Σ CF ÷ (1 + r)ᵗ t = 1…10 = 122.891,34 - 4
Net Present Value
122.891,34 − 100.000 = 22.891,34
¿Cómo funciona esta calculadora?
NPV = −Initial Investment + Σ CF/(1+r)^t + Terminal Value/(1+r)^N. Positive NPV means the investment clears your hurdle rate; negative means it does not. The discount rate should reflect your cost of capital or required return — small changes can significantly swing the result.
Fórmula
How this is calculated
Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis answers the question: is a future stream of cash worth more than what you pay today? It works by translating every future cash inflow into today's dollars using a **discount rate** — your required rate of return, cost of capital, or opportunity cost. A cash flow of CF received t years from now is worth CF / (1 + r)^t today. Summing these present values across all years gives the total PV of the project's cash flows. Subtract the initial investment to get the Net Present Value.
This calculator assumes a **constant annual cash flow** (an annuity structure). Optionally add a terminal value — the estimated sale price or perpetuity value at the end of the period — which is also discounted to today. If NPV is positive, the project is expected to return more than the discount rate demands and likely creates value. If negative, the investment does not clear the hurdle rate.
Limitations to keep in mind: real cash flows are rarely constant, and the discount rate is a judgement call (WACC, risk-adjusted rate, or required return). Small changes to the discount rate or terminal value can swing NPV substantially. The simple payback period shown is undiscounted — it ignores the time value of money and should be treated as a rough sanity check only.
Preguntas frecuentes
For a business, the discount rate is often the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC), typically 8–15% for established companies. For personal investments, use your required rate of return or the return you could earn elsewhere. Higher risk projects warrant higher rates.
Terminal value captures the value of cash flows beyond the explicit forecast period. It can be estimated as the expected sale price, a perpetuity value (Gordon Growth Model), or the liquidation value of assets. It often accounts for the majority of a project's total present value.
NPV gives the absolute value created at your chosen discount rate. IRR (Internal Rate of Return) is the rate at which NPV = 0 — the project's own implied return. NPV is generally preferred for decisions because IRR can give misleading rankings when comparing projects of different scales.
También conocido como
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). DCF Calculator — Discounted Cash Flow & NPV [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/es/calculator/dcf-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "DCF Calculator — Discounted Cash Flow & NPV." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/es/calculator/dcf-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "DCF Calculator — Discounted Cash Flow & NPV," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/es/calculator/dcf-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_dcf_calculator, title = {DCF Calculator — Discounted Cash Flow & NPV}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/es/calculator/dcf-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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