Use this free IRR calculator to estimate periodic and annualized internal rate of return from an initial investment and five evenly spaced cash-flow periods.
$10,000 outflow, five entered cash-flow periods
Cash flows should be evenly spaced. Sign changes, project size, taxes, fees, inflation, risk, and reinvestment assumptions can make IRR easy to misuse.
Estimate a project internal rate of return.
Compare uneven cash flows against a target return.
See periodic and annualized IRR.
Screen an investment before a detailed model.
12.22% annualized IRR
10.44% annualized IRR
-86.74% annualized IRR warning
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Plain-language answers about when to use the estimate, what your numbers mean, what is left out, and how privacy works.
Use it when you want to test the exact inputs on this page: Estimate a project internal rate of return. Compare uneven cash flows against a target return. The result is a check against your assumptions, not proof that a lender, tax app, broker, platform, or provider will use the same number.
Initial investment outflow means the starting cost or cash paid out. The calculator turns this into a negative cash flow. Year 1 through Year 5 cash flow means the money expected back in each regular period, entered in the same order it arrives. Periods per year means how often those cash-flow periods happen. Use 1 for annual, 4 for quarterly, or 12 for monthly spacing.
Yes. This IRR page works like spreadsheet IRR: the cash flows can be different amounts, but the periods should be regular, such as yearly, quarterly, or monthly. Irregular dates need an XIRR-style tool instead.
IRR is the rate where NPV is about zero. If the cash flows switch from negative to positive and back again, there can be more than one possible IRR, or no simple answer this page should show.
Not always. IRR includes cash-flow timing, which ROI ignores, but IRR can overrate tiny projects or assume reinvestment at the same rate. Use ROI, payback, NPV, and plain risk checks too.
In plain language: The calculator treats the initial investment as a negative cash flow, then solves for the rate that makes the net present value of all entered cash flows approximately zero. For the default example: -$10,000, $2,200, $2,400, $2,600, $2,800, and $4,500 produces a periodic IRR of about 12.22%. With annual periods, the annualized IRR is also about 12.22%.
Annualized IRR is the headline rate after using the periods-per-year setting. Periodic IRR is the solved rate for one cash-flow period. Net cash flow is simple dollars in minus dollars out, so it does not adjust for timing.
IRR can be misleading for cash flows that change signs more than once, uneven real-world timing, reinvestment assumptions, different project sizes, taxes, fees, inflation, or risk. Use a full investment model, real dates, NPV, MIRR, fees, taxes, inflation, risk, and professional review before choosing a real project or investment. This page is a quick IRR screen, not advice.
Check that the first value is the outflow, later values are in the right order, the periods are evenly spaced, and the periods-per-year setting matches your cash-flow timing.
No. The calculator runs in your browser tab. Recent answers stay only on the page while you use it, and they are not sent to a server.