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Payback Period Calculator

How long an investment takes to repay itself.

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PeriodCash flowCumulativeDiscountedCumulative discounted

Payback period

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Discounted payback—
Difference—
Total returned—
Net present value—

Recovery progress

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Quick Tool Overview

The Payback Period Calculator finds when cumulative returns finally equal the upfront cost, both simply and with future cash flows discounted to present value — which always pushes the break-even later and sometimes shows it never arrives at all.

What it does
Calculates simple and discounted payback periods
You give it
An initial cost and the returns each period
You get back
Both payback periods, to a fraction of a period
Best for
Judging how long capital is exposed on a project
Calculators Free, unlimited use No sign-up Runs in your browser

About the Payback Period Calculator

Enter the upfront cost and the cash the investment returns each period to get the payback period: the point at which cumulative returns finally equal what you spent. Uneven cash flows are supported, and the answer is given to a fraction of a period.

Simple payback treats a dollar in year five as identical to a dollar today, which it is not. The discounted payback period applies a discount rate to each cash flow first, which always pushes the break-even point later and sometimes reveals that a project never actually pays back at all in present value terms. The calculator reports both. Payback is a useful liquidity and risk measure, but it ignores everything that happens after break-even, so it should sit alongside NPV rather than replace it.

Key features of the Payback Period Calculator

Discounted payback included

A dollar in year five is not a dollar today, and discounting first is what makes the answer honest.

Uneven cash flows supported

A constant return per period, or a list of different amounts.

Fractional periods

Break-even reported to part of a period rather than rounded up to the next whole one.

Never-pays-back detected

If discounted flows never reach the cost, the calculator says so instead of returning a misleading number.

Cumulative table

The running total each period, so you can see the crossover rather than only its date.

How to use the Payback Period Calculator

  1. 1

    Enter the initial cost

    The upfront investment you need to recover.

  2. 2

    Enter the returns

    A constant amount per period, or a list of uneven cash flows.

  3. 3

    Set a discount rate

    Optional but recommended, since it produces the more honest discounted payback period.

  4. 4

    Compare both figures

    Simple payback for a quick read, discounted payback for the one that accounts for time.

Frequently asked questions

The time it takes for the cumulative cash returned by an investment to equal what it cost. It is a measure of how quickly you get your money back, and therefore of liquidity risk.

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