Compute the internal rate of return for cash flows that happen at irregular intervals — just like Excel's XIRR function. Perfect for SIPs, mutual funds, private equity, real estate, and any investment with uneven contributions and withdrawals.
Enter each cash flow with its date. Investments (money going out) are negative amounts; returns (money coming in) are positive amounts. Dates are measured in actual days from the first cash flow.
You invest $50,000 on January 1, 2025 and receive a single payout of $58,000 exactly one year later. Since there is only one outflow and one inflow exactly one year apart, XIRR equals the simple annual return of 16.00%.
You invest $1,000 on the first day of each month from January through June 2026 (six instalments totalling $6,000), then receive $7,000 on January 1, 2027. The staggered contributions make the return lower than a lump-sum comparison would suggest, because the later instalments only earn for a few months.
A private equity style investment: you put in $25,000 on June 1, 2024, receive an interim distribution of $10,000 on June 1, 2025, and a final distribution of $25,000 on June 1, 2026. The interim cash flow is reinvested at the computed rate, which is exactly the assumption XIRR makes.
CFᵢ = Cash flow i (negative for investments, positive for returns)
tᵢ = Days between cash flow i and the first cash flow
r = Annualized internal rate of return (XIRR)
365 = Actual-day year convention, matching Excel's XIRR
XIRR cannot be solved with a simple closed-form formula, so the calculator uses Newton-Raphson iteration. Starting from a guess of 10%, it repeatedly applies:
NPV′(r) = Σ −CFᵢ × (tᵢ/365) × (1 + r)^(−tᵢ/365 − 1)
Iteration stops when the net present value is essentially zero (|NPV| < 0.000001) or the rate stops changing. If Newton-Raphson ever diverges (rate below −99.99% or non-finite), the calculator automatically falls back to a bisection search on the interval [−99.99%, 1000%], which is guaranteed to converge for any well-posed cash flow stream.
Write down each investment as a negative number and each return as a positive number, together with the exact date the money moves. Include every contribution and every withdrawal — gaps and irregular timing are exactly what XIRR is designed to handle.
The first cash flow defines day zero. Every other flow is expressed as the actual number of days between its date and that first date, divided by 365 to convert to years. Using real calendar days is what distinguishes XIRR from plain IRR.
Each cash flow is discounted with (1 + r)^(tᵢ/365), where tᵢ is its year fraction from step two. Summing all discounted flows gives the net present value (NPV) of the entire investment at rate r.
Adjust the rate r up or down until the NPV equals zero. That rate — expressed as a percentage — is your XIRR. It is the constant annual return that makes the present value of all money out exactly equal to the present value of all money in.
An XIRR of 15% means your cash flow stream performed as if every dollar earned a steady 15% per year, compounded daily on actual dates. Compare it against your required rate of return or a benchmark to judge whether the investment was worthwhile.
XIRR (Extended Internal Rate of Return) is the annualized rate of return for a series of cash flows that occur at irregular intervals. It is the rate r that makes the net present value of all cash flows equal to zero, where each flow is discounted by the actual number of days since the first flow divided by 365.
The key difference from plain IRR: IRR assumes cash flows occur at regular periods (typically yearly, or one period apart), while XIRR weights each flow by its exact calendar date. This makes XIRR the correct tool whenever money moves at uneven times.
Because XIRR accounts for the exact timing of every dollar, it gives a much fairer picture of an investment's true performance than simple profit percentages, especially when contributions and withdrawals are scattered across months or years.
You can compute XIRR by hand (approximately), in a spreadsheet, or with this calculator. The underlying process is always the same:
Collect every cash flow in chronological order: negative for money invested or paid out, positive for money received. Attach the exact date to each one.
Take the earliest date as the reference point. For each later flow, compute the number of days elapsed and divide by 365 to get its year fraction tᵢ.
Start with a guess (10% is a common starting point). Discount every cash flow back to day zero using (1 + r)^(tᵢ/365) and add them up to get the NPV.
If the NPV is positive, the guess is too low — raise r. If it is negative, lower r. Iterate (Newton-Raphson makes this converge in a handful of steps) until the NPV is effectively zero.
The converged rate r, expressed as a percentage, is the XIRR. In Excel, the identical result comes from =XIRR(values, dates, [guess]).
This calculator does all of that automatically, solving with up to 100 Newton-Raphson iterations and a bisection fallback, so you always get a stable, accurate result.
These three return measures are frequently confused. The table below shows how they differ and when each one is appropriate.
| Method | Cash-Flow Pattern | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
| XIRR | Any number of cash flows at irregular, real-calendar dates | Investments with uneven contributions and withdrawals: SIPs, private equity, real estate, project cash flows |
| IRR | Cash flows assumed exactly one period apart (usually yearly) | Theoretical or simplified analyses where flows are regular, or when period spacing is uniform |
| CAGR | Exactly one initial outflow and one final inflow (no intermediate flows) | Simple lump-sum comparisons: "my $10,000 grew to $16,000 in 5 years" — no interim cash flows allowed |
In short: CAGR is a two-point measure, IRR assumes even spacing, and XIRR handles real-world timing. Whenever your cash flows carry actual dates, XIRR is the most accurate choice.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. XIRR assumes reinvestment of intermediate cash flows at the computed rate, which may not be achievable. Not investment advice.