Net present value vs present value

NPV (net present value) and PV (present value) are related but not the same. PV usually names the discounted value of one future amount or a clearly defined stream (for example, a level annuity). NPV is the net of all cash flows—money in and money out—brought back to today using one discount rate.

A common project setup: an initial cost is a negative cash flow at time zero; later benefits are positive flows. NPV adds those discounted pieces together. If NPV is positive at your hurdle rate, the project clears that bar in a simple “value added today” sense (before other real-world complications).

The calculators on the home page focus on PV of a lump sum and PV of a deposit stream. For NPV, you would extend the same discounting idea to every inflow and outflow. See also what present value means and time value of money.