Two people can invest the same total amount in the same fund and still earn different returns, simply because their money went in on different dates. XIRR is the return measure built for exactly this real-life situation, and it is the number your mutual fund statement uses for your SIP.

What Is XIRR?

XIRR stands for Extended Internal Rate of Return. It is the annual rate at which all your dated cash flows - every instalment you paid and every amount you received - balance out to zero in present-value terms.

In plain words, XIRR is a money-weighted return. It does not just ask how much your investment grew; it asks how long each rupee stayed invested. A rupee invested for three years counts far more than a rupee invested last month, because it had more time to work for you.

That is why SIP returns need XIRR. In a monthly SIP, your first instalment may be five years old while your last one is a few days old. A simple percentage gain treats both as if they were invested on day one, which overstates or understates your real return. XIRR respects every date, so it gives the honest annual figure - the same figure this XIRR calculator online works out for you in seconds.

XIRR Formula

XIRR is the rate r that makes the net present value (NPV) of all cash flows equal to zero:

Here CF is each cash flow, negative when money leaves your pocket and positive when it comes back, d₀ is the date of the first cash flow, and each later date d is measured against it in years, using 365 days. There is no closed-form formula for r - it cannot be isolated with simple algebra. Software finds it by iteration through the Newton-Raphson method: it guesses a rate, checks how far the result is from zero, adjusts the guess and repeats until the equation balances, with a bisection fallback if the first method stalls. This calculator uses the same method as Excel, which is why both give identical results on the same data.

Under the hood, all of this is compound interest running in reverse - each cash flow is discounted back to the first date. If you want to see compounding itself in action first, try the same amount on our Interest Calculator.

How to Use This XIRR Calculator

SIP / Regular Investments mode is this XIRR calculator for SIP investing, built for instalment-based plans:

Step 1: Choose your investment frequency - monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.

Step 2: Enter the instalment amount, the start date of your first instalment and the end date, which is the date on which you are valuing the investment.

Step 3: Enter the current value of the investment. The calculator builds every instalment as a negative cash flow, adds the current value as a positive cash flow on the end date, and shows your XIRR, total invested and net gain instantly.

Manual Cash Flows mode is for irregular investing - lump sums on random dates, partial redemptions, SWP withdrawals or dividend payouts:

Step 1: Enter each transaction on its own row with its exact date.

Step 2: Type money you invested as a negative amount (for example -10000) and money you received, or the current value, as a positive amount (for example 23500).

Step 3: Use Add Row for more transactions. You can also copy the rows straight into Excel or Google Sheets with the copy button and verify the figure there.

If your rows are share purchases made at different prices, our Share Average Calculator first works out your average buy price - the two tools pair well for equity holdings.

XIRR Calculation Example

Suppose you invested ₹10,000 on the 1st of every month through 2023, and on 1 January 2024 the holding was worth ₹1,30,000:

Total invested: ₹1,20,000. Value at the end: ₹1,30,000. Gain: ₹10,000.

The absolute return here is only 8.33% (₹10,000 on ₹1,20,000), but the XIRR is 15.67%. The gap exists because your money was not all invested for the full year - the average rupee was invested for only about six and a half months, so the same gain annualises to a much higher rate. Type these dates and amounts into =XIRR in Excel and it returns the same 15.67%, because both use the identical method.

XIRR vs CAGR vs IRR vs Absolute Return

The short version: if money moved on more than one date, XIRR is the measure that stays honest. CAGR is excellent for a single lump sum, IRR belongs to projects with neat yearly intervals, and absolute return ignores the calendar completely - which is why an 8.33% absolute gain in the example above is really a 15.67% annual performance.

Is 12% XIRR Good?

An XIRR figure means little until you compare it with what safe and market options paid over the same period. Useful benchmarks: bank FDs pay roughly 6.5 to 7.5%, inflation runs at roughly 5 to 6%, and the Nifty 50 has averaged roughly 11 to 12% a year over long periods. You can check the safe end of that range yourself on our FD Calculator and the Post Office FD Calculator.

Read common XIRR levels against those benchmarks:

• 9% XIRR: decent - it beats inflation and most FDs, but trails what equities have historically delivered
• 12% XIRR: good - roughly in line with long-term equity market returns, and well ahead of any safe option
• 15% XIRR: strong - your fund or your entry timing beat the broad market
• 20% XIRR: excellent if it survives over 3-5 years; over a few months it usually just reflects a short, lucky period being annualised

The clearest warning sign is the opposite end: if your XIRR is below the FD rate for the same period, your market-linked investment underperformed a safe, predictable option while taking more risk - and that is worth a serious review.

Not everyone wants market-linked returns at all. If a fixed monthly income from safe money suits you better, the Post Office MIS Calculator shows exactly what a deposit pays out every month.

How to Calculate XIRR in Excel and Google Sheets

You do not need this calculator open to find XIRR - you already have an XIRR calculator in Excel and Google Sheets, through the built-in function:

Step 1: Put your dates in one column and the matching amounts in the next column, one transaction per row, in date order.

Step 2: Enter investments as negative numbers and receipts or the current value as a positive number on the last row, with today or the valuation date beside it.

Step 3: In an empty cell, type the formula =XIRR(values, dates, [guess]) - select the amount cells for values and the date cells for dates. The guess is optional; 0.1 is a common starting point.

Step 4: Format the result cell as a percentage. A result of 0.1567 then displays as 15.67%.

Fixing errors: if you get #NUM!, Excel could not converge on an answer - add a guess such as 0.2 in the formula, and check that your amounts include at least one negative and one positive value with valid dates. If you get #VALUE!, one of your dates is not a real date - retype it as an actual date value instead of text.

To skip the setup, use this XIRR calculator Excel download - a ready template with the formula already placed. It contains the worked example from this page pre-filled, so you only have to replace the dates and amounts with your own.

Download XIRR Excel Template

XIRR for SIP Investments

Open any mutual fund capital-gains statement or AMC app and the return shown against your SIP is almost always XIRR. Fund houses use it because there is no other honest way to summarise a SIP: you may have 40 instalments spread over 40 different dates, and each one has compounded for a different length of time.

The SIP mode above works as a dedicated SIP XIRR calculator for exactly this job. Fund apps such as Groww also show your SIP return as XIRR, and the method behind every one of these figures is the same.

CAGR misleads here because it assumes the entire final amount grew out of a single starting amount. In a SIP there is no single starting amount - money kept arriving month after month. XIRR solves this by rating every instalment separately and blending the result into one annual figure.

The same thinking applies to any recurring deposit habit. If you also run a bank or post office RD alongside your SIP, compare its maturity figures on our RD Calculator - the deposit dates there follow the same logic of money going in step by step.

And when the investing years end and the withdrawal years begin, the question flips from return to how long the corpus survives - our SWP Calculator shows how long a corpus lasts on fixed monthly withdrawals.

Benefits and Limitations of XIRR

Benefits:

• Accurate for irregular cash flows - lump sums, SIPs, top-ups and withdrawals in any pattern
• Every rupee is judged by the time it actually stayed invested, so comparisons between two SIPs are fair
• It is the same method AMCs, Excel and Google Sheets use, so your figure can be verified anywhere
• One annual number makes it easy to compare a fund against FD rates, inflation and index returns

Limitations:

• It annualises short periods aggressively - a good 3 months can show as a spectacular XIRR that will not repeat
• It says nothing about risk or volatility; two funds with the same XIRR can have had very different journeys
• It is sensitive to the final value and its date - valuing on a market peak flatters the figure
• It assumes gains effectively keep compounding at the same rate, which real markets never do smoothly

Common Mistakes While Calculating XIRR

• Wrong signs: entering investments as positive numbers. Money you pay in must be negative, money you receive or hold as value must be positive
• Forgetting the current value row: without a final positive amount on the valuation date, the calculation has nothing to balance against and fails
• Comparing XIRR with absolute returns: a 15.67% XIRR and an 8.33% absolute gain can describe the same investment, as the example above shows - they are not rivals
• Judging a 3-month XIRR: annualising a few weeks of returns produces extreme numbers in both directions; give a SIP at least a year before XIRR means much
• Sloppy dates: using the month-end instead of actual debit dates shifts the result; use the real transaction dates from your statement

Disclaimer: This calculator is an educational tool for understanding investment returns. XIRR is a calculation method, not a promise - past XIRR does not guarantee future returns, and market-linked investments can fall as well as rise. This page is not financial or investment advice. Please read scheme documents carefully and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser for decisions about your own money.

XIRR Calculator (FAQ)

Is 12% XIRR good?

Yes, in most cases. A 12% XIRR roughly matches the long-term average of the Nifty 50 and comfortably beats bank FD rates of about 6.5 to 7.5% and inflation of about 5 to 6%. Judged over three years or more, 12% means your money grew at a healthy, market-level pace.

How can I calculate XIRR?

You need every cash flow with its date: investments as negative amounts and the current or maturity value as a positive amount on the final date. Enter them in the calculator above for an instant result, or use =XIRR(values, dates) in Excel or Google Sheets for the same figure.

What does 20% XIRR mean?

A 20% XIRR means your money grew at an annualised rate of 20% after accounting for the exact dates of every investment and withdrawal. It does not mean you earned 20% of your total invested amount; short periods can inflate XIRR, so check it alongside the actual rupees gained.

Is XIRR of 9 percent good?

A 9% XIRR is decent but modest. It beats inflation of about 5 to 6% and most bank FD rates, so your money grew in real terms. However, it trails the long-term equity average of about 11 to 12%, so for long-term goals you may want to review your fund choice.