TVPI Calculator
The formula
What the tvpi tells you
Total value to paid-in: cash back plus current marks per dollar invested — the headline multiple, honest only to the extent the NAV is.
Calculation: TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI. Enter your inputs and every substitution is shown below the result.
Reading the result
Always decompose it; the % cash line is the difference between a result and a forecast.
Rules of thumb: A 2× TVPI with DPI under 0.5 over ten years is a slide, not a track record
Limitations and best practice
Slow capital calls shrink the denominator and flatter TVPI — pair it with IRR on the same flows.
This calculator gives an estimate based on standard formulas; it is not professional financial, medical, legal or engineering advice. Verify anything you plan to act on with a qualified professional and your own records.
Frequently asked questions
TVPI vs MOIC?
When do marks become truth?
Source & methodology
ILPA standards; Cambridge Associates benchmarks.
How TVPI works — and what your result really means
This page was written for one job: turning your own inputs into a defensible figure, with the working shown. There are plenty of pages about TVPI; almost none of them show the working. This one does: the formula, every input, a fully computed example, and a sensitivity analysis calculated live from this engine’s own defaults.
The number itself is the easy part. What takes judgement is knowing which inputs are facts in your situation and which are guesses wearing a decimal point — a distinction this page makes explicit for every field above.
It helps to separate the mechanics from the interpretation. The mechanics are fixed: TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI. Anyone, anywhere, entering the same inputs will get the same 1.17 ×. The interpretation is where experience counts: whether 1.17 × is good, normal or alarming depends on comparisons covered below, and that is the part most articles about TVPI never explain.
What makes a calculation page trustworthy is that its copy is derived from its own arithmetic: here TVPI = 1.17 ×, recomputed every time a field changes, and the sensitivity section ranks the inputs that move the result — Paid-in capital first, at ≈11.1 % of the headline for a ten-percent error either way in that input. Read the sections in order and you will be able to reproduce every figure by hand.
How TVPI is computed, line by line
One formula, published in full: TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI. Anything you can read, you can reproduce in a spreadsheet, and that reproducibility is the whole point of printing it rather than hiding it behind a button.
Paid-in capital ($) (example value 84,259,544) is a measured number in the unit named by the label; the formula does not convert for you. Replace the example with the figure from your own records — the tool recomputes instantly and the printed steps follow your numbers.
Distributions ($) (example value 48,398,074) is a quantity rather than a category — precision here is cheap and worth having. If you are unsure what belongs in this field, look at the printed steps: the substitution shows exactly how the engine uses it.
Residual NAV ($) (example value 50,602,986) is a measured number in the unit named by the label; the formula does not convert for you. Replace the example with the figure from your own records — the tool recomputes instantly and the printed steps follow your numbers.
TVPI with real numbers, step by step
Rather than describe the calculation, here it is end to end — every substitution in order, starting from the inputs above. Starting figures: Paid-in capital ($), Distributions ($), Residual NAV ($). The computed TVPI comes out at 1.17 ×, which the interpretation band labels “Above par, but how much is cash?”.
- TVPI = ($48,398,074 + $50,602,986) ÷ $84,259,544 = 1.17
DPI component — 0.57 ×. Read next to the headline, this is the figure that shows the shape of the trade-off.
RVPI component — 0.60 ×. Compare it against the main result of 1.17 × before drawing conclusions.
Percent of TVPI that is cash — 48.9 %. Read next to the headline, this is the figure that shows the shape of the trade-off.
Overwrite any input above and every line of this example updates with it — the substitution is live, not a screenshot of somebody else’s numbers.
The TVPI corridor: your result across a realistic band
Read this table as the practical error bar on the headline figure. It answers the question people actually have after seeing a single number: how wrong could this be if the main input is off by ten or twenty percent?
| Paid-in capital setting | TVPI |
|---|---|
| 80 % of the example value | 1.47 × |
| 90 % of the example value | 1.31 × |
| example inputs | 1.17 × |
| 110 % of the example value | 1.07 × |
| 120 % of the example value | 0.98 × |
Across 5 settings of Paid-in capital, the result spans 0.98 × to 1.47 ×. A decision that only works at one row of this table is a decision waiting for an input to move. Reproduce it in the form above by editing Paid-in capital alone; the substitution steps will follow your figures exactly.
The levers behind TVPI, ranked by effect
This list was computed for this specific engine just now: each numeric input was nudged ±10 % while every other field held its example value, and the TVPI was recalculated from scratch. It is the fastest honest answer to “what matters most in TVPI?” — and it is specific to these defaults, because sensitivity moves with the starting point.
- Nudge Paid-in capital by ±10 % and TVPI lands between 1.07 × and 1.31 × (sensitivity ≈11.1 %)
- Residual NAV: ten percent up gives 1.24 ×, ten percent down gives 1.11 × — ≈5.1 % of the TVPI either way
- Nudge Distributions by ±10 % and TVPI lands between 1.12 × and 1.23 × (sensitivity ≈4.9 %)
Paid-in capital is the dominant lever here: ten percent either way moves the result by about 11.1 %, from 1.07 × to 1.31 ×. Measure that input from a document rather than from memory, and treat Residual NAV as the second priority (≈5.1 % per ten percent). The rest of the inputs earn only a rounding-error of attention, and that asymmetry is the practical payoff of measuring rather than asserting.
Is your TVPI good — reading the result bands
The value above only becomes useful the moment you know what it is being measured against. The verdict attached to the default calculation — “Above par, but how much is cash?” — is one band on a ladder your own figure may sit somewhere else on. How much of that band is luck? On Paid-in capital alone ten percent either way covers 1.07 × to 1.31 ×. The practical reading rules: read the band as a starting hypothesis, then test it: change the two dominant inputs by ten percent and see whether the verdict survives. Verdicts that survive stress are the ones worth acting on.
Placing this figure in context: calculators of this kind differ less in arithmetic than in what they choose to ignore. This one keeps Paid-in capital ($) explicit so that the omissions are visible rather than hidden in a preset.
How people get TVPI wrong
Slow capital calls shrink the denominator and flatter TVPI — pair it with IRR on the same flows. This calculator gives an estimate based on standard formulas; it is not professional financial, medical, legal or engineering advice. Verify anything you plan to act on with a qualified professional and your own records.
Reading TVPI from a single month. Business figures have seasonality and noise; compare across a full cycle before believing the trend.
This model has its own particular trap: Paid-in capital carries ≈11.1 % of the response per ten percent of error, so effort spent elsewhere is largely decorative.
Another is comparing across contexts: a TVPI computed with one set of conventions should never be lined up against a figure computed with another. Check the inputs behind both before ranking them.
Six things to confirm before acting on TVPI
- Re-run the calculation with a ±10 % stress on the two most sensitive inputs.
- Record the date and the inputs alongside the number so future-you knows what was assumed.
- Check Paid-in capital before anything else: it is the measured dominant input, ≈11.1 % of TVPI per ten percent.
- Verify each input against its original source document, not memory.
- Check that every field the formula needs actually arrived from a document, not from recollection.
- Run the ±10 % stress on the top two levers and check that your conclusion survives both.
How to use the TVPI tool properly
Using a calculator well sounds trivial, but the difference between a decision-grade figure and a throwaway one lives entirely in the routine. The routine for TVPI takes a minute to learn and applies to every input above.
Step 1 — one document, one pass. Open the statement, label or record that holds paid-in capital ($), distributions ($), residual nav ($) and transcribe straight into the form. Transcription from a single source removes the mismatch errors that appear when figures are assembled from three different places. Repeating a calculation with the same numbers proves only that the arithmetic is reliable — which is worth knowing.
Step 2 — baseline before exploration. Get one defensible TVPI on screen before you start nudging numbers. Without a baseline, every variation looks interesting and none of them means anything. Precision is a promise you make about your data; make sure your inputs can keep it.
Step 3 — isolate your variables. Change one field, observe, revert. The live sensitivity list does the ranking for the default inputs; verify it against your own, because dominance shifts when the starting point shifts. The input you reach for first is usually the one you measured longest ago.
Step 4 — compute a corridor, not a point. Three runs — worst, likely, best — turn TVPI from a snapshot into a range. Plan against the pessimistic end and treat the optimistic end as the upside story. If the answer changes your behaviour, it deserves a second run with different assumptions.
Step 5 — schedule the next run. In Business & Entrepreneurship the inputs drift quietly. Put a reminder a quarter out, re-enter the same fields, and read the change rather than the level. Write the assumptions in the same file as the result, and future arguments take minutes instead of meetings.
From calculation to decision: where TVPI earns its keep
In Startup Metrics the figure computed here is usually the first one somebody asks to see. Having it — with the formula behind it — changes your position in the conversation from participant to reference. Say the answer out loud before you save it; if it sounds wrong, the model did not change, your understanding did.
The companion outputs — DPI component and RVPI component — exist for the second stage of that screen: the headline sizes the prize, while the companions describe the trade-off you are accepting to get it. Half of a good calculation is knowing which input you would hate to be wrong about.
Nothing here is stored or transmitted, so the habit of checking is free: open the page, re-enter current figures, compare with the number you saved last time. When two sources disagree, it is almost never the arithmetic that differs.
People also ask about TVPI
What affects TVPI the most?
The short answer: Paid-in capital. The longer answer is the sensitivity table on this page, where every numeric input was probed by ten percent and the TVPI recalculated — Paid-in capital moved it furthest, by roughly 11.1 % (1.07 × to 1.31 ×).
Which matters more: residual nav or paid-in capital?
By the numbers, Paid-in capital: a ten-percent change in it moves the result ≈11.1 %, versus ≈5.1 % for Residual NAV. Spend your measuring effort in that order — precision on the weaker lever buys almost nothing.
What is a typical TVPI?
On the worked example above TVPI comes out at 1.17 ×. Treat that as one point on a distribution rather than a norm: the bands, the companion outputs and the sensitivity ranking tell you how wide the plausible range really is.
How do I calculate TVPI by hand?
Use the stated model — TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI — and substitute in the order the tool prints (it starts from TVPI = ($48,398,074 + $50,602,986) ÷ $84,259,544 = 1.17). On the example inputs the hand route lands on 1.17 ×, exactly what the calculator shows. A spreadsheet reproduces it in two or three cells; doing it once by hand is what makes the automated answer trustworthy.
What happens to TVPI if paid-in capital changes by 10 %?
The engine was re-run with that field moved by ten percent while everything else stayed fixed: the TVPI goes across 1.07 × to 1.31 ×, a swing of roughly 11.1 % around the 1.17 × baseline. That ratio is the practical definition of how much this input matters.
Is the TVPI result of 1.17 × good or bad?
Neither, on its own — the label “Above par, but how much is cash?” is the band this figure falls in for the example inputs, and your own inputs will place you elsewhere on the same ladder. Judge the number against your history and your alternatives, and remember that a ten-percent error in Paid-in capital alone moves it by ≈11.1 %.
How often should I check TVPI?
Whenever an input changes by more than a few percent, and otherwise on the rhythm of your decisions — before a purchase, a review, a renewal. TVPI is a snapshot, not a subscription; stale snapshots are the most common silent error in Business & Entrepreneurship planning.
Should I use TVPI before launching?
Yes — a TVPI run on honest inputs before spending is the cheapest consulting an entrepreneur can buy. Re-run at every pricing change; the number moves more often than founders expect.
TVPI vs MOIC?
Same arithmetic, different reporting side; TVPI is fund-level and conventionally net of fund fees, gross of carry.
When do marks become truth?
At final realization — which is why decade-old marks deserve a discount.
Does this TVPI tool store my numbers?
No. The entire calculation runs in your browser session; nothing entered above is transmitted or saved, which is the correct behaviour for sensitive Business & Entrepreneurship figures and the reason you can re-run this page as often as you like.
What the labels on this page mean
- DPI component
- 0.57 × on the example inputs — a companion figure printed beside the headline of TVPI so that no result is read in isolation.
- RVPI component
- 0.60 × on the example inputs — a companion figure printed beside the headline of TVPI so that no result is read in isolation.
- Percent of TVPI that is cash
- 48.9 % in the default TVPI calculation — one of the secondary figures an experienced reader checks before trusting the primary number.
- TVPI
- The primary output of this tool: 1.17 × for the default inputs, computed exactly from TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI.
- Worked example
- The calculation written out in full so that nothing on this page has to be taken on trust.
- Verdict band
- The plain-language label — here “Above par, but how much is cash?” — mapping the computed figure onto experience-based ranges for Business & Entrepreneurship.
- Sensitivity (±10 %)
- How far the TVPI moves when a single input is nudged ten percent either way; the ranked list on this page is computed live from this engine.
Method, sources and what this tool cannot tell you
The model is published arithmetic implemented exactly as written: TVPI = (distributions + residual) ÷ paid-in = DPI + RVPI. Source of record: ILPA standards; Cambridge Associates benchmarks. Any other implementation of this model should return the same figure for the same inputs. If one does not, the difference is in its assumptions — which this page prints and that one probably does not.
Treat the output as a precise answer to the question you typed: exact arithmetic, transparent formula, published source, no hidden rounding. Nothing is smoothed, weighted or adjusted behind the scenes; where judgement enters, this page says so and names the input responsible.
What to do with your TVPI next
Re-run the calculation with your own figures, stress the two most sensitive inputs by ±10 %, and only then act on the result.
This page was written for people who need one trustworthy number before their next decision, and the promise is that nothing above required trust. Bookmark the tool, re-run it whenever an input moves by more than a few percent, and keep the date with the number.