Google Sheets

RATE function in Google Sheets

Calculates the interest rate of an annuity investment based on constant-amount periodic payments and the assumption of a constant interest rate.

=RATE(number_of_periods, payment_per_period, present_value, [future_value, end_or_beginning, rate_guess])

RATE syntax and parameters

Six arguments, three required.

number_of_periodsnumberRequired
The number of payments to be made.
payment_per_periodnumberRequired
The amount per period to be paid.
present_valuenumberRequired
The current value of the annuity.
future_valuenumberOptional
[ OPTIONAL ] - The future value remaining after the final payment has been made.
end_or_beginningnumberOptional
[ OPTIONAL - 0 by default ] - Whether payments are due at the end (0) or beginning (1) of each period.
rate_guessnumberOptional
[ OPTIONAL - 0.1 by default ] - An estimate for what the interest rate will be.

Formulas you'll actually reuse.

The annual rate implied by $350 a month over 5 years on $18,000 (×12 because periods are months):
```
=RATE(60, -350, 18000) * 12
```
Result0.0623
The yearly return that doubles $10,000 in 10 years:
```
=RATE(10, 0, -10000, 20000)
```
Result0.0718

Same name — your formula ports as-is.

Edit the example — nothing to install.

Preloaded with the RATE formula from Example 1 — change anything and watch it respond.

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What they mean — and the fixes.

#NUM!
The iteration didn't converge — pass a guess (6th argument) near the expected rate, and check that pv and pmt have opposite signs.

More ways Google Sheets gets this done.