Home▸Financial Models & Markets▸Lump Sum vs Annuity: Present-Value Crossover

Lump Sum vs Annuity: Present-Value Crossover

Interactive 3D present-value simulator: compare a lump sum paid today against a stream of equal future payments, watch the annuity's discounted value stack rise and fall as you move the discount rate, and find the exact break-even rate where the two choices are worth the same.

Financial Models & Markets3DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

Would you rather take a fixed sum today, or a stream of equal payments spread over the coming years? This simulator turns that classic finance question — the same one behind lottery payouts, structured settlements, and pension buyouts — into two 3D columns you can watch move in real time. The left column is a lump sum sitting at time zero; the right column stacks each future year's payment after discounting it back to today's dollars, so its height is the true present value of the whole stream, not just the sum of the raw numbers. Drag the discount rate and every future slab compresses live, while a bisection solver reports the exact break-even rate at which the two choices are worth precisely the same amount.

⚙ Under the hood

Compare a lump sum paid today against a stream of equal annual payments as two live 3D columns, watch the annuity's discounted value stack shrink when you raise the discount rate, and find the exact break-even rate where both choices are worth the same.

financepresent valueannuitydiscount rateNPVtime value of money

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install