PMP Exam — CPI & SPI Calculator

The 3 core values — what do they mean?

Planned Value

What did we plan to finish by today?

The budgeted cost of the work that was scheduled to be done by now. It's your plan.

Earned Value

What have we actually accomplished?

The budgeted cost of the work that was actually completed. It's your real progress.

Actual Cost

How much money did we actually spend?

The real money spent to complete the work so far. It's your actual spending.

A real-life story to remember it

🏗️ Imagine you are building a house. Today is the halfway point of the project.

You planned to have the foundation and walls done by today. That work was budgeted at $50,000. That is your PV.

But you only finished the foundation (not the walls). That foundation was budgeted at $30,000. That is your EV — you "earned" only $30k worth of work.

To build just the foundation, you actually spent $40,000 (more than budgeted!). That is your AC — the real money out of your pocket.

Visualising PV vs EV vs AC

Project progress at the halfway checkpoint ($50k total budget)

PV — Planned$50,000

EV — Earned (actual progress)$30,000

AC — Actual cost spent$40,000

EV < PV → behind schedule | AC > EV → over budget — double trouble!

Now the formulas make sense

CPI — Cost efficiency

EV ÷ AC

$30k ÷ $40k = 0.75 → Over budget ⚠️

SPI — Schedule efficiency

EV ÷ PV

$30k ÷ $50k = 0.60 → Behind schedule ⚠️

> 1.0 ✓

Good — under budget or ahead of schedule

< 1.0 ✗

Bad — over budget or behind schedule

Choose a scenario

🏗️ Construction project

Over budget, behind schedule

💻 Software project

Under budget, behind schedule

📦 Event planning

Over budget, ahead of schedule

🚀 Marketing campaign

Under budget, ahead of schedule

Step-by-step calculation

Identify your three values

Calculate CPI (Cost Performance Index)

Divide EV by AC. This tells you how much value you got for every $1 spent.

Calculate SPI (Schedule Performance Index)

Divide EV by PV. This tells you how much work you did vs. what was planned.

Calculate the variances (CV and SV)

Same pairs, but subtract instead of divide. This tells you how many dollars off you are — not just the ratio.

Interpret the results

The Four Formulas

CPI — Cost Index

EV ÷ AC

Ratio · compare to 1.0

SPI — Schedule Index

EV ÷ PV

Ratio · compare to 1.0

CV — Cost Variance

EV − AC

Dollars · compare to 0

SV — Schedule Variance

EV − PV

Dollars · compare to 0

> 1.0 / positive ✓

Good — under budget or ahead

< 1.0 / negative ✗

Bad — over budget or behind

Enter your numbers

Type exact values from a practice question, or drag the sliders to explore.

Planned Value

Work planned by now

Earned Value

Work actually done

Actual Cost

Money actually spent

Quick fill:

Your results — the indexes (ratios)

CPI — Cost

0.80

01.02.0

Over budget

SPI — Schedule

0.80

01.02.0

Behind schedule

The variances (dollar amounts)

CV — Cost Variance

EV − AC

-$20

SV — Schedule Variance

EV − PV

-$20

Index vs Variance — don't mix them up!

Index = ÷ (Ratio)

CPI · SPI

Answer is a number like 0.85 — no dollar sign. Tells you efficiency. Compare to 1.0.

Variance = − (Subtract)

CV · SV

Answer is a dollar amount like -$5,000. Tells you how much. Compare to 0.

Memory Tricks

💰

CPI = EV ÷ AC — "Did I get my money's worth?" EV on top = value received. AC at the bottom = money spent. Below 1 = you spent more than you earned.

🕐

SPI = EV ÷ PV — "Am I on time?" EV on top = work done. PV at the bottom = work planned. Below 1 = you did less than planned.

➖

CV and SV always start with EV too. CV = EV − AC. SV = EV − PV. Same pairs as the indexes — just subtract instead of divide. Negative = bad.

💡

EV is always first in every EVM formula. Learn that one rule and you'll never write a formula backwards. 1.0 for indexes, 0 for variances — that's your baseline.