Earned Value

Cost Variance (CV) Calculator

Calculate Cost Variance (CV) to quantify whether your project is under or over budget for the work completed.

Calculator
CV = EV − AC
Enter values to compute.

Interpretation Guide

  • CV > 0Under budget.
  • CV = 0On budget.
  • CV < 0Over budget.

Example

EV $80,000 and AC $95,000 → CV = −$15,000 (cost overrun of $15k for work completed).

Real-world use cases

  • Monthly cost reviews
  • Change-control packages
  • Forecast triangulation

Common mistakes

  • Excluding committed costs from AC
  • Treating one-time variances as a trend

Professional tips

  • Combine with CPI
  • Trend CV monthly to spot drift early
FAQ

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