CPI = EV / AC · SPI = EV / PV
Every EVM formula for the PMP exam, with a free calculator. Enter PV, EV, AC, and BAC to get variances, indexes, and forecasts, then read the worked example and how the exam tests it below.
Enter PV, EV, and AC above, then click Calculate.
Updated September 2026.
Earned value management puts scope, schedule, and cost on one scale, money, so you can compare them. PMBOK 8 defines the three measurements it tracks for every work package (Section 5, Earned value analysis). Planned value (PV) is the budget assigned to the work that was scheduled to be done by now. Earned value (EV) is the budget assigned to the work that actually got done, and it can never exceed the PV budgeted for that work. Actual cost (AC) is what that work really cost, with no upper limit. Budget at completion (BAC) is the total planned value for the whole project, the cost baseline. Management reserve sits outside all of these.
Cost variance (CV) = EV − AC The budget surplus or deficit for the work done so far. Positive is under planned cost, negative is over.
Schedule variance (SV) = EV − PV How far ahead of or behind the plan the completed work is, measured in money, not days. Positive is ahead of schedule, negative is behind.
Cost performance index (CPI) = EV ÷ AC Cost efficiency. Exactly 1.0 means the work done so far cost exactly its budget. Above 1.0 is under planned cost, below 1.0 is over. A CPI of 0.80 means each dollar spent earned 80 cents of planned work.
Schedule performance index (SPI) = EV ÷ PV Schedule efficiency. Exactly 1.0 is on schedule, above is ahead, below is behind.
Estimate at completion (EAC) is the expected total cost of the project, actual cost to date plus the estimate to complete. PMBOK 8 prints four versions in Table 5-1, and each comes with the condition that tells you when to use it. The exam tests the condition more than the arithmetic.
Estimate to complete (ETC) = EAC − AC What the rest of the work will cost. The guide also allows a bottom-up re-estimate in place of the formula.
Variance at completion (VAC) = BAC − EAC The projected surplus or overrun at the end. Positive is under planned cost, negative is over.
TCPI = (BAC − EV) ÷ (BAC − AC)
The to-complete performance index is the cost efficiency the remaining work has to hit to finish on a target. Work remaining over funds remaining. Greater than 1.0 means the rest of the project has to run more efficiently than the plan, exactly 1.0 means the same, less than 1.0 means easier. PMBOK 8 gives two forms. The BAC form above targets the original budget. When the BAC is no longer viable and a new EAC has been approved, the EAC replaces it: TCPI = (BAC − EV) ÷ (EAC − AC). Whether a TCPI is achievable is a judgment call the guide ties to risk, time remaining, and technical performance, not to a fixed cutoff.
A project has a BAC of $450,000. At the status date, PV is $200,000, EV is $180,000, and AC is $225,000. Type those four numbers into the calculator above and you'll get every result below.
Read the shape of it: 40 percent of the value is earned, 50 percent of the budget is spent, and the three EAC versions land $105,000 apart from the same four inputs. That spread is why the exam asks which formula, not just what the number is.
PMI doesn't publish a formula list, so no one can promise you an EVM question or a count. What's documented: PMBOK 8 prints the formula set in Table 5-1 and lists earned value analysis as a tool of Monitor and Control Project Performance, Monitor and Control Schedule, and Monitor and Control Finances, which also outputs the cost forecast that carries the EAC. The 2026 Exam Content Outline puts the work in the Process domain, 41 percent of the exam: plan and manage finance includes monitoring financial variations, plan and manage schedule includes analyzing schedule variation, and evaluate project status includes measuring and updating project metrics. On agile projects the same math runs on story points per iteration, with PV and EV in points and AC from the team's hours, so don't assume EVM is predictive-only.
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Start Free →The core set is cost variance CV = EV - AC, schedule variance SV = EV - PV, cost performance index CPI = EV / AC, and schedule performance index SPI = EV / PV. The forecasting set is estimate at completion (EAC, four versions), estimate to complete ETC = EAC - AC, variance at completion VAC = BAC - EAC, and to-complete performance index TCPI = (BAC - EV) / (BAC - AC). PMBOK 8 prints all of them in Table 5-1.
CPI = EV / AC, earned value divided by actual cost. It measures cost efficiency: a CPI of 1.0 means the work done so far cost exactly what was budgeted, above 1.0 means under planned cost, below 1.0 means over planned cost. A CPI of 0.80 means every dollar spent has earned 80 cents of budgeted work. SPI = EV / PV is the schedule twin and reads the same way.
Match the formula to the condition the question states. If current cost performance is expected to continue, EAC = BAC / CPI. If the variance was a one-off and future work will run at the planned rate, EAC = AC + (BAC - EV). If both cost and schedule performance affect the remaining work, EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) / (CPI x SPI). If the original plan is no longer valid, EAC = AC + a bottom-up ETC. When the question gives no condition, BAC / CPI is the default.
PMI does not publish a formula list, so nobody can promise a count. What's documented: PMBOK 8 prints the full EVM formula set in Table 5-1 and lists earned value analysis as a tool in three monitoring processes, and the 2026 Exam Content Outline's Process domain, 41 percent of the exam, includes monitoring financial variations, analyzing schedule variation, and measuring project metrics. Expect EVM inside a scenario, usually as an interpretation question, sometimes as a chart.