Bond Yield Calculator
Enter a bond's face value, coupon rate, market price, and maturity to instantly see its current yield, yield to maturity (YTM), and yield to call (YTC) — the three numbers that tell you what a bond actually pays.
Bond Yield Calculator
Enter a bond's face value, coupon, price, and maturity to get its current yield, yield to maturity (YTM), and — for callable bonds — yield to call (YTC).
Amount repaid at maturity — usually $1,000 per bond.
Pays $50.00/yr per bond.
What you pay today — above par is a premium, below par a discount.
Most U.S. corporate and Treasury bonds pay semi-annually.
Price the issuer pays to redeem early — often slightly above par.
The first date the issuer can call the bond.
Current Yield
5.26%
$50.00 ÷ $950.00
Yield to Maturity
5.66%
held to maturity in 10 years
Yield to Call
6.53%
called in 5 years
You're buying at a discount ($950.00 < $1,000.00 par), so the 5.66% YTM sits above the 5.26% current yield — you also collect the climb back to par at maturity.
The Three Bond Yields, and When Each One Matters
"Yield" isn't one number. A bond quote can show three, and they answer different questions. Knowing which is which keeps you from comparing apples to oranges.
- Current yield — annual coupon ÷ price. The quickest read on income relative to what you pay today, but it ignores the gain or loss as the price moves toward par at maturity.
- Yield to maturity (YTM) — the full annualized return if you hold to maturity, counting coupons and that price convergence to par. This is the headline yield used to compare bonds.
- Yield to call (YTC)— the return if a callable bond is redeemed early at its call date. For premium callable bonds it's usually the lower, more conservative number to plan around.
The relationship between them is set by price. Buy below par (a discount) and YTM > current yield > coupon rate. Buy above par (a premium) and the order flips. At par, all three are equal — there's no price gain or loss to fold in.
How Yield to Maturity Is Calculated
Current yield is a one-line division, but YTM and YTC can't be solved with a single formula. YTM is the discount rate ythat makes the present value of every cash flow equal today's price:
Price = Σ Coupon ÷ (1 + y)t + Par ÷ (1 + y)n
Because yappears in every denominator, there's no way to isolate it algebraically — you find it by trial and error, testing rates until the present value matches the price. This calculator does that search for you (most U.S. bonds pay semi-annually, so it discounts on a six-month cycle by default). Yield to call works identically, but the cash flows stop at the call date and the call price stands in for par.
If the math behind discounting future dollars is new to you, our compound interest formula walkthrough covers the same present-value mechanics from the ground up.
Bonds vs. CDs, HYSAs, and Index Funds
A bond is one way to put cash to work — and the yield numbers above only mean something next to the alternatives. A bond can lock in a yield for years and may rise in value if rates fall, but its price drops if rates climb and you can lose money selling early. That trade-off looks different from the other common homes for savings:
- A high-yield savings account never loses value and is instantly accessible, but its rate floats and can fall at any time.
- A CD locks a rate like a bond but is FDIC-insured and held to a fixed term, with a penalty for early withdrawal rather than market price risk.
- An index fundoffers higher long-run returns but far more volatility — the wrong fit for money you'll need soon.
See the full breakdown in our HYSA vs CD vs index fund comparison, or run the numbers on a CD directly with the CD vs. savings account calculator.
Related Tools & Articles
HYSA vs CD vs Index Fund
Where to park cash — accessibility, yield, and risk compared
CD vs. Savings Account Calculator
Compare a locked CD rate against an instant-access HYSA
APY vs. APR Calculator
Turn a nominal rate into the effective yield you actually earn
Investment Growth Calculator
Project how reinvested bond income compounds over time
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate bond yield?
It depends on which yield you mean. Current yield is the simplest: annual coupon payment ÷ current market price. Yield to maturity (YTM) is the discount rate that makes the present value of every future coupon plus the par repayment equal today's price — it has no closed-form solution, so calculators solve it iteratively. Yield to call (YTC) uses the same method but stops at the call date and substitutes the call price for par.
What is the difference between current yield and yield to maturity?
Current yield only counts the coupon income relative to price, ignoring any gain or loss between today's price and the par value you receive at maturity. Yield to maturity captures the full return — coupons plus that price convergence to par — and assumes you hold to maturity. For a bond bought at a discount, YTM is higher than current yield; for one bought at a premium, YTM is lower.
What is yield to maturity (YTM)?
YTM is the total annualized return you earn if you buy a bond at its current price and hold it until it matures, reinvesting coupons at that same rate. It's the single number that lets you compare bonds with different coupons, prices, and maturities on equal footing, which is why it's the headline yield quoted for most bonds.
What is yield to call (YTC)?
Many bonds are callable — the issuer can redeem them early, usually at a set call price, often when interest rates have fallen. Yield to call is the return you'd earn if the bond is called on its first call date instead of running to maturity. For a callable bond trading at a premium, YTC is typically lower than YTM, so prudent investors plan around the lower of the two, sometimes called the yield to worst.
Why does a bond's price move opposite to its yield?
A bond's coupon payments are fixed. If market interest rates rise, new bonds pay more, so an existing bond must drop in price for its fixed payments to deliver a competitive yield to a new buyer. When rates fall, the reverse happens and the price climbs. That inverse relationship is why a bond bought below par (a discount) carries a higher yield and one above par (a premium) carries a lower one.
Is a higher bond yield always better?
Not on its own. A high yield often reflects higher risk — a lower-rated issuer, a longer maturity that's more sensitive to rate moves, or a callable bond that may be redeemed early. Compare yields against a bond's credit quality and against safe alternatives like Treasuries, CDs, or a high-yield savings account before deciding whether the extra yield compensates you for the extra risk.