📊 With inflation at 4.2% and rate cuts delayed, bond yields matter more than ever. The 10-year Treasury is at 4.65% — know whether your bonds are actually beating inflation or losing purchasing power. The inflation defense →

Bond Yield Calculator: YTM, Current Yield & Duration

Calculate yield to maturity, current yield, duration, and convexity for any bond. Visualize the price-yield relationship and compare bonds side by side.

Last Updated: March 2026

Calculate Bond Yield

Par value at maturity (typically $1,000)
Market price you'd pay today
Annual coupon rate as a percentage
Time remaining until bond matures
Enter bond details to calculate yield to maturity (YTM), current yield, duration, convexity, and total return analysis.

Bond Comparison — Side by Side

Enter two bonds to compare their yields, duration, and risk profiles.

Bond A

Bond B

Bond Pricing: Calculate Fair Price from YTM

Given a target yield to maturity, calculate the fair price you should pay for a bond.

Your required yield to maturity
Enter a target YTM and bond details to calculate the fair price you should pay.

Bond Credit Ratings — Reference Table

Credit ratings assess default risk and directly impact the yield investors demand. Higher risk = higher yield.

S&P / Fitch Moody's Grade Description Typical Spread (bps) Approx. Yield Default Risk

Bond Yield Explained: Key Insights

YTM Is the True Measure of Bond Return

Current yield only tells you about income — it ignores capital gains or losses at maturity. A bond bought at $900 with a 5% coupon has a current yield of 5.56%, but the $100 gain at maturity significantly boosts the true return. Yield to maturity captures both coupon income and the price difference, making it the gold standard for bond comparison. Always use YTM when deciding between bonds with different prices, coupons, and maturities.

Duration Quantifies Your Interest Rate Risk

Modified duration tells you exactly how much your bond's price will move for a 1% change in yields. A bond with modified duration of 8 will drop roughly 8% if rates rise 1%. In a rising rate environment, shorter-duration bonds lose less value. In a falling rate environment, longer-duration bonds gain more. Duration is the single most important risk metric for bond portfolios — more useful than maturity alone because it accounts for the timing and size of all cash flows.

Premium vs. Discount Bonds Signal Market Expectations

When a bond trades above par (premium), the market is saying its coupon is higher than current yields demand — you're paying extra for above-market income. When it trades below par (discount), the coupon is below market rates. Neither is inherently better: premium bonds provide more current income but lose value at maturity, while discount bonds provide less income but gain value. The YTM equalizes these tradeoffs, which is why two bonds with different prices and coupons can have identical YTMs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Methodology

Yield to maturity is computed using Newton's method (Newton-Raphson iteration) to solve for the discount rate that equates the present value of all future cash flows (coupons + face value) to the bond's current market price. The algorithm converges to a solution within 100 iterations at a precision of 1e-8.

Macaulay duration is the weighted average time to receive cash flows, where weights are the present values of each cash flow divided by the bond price. Modified duration equals Macaulay duration divided by (1 + yield/frequency). Convexity is the second derivative of the price-yield function, measuring the curvature of the price response to yield changes.

This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. Not investment advice. Bond calculations assume standard fixed-rate bonds with no embedded options. Actual returns may differ due to reinvestment risk, credit events, and market conditions.