Enter a beginning inventory balance, one purchase, and units sold to compare ending inventory value under both methods. For the fuller picture of what these numbers mean for your accounts, see inventory valuation, or check how inventory shows up on the balance sheet.
Inventory Valuation Calculator
Ending inventory value (weighted average)
$1335.00
FIFO ending value: $1425.00 · 150 units remaining · weighted average cost: $8.90/unit
How to use this number
This calculator handles one beginning balance and one purchase, which is enough to see how far apart weighted average and FIFO land for your actual cost movement. A real period usually has several purchases at different costs — the same logic extends, just with more purchase lots to track through in order.
If the two methods give very different numbers, that gap is a signal your unit costs are moving meaningfully period to period — worth knowing regardless of which method your books actually use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does inventory valuation matter for my balance sheet and COGS?
Inventory valuation is putting a dollar figure on the stock you currently hold, for the balance sheet and for cost-of-goods-sold calculations. The two most common methods — weighted average and FIFO — can give a meaningfully different ending value for the exact same physical stock when unit costs have changed between purchases.
What is the difference between weighted average and FIFO?
Weighted average blends every unit in stock into one cost, regardless of when it was bought. FIFO ("first in, first out") assumes the oldest units are sold first, so ending inventory is valued at the cost of your most recent purchases. When costs are rising, FIFO tends to show a higher ending inventory value than weighted average; when costs are falling, the reverse.
Which method should I use?
That's an accounting policy decision, not just a calculation — check with your accountant, since the method affects reported profit and tax timing, and switching methods later isn't a casual change. This calculator shows both so you can see how much they actually diverge for your numbers.
Does this calculator save my numbers?
No. This is a client-side calculation only — nothing is sent to a server or saved. Refreshing the page resets it to the defaults.
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