1. Project Management
  2. Plan vs Reality

Cost Variance

Money

Cost Variance represents the difference between the expected costs (budgeted) and the actual costs at a given point in the project. This KPI is instrumental in tracking the financial health of the project.

Formula

Cost Variance = Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AC)

Example

If the earned value of a task is $10,000 and the actual cost is $9,000, the cost variance is $1,000.