From the ACV vs RCV guideFree tool

How much would your insurance actually pay?

Pick a household, edit it, or add your own items. We'll show you the gap between what it costs to replace your stuff (RCV) and what an ACV-only insurance policy would cut you a check for today.

Start from a preset

Pick the closest household — customize it below.

Replacement cost (RCV)
$27,100
What it costs to buy new today
Insurance pays (ACV)
$10,891
What an ACV policy would cut you a check for
The gap
$16,209
Out-of-pocket if you only have ACV

Your household

15 items · Edit any cell, or add your own.

Coverage at a glance
How much of your replacement cost ACV actually covers.
ACV (covered)Gap
Where the gap lives
Top 10 items by insurance gap. Sorted by where you'd lose the most.
Fast-forward the disaster
What if the loss happens today?
yr
Today+10 yrs
The two-check trap
RCV policies don't pay you all at once. You get ACV up front, then have to front the cash to replace everything before the holdback (Check 2) lands.
Day 0
Claim filed
~Day 30
Check 1 (ACV)
$10,891
~Day 180
Check 2 (holdback)
$16,209
You float in the meantime
You'll need to spend roughly $27,100 to replace everything, but only $10,891 is in hand. The remaining $16,209 sits on your credit card until receipts are submitted — and there's a deadline (often 180 days) to claim it.
Close the gap before you need to

Your $16,209 gap is what insurers won't pay without proof.

Manifest builds your home inventory with AI — snap photos, forward receipts, get an insurance-ready PDF. Documentation is the only thing that turns ACV into RCV in a real claim.

Start your free inventory Read the full ACV vs RCV guide
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How this calculator works

Two policies can insure the same living room and write very different checks after a loss. An RCV (Replacement Cost Value) policy pays what it costs to buy your things new today. An ACV (Actual Cash Value) policy pays the depreciated value, roughly what your used couch and four-year-old TV would sell for secondhand.

For each item, the calculator starts from the replacement cost, estimates how far through its useful life it is, and subtracts that depreciation (ACV = replacement cost minus depreciation). Add it up across a furnished home and the gap between the two checks usually lands in the thousands. Pick a preset, edit the items, or add your own, and the totals update as you go.

Common questions

What is the difference between ACV and RCV?

ACV (Actual Cash Value) is the depreciated, secondhand value of your property at the time of loss. RCV (Replacement Cost Value) is what it costs to buy a comparable item new. The difference is depreciation, and across a furnished household it often runs past $10,000.

How is ACV calculated?

The insurer starts from the replacement cost, assumes a useful lifespan, and subtracts depreciation for the years you've owned the item. A five-year-old laptop on an eight-year lifespan is about 62% depreciated, so a $1,400 replacement pays around $525 in ACV.

Is ACV or RCV better?

For a furnished home, RCV almost always wins. It runs $100 to $150 more a year and can pay thousands more on a single claim. ACV-only coverage makes sense mainly when the lower premium matters more to you than the size of the payout.

Does this calculator work for a car or a roof?

No. This calculator is for household contents like furniture, electronics, appliances, and clothing. Cars and structural parts of the house like the roof depreciate on different schedules and fall under separate coverage.

Keep reading

Two other ways your check shrinks — and one playbook for the day you need it.

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The 80% rule and the sub-limits most homeowners miss

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ACV vs RCV: what your claim is actually worth

The full guide behind this calculator. Why depreciation schedules exist, the two-check trap, and five ways to fight a lowball.

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What to do after a house fire or burglary

A step-by-step claim checklist for the first 24 hours, working with adjusters, and getting a fair settlement.

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Educational tool. Depreciation rates are based on publicly documented insurance industry tables (4 preset households included) and are not a substitute for your carrier's actual schedule or a public adjuster's appraisal.