Is undergraduate research worth it?

In every program I've been involved in, undergraduate research in some form has been considered a positive, and often the most compelling single piece of an application (the other being letters...especially letters discussing undergraduate research).

It is undeniably a positive, but perhaps not for the reason you think.

If your undergrad project is similar to the research of someone you plan to apply to, that is certainly a benefit, but more importantly: it demonstrates you understand what graduate school is about. PIs like to know that the students they hire have an idea of what they're getting themselves into. To the extent your project accomplishes that, you will have a leg up