Work out the future value of a starting balance, regular deposits, or both — with compounding frequency and deposit timing properly separated.
Either one is enough — a starting balance, regular deposits, or both.
Estimates only. A fixed annual return is an assumption, not a forecast — real markets vary year to year, and the figures here are before tax, fees and inflation.
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Future value answers one question: put this much in, add this much regularly, leave it for this long — what is it worth at the end? This calculator handles all three cases (a lump sum, a stream of deposits, or both) and keeps the two frequencies honest: how often the account compounds and how often you deposit are separate settings, and changing either one moves the answer.
A lump sum grows by FV = PV × (1 + r ÷ n)^(n × t): the annual rate divided by the number of compounding periods, applied once per period. A stream of deposits grows by the annuity formula, FV = PMT × ((1 + i)^m − 1) ÷ i, where i is the rate ONE deposit period earns and m is the number of deposits. The step most calculators skip is deriving i correctly — if the account compounds annually but you deposit monthly, i is (1 + r)^(1/12) − 1, not r ÷ 12. Using r ÷ 12 silently compounds monthly and overstates the result: $500 a month for 20 years at 7% is $253,768 with annual compounding, but $260,463 if you use the shortcut.
Future value formula
The most common case: "if I put away $500 a month for 20 years at 7%, what do I end up with?" Leave the starting balance empty and enter the deposit.
An inheritance, a bonus, a rollover. Enter the balance, leave the deposit empty, and see what time alone does.
Contributions taken at the start of each pay period earn an extra period of growth. Set the timing to "start of period" to price that properly.
The rate ladder prices half a point either way on your own numbers, which is more useful than arguing about whether to assume 6% or 7%.
If an advisor or a website quoted a number, reproduce it here — and check whether their compounding assumption matches yours.
They are two different settings and both matter. Depositing monthly into an annually-compounded account is not the same as monthly compounding, and conflating them overstates a 20-year plan by thousands.
A deposit at the start of the period earns one more period of growth than one at the end — the whole result is multiplied by (1 + i). On $500 a month for 20 years at 7% that is about $1,435.
Over long horizons the interest outgrows the money you put in. This calculator shows that split explicitly, because it is the argument for starting early.
Once compounding is counted, the effective yield is higher than the nominal rate. That effective figure is what makes two accounts comparable.
About $253,768 if the account compounds annually, of which $120,000 is money you deposited and $133,768 is growth. With monthly compounding it is $260,463. The gap between those two figures is exactly why the compounding setting matters — many calculators quietly assume the second.
For a lump sum, FV = PV × (1 + r ÷ n)^(n × t). For a series of deposits, FV = PMT × ((1 + i)^m − 1) ÷ i, where i is the rate one deposit period earns and m is the number of deposits. When you have both, add them: the lump sum and the deposits grow independently and neither affects the other.
They are the same equation solved for different ends. Future value asks what today's money becomes later; present value asks what later money is worth today. FV multiplies by the growth factor, PV divides by it. Use the present value calculator for the reverse direction.
It depends on the real timing, and it is worth about one extra period of growth — the whole deposit result is multiplied by (1 + i). Payroll deductions and rent-style payments land at the start; most savings transfers people set up land at the end. On $500 a month for 20 years at 7% the difference is roughly $1,435.
No — the figure is nominal and before tax. To think in today's money, subtract your inflation assumption from the return rate and run it again: 7% growth with 3% inflation is roughly a 4% real rate. Taxes depend on the account type, and a tax-sheltered account changes the answer materially.
That is a judgement, not a calculation, and this tool deliberately does not pick one for you. People commonly model a diversified stock portfolio in the 6-8% range before inflation and a cash account at whatever it currently pays. Whatever you choose, run the rate ladder — seeing the spread is more honest than trusting a single number.
The deposit half uses the future value of an annuity formula, yes. But an annuity as a PRODUCT — what a contract pays out, and ordinary versus due as a contractual term — is a different question; use the annuity calculator for that. This page is about what a savings or investing plan grows into.
Usually one of three things: a different compounding frequency, deposits assumed at the other end of the period, or fees deducted before growth. Match all three settings here and the figures should line up. If they still do not, the difference is almost always fees.