Free money calculator
See how an initial investment and regular monthly contributions may grow over time.
Illustration only. Actual investment returns fluctuate and may be negative.
Compound growth means returns are calculated on both your original principal and previously accumulated returns. Regular contributions can have a major effect over long periods.
Compare conservative and optimistic return assumptions instead of relying on one forecast. This calculator does not include taxes, fees, inflation, or market volatility.
Method modeled after the educational inputs used by the SEC Investor.gov calculator.
It projects how a starting amount plus regular monthly contributions could grow over time when returns compound at a chosen frequency. It separates the total future value into what you actually contributed versus what came from growth, which makes it easier to see how much of an investment goal is realistic to reach through contributions alone versus how much depends on market returns.
Starting with $10,000 and contributing $500 a month for 20 years at an assumed 7% annual return, compounded monthly, projects to roughly $300,000. Of that total, about $130,000 comes from the $10,000 starting balance plus contributions, and the remaining $170,000 comes from compound growth — illustrating why starting early and contributing consistently tends to matter more over long horizons than the exact starting amount.
It changes how often earned interest is added back to the balance so it can itself start earning returns. More frequent compounding produces a slightly higher future value at the same nominal annual rate, though the difference is usually modest.
Comparing a conservative and an optimistic assumption side by side gives a more realistic sense of the range of outcomes than relying on a single number, since real investment returns vary from year to year.
No. The result is shown in nominal future dollars. If you want a rough sense of purchasing power, you can separately reduce the projected result by an assumed inflation rate.
The inputs are modeled after the educational structure used by the SEC's Investor.gov compound interest calculator, adapted here with a simpler interface.