Project future college costs, estimate your 529 plan growth, and find the monthly contribution you need.
College costs based on 2025-2026 averages: Public in-state ~$28.5K, out-of-state ~$47K, private ~$62.5K per year. Assumes 4% annual cost growth. Investment returns are not guaranteed.
A 529 plan is an after-tax investment account whose earnings grow federal-tax-free, and withdrawals are tax-free as long as they pay for qualified expenses — tuition, fees, room and board, and required books. Because money compounds for a decade or more, the contribution barely matters compared to time in the market: a $10,000 lump sum plus $300/mo at 6% grows to about $92,000 by the time a 5-year-old turns 18, versus roughly $57,000 if the same cash sat uninvested. Meanwhile the price of college is rising faster than general inflation — about 4%/yr on a 2025-26 in-state public cost of ~$28,500/yr. Since SECURE 2.0, unused 529 money can also roll into the child's Roth IRA (up to $35,000 lifetime, once the account is 15 years old), so overfunding is no longer wasted.
A 5-year-old, $10,000 in a 529, $300/mo added, 6% expected return. The four-year in-state public cost grows to about $190K while savings reach about $92K — a 48% funding ratio.
Dana is 5. Her parents hold $10,000 in a 529 plan and add $300/mo, expecting 6% annual growth. An in-state public college currently costs $28,500/yr and is rising 4% a year.
Project future college costs and estimate 529 plan growth. Find the monthly contribution you need. Public in-state to private. Free, no signup.
The College Savings (529) Calculator projects what a degree will cost when your child enrolls and whether your saving pace covers it. You set the child's age on a 0-17 slider, pick one of three school types carrying current annual cost baselines of $28,500 public in-state, $47,000 out-of-state, or $62,500 private, choose two to six years in college, then enter current savings, a monthly contribution, and an expected annual return from 0% to 12%. Costs inflate at 4% per year until age 18. The engine compounds current savings annually and contributions monthly, then reports projected savings, the shortfall or surplus, a funding percentage, and the monthly contribution that would fully fund the goal.
New parents opening a 529 plan use it to translate a distant, intimidating total into a concrete monthly figure. Parents of pre-teens discover how little runway remains, since a 15-year-old has only three years of compounding and the required contribution spikes accordingly; useful, uncomfortable information. Families debating school type compare the in-state and private funding gaps side by side before setting expectations with a teenager. Grandparents weighing a lump-sum gift see the future value of money deposited today. Anyone nervous about markets drags the return slider below the default 6% to stress-test the plan. The two-to-six-year duration control also fits associate degrees and graduate programs, not just the standard four-year path.
(1) Set the inputs; the sample models a 5-year-old, a public in-state school, four years, $10,000 already saved, $300 per month, and a 6% expected return. (2) The engine computes three pieces: the future annual cost, which is the $28,500 baseline grown at 4% for thirteen years and multiplied by years in college; the future value of current savings compounded annually; and the future value of monthly contributions compounded at a monthly rate. The funding ratio divides projected savings by projected cost, landing near half in the sample. (3) Act on the gap: when a shortfall appears, an amber panel solves for the required monthly contribution, roughly $716 here, and shows how much that exceeds your current deposit.
The most valuable output is the recommended monthly contribution: the deposit that closes the entire funding gap. The solver subtracts the future value of your existing savings from the total projected cost, then runs the annuity formula backwards to find the monthly payment that grows into exactly that remainder over the years remaining. Two levers dominate the answer. Time is first: starting at birth rather than age five removes five years of 4% cost inflation and adds five years of compounding, which can cut the required deposit dramatically. School type is second: switching the sample child from in-state to private more than doubles the target. The panel also states the gap versus your current contribution, so the next step is a specific number, not a vague worry.
It projects 529 plan growth using your current balance, monthly contribution, expected annual return (default 6% based on conservative age-based portfolio averages), and years until college. It factors in 529 tax-free growth and withdrawals for qualified education expenses. The tool also projects future college costs using historical 5% annual tuition inflation.
For a public in-state university (~$25,000/year in 2026), saving $400/month from birth at 6% return covers ~70% of 4-year costs. For private university (~$55,000/year), aim for $800+/month. The tool calculates your specific gap between projected savings and projected costs, then shows the monthly contribution needed to close it.
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