Compound Interest Calculator

Calculate compound interest with monthly or annual contributions: final balance, interest earned, growth over time. Adjust rates and periods freely. Free.

Compound interest is the reason "start early" is the most repeated advice in personal finance — and it is hard to feel until you see the curve. Enter a starting amount, interest rate, and contribution schedule, and this calculator projects the final balance with the interest portion separated from principal.

Adjust the rate and timeline freely to stress-test assumptions: the difference between 6% and 8% over 30 years, or starting five years earlier, is usually far larger than intuition suggests.

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Personal Finance/Compound Interest Calculator

Compound Interest Calculator

See how your money grows over time with regular contributions, inflation adjustment, multi-scenario comparison, and growth charts.

INFLATION-ADJ + CHARTS5 frequenciesInflation adjYear scheduleReal value
$
$
$691,150final balance
Effective APY: 7.23%
Your inputs
Principal:$10,000Monthly:$500Rate:7%Years:30Compounded:MonthlyContributing:End of period
What APY meansAPY is what you actually earn per year after compounding. A 7% nominal rate that compounds monthly works out to 7.23% APY — the gap is the compounding effect.
Growth Chart
Scenario AContributions (A)
$0k$200k$400k$600k$800k0y2y4y6y8y10y12y14y16y18y20y22y24y26y28y30y
Drag to zoom · scroll to zoom · click to reset
Hover to inspect · drag on the chart to zoom the timeline · double-click or use Reset zoom to go back
Total Contributions$190,000
Total Interest Earned+$501,150
All-Time Return on Money In263.8%
Real Value (after 2.5% inflation)$329,501
Real valueYour balance restated in today's purchasing power after ~2.5%/yr inflation — it shows how much future dollars will really be worth.
Total interestThe growth on top of what you personally invested 27% of your final balance came from your own contributions; the rest is compounded interest.
All-time returnYour money multiplied by 3.64× over 30 years — total interest equals 263.8% of everything you put in. Unlike APY, this measures the whole journey including every deposit.
Make the Most of Compound Interest
Switching contributions to the start of each period gives every deposit one extra compounding period — a free boost with no extra savings.
30 years is a long runway — most of your final balance is interest, so avoid early withdrawals and stay invested.
After inflation, your balance buys about $329,501 in today's money — set goals in real terms, not nominal dollars.
Year-by-Year Schedule
YearBalanceContributionsInterest
1$16919$16000+$919
2$24339$22000+$2339
3$32294$28000+$4294
4$40825$34000+$6825
5$49973$40000+$9973
6$59782$46000+$13782
7$70299$52000+$18299
8$81578$58000+$23578
9$93671$64000+$29671
10$106639$70000+$36639
11$120544$76000+$44544
12$135455$82000+$53455
13$151443$88000+$63443
14$168587$94000+$74587
15$186971$100000+$86971
16$206683$106000+$100683
17$227820$112000+$115820
18$250486$118000+$132486
19$274790$124000+$150790
20$300851$130000+$170851
21$328796$136000+$192796
22$358760$142000+$216760
23$390892$148000+$242892
24$425345$154000+$271345
25$462290$160000+$302290
26$501905$166000+$335905
27$544384$172000+$372384
28$589934$178000+$411934
29$638777$184000+$454777
30$691150$190000+$501150
Compound interest formula
A = P·(1 + r/n)n·t + PMT·[((1 + r/n)n·t − 1) / (r/n)]

P = principal · PMT = monthly contribution · r = annual rate · n = compounding periods per year · t = years. This calculator uses the exact period-compounded form and honors in-period contribution timing (start vs end).

Worked example

With monthly compounding at 7% on a starting 10,000 and 500/month contributed at the end of each period for 30 years:

  1. Final balance:$691,150
  2. You contributed:$190,000
  3. Interest earned:+$501,150
Roughly how long to double your principal alone at 7% (Rule of 72)≈ 10.3 years
Data Source & Legal Disclaimer
Effective: Inflation rate: 2.5% (BLS 2025 trailing 12mo average)Last updated: 2 months agoUpdate: Monthly

The 2.5% inflation adjustment is based on the trailing 12-month CPI-U average. Actual inflation varies. Investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance does not predict future results. This is for estimation only — consult a financial advisor.

Why compounding grows faster — illustrated
07y14y21y30y$0$200k$400k$600kWith compoundingContributions onlyinterest on interest

The shaded band between the two curves is interest earned on interest. Compounding is slow at first, then accelerates — the longer the horizon, the wider the gap.

About this compound interest calculator

This page covers compound interest formula calculator, investment growth calculator, savings compound calculator, interest compounding monthly calculator — all the same underlying task as compound interest calculator. The tool above is FreeToolHub's compound embedded in full: every feature works right here, and nothing you process is uploaded to any server.

Frequently asked questions

What is the compound interest formula?

A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt) for a principal P at annual rate r compounded n times per year over t years. Regular contributions add an annuity term. This calculator handles the full schedule — monthly deposits, compounding frequency, and time — so you do not have to fight the algebra.

Is compound interest the same as APY?

APY (annual percentage yield) is what compounding does to a nominal rate over one year — 6% compounded monthly is 6.17% APY. When comparing savings accounts and investments, compare APYs; when projecting growth over years, use the calculator with your actual contribution schedule.

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