Savings Calculator
Calculate your savings growth over time with compound interest and regular deposits.
| Year | Deposits This Year | Interest This Year | Balance |
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Project how an initial deposit plus regular monthly contributions grows over time with compound interest, and see how long it would take to reach a specific savings goal.
How Savings Calculator Works
The calculator simulates your account month by month rather than using a single formula: each month it adds your monthly deposit to the running balance, then applies that month's interest as balance × (annual rate ÷ 12), so every dollar — old balance and new deposit alike — starts earning interest the same month it lands in the account.
The "Compounding Frequency" you select doesn't change this month-by-month simulation, which always applies interest monthly; instead, it feeds a separate "Effective Annual Yield" figure — (1 + rate ÷ n)^n − 1 — so you can see how your nominal rate compares to the true annual return at daily, weekly, quarterly, or annual compounding for comparison against other accounts.
If you set a savings goal, the calculator scans the simulation for the first month your balance meets or exceeds it and reports that as years and months. The yearly table below breaks out how much of each year's growth came from your own deposits versus interest earned.
See It In Action
Who Uses Savings Calculator and Why
- Projecting how a savings account balance grows with a starting deposit plus consistent monthly contributions.
- Finding out how many years and months it will take to reach a specific savings goal at your current contribution rate.
- Comparing your account's nominal rate against its effective annual yield to judge it against other accounts.
- Seeing how much of your projected balance comes from your own deposits versus interest earned each year.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming the compounding frequency selector changes your projected balance — it doesn't; the month-by-month simulation always applies interest monthly using rate ÷ 12, and the selector only affects the separately displayed Effective Annual Yield figure.
- Treating the projected interest as after-tax — the calculator projects gross interest earned, and interest on standard savings accounts and CDs is generally taxable, so real after-tax growth will be somewhat lower.
- Assuming a constant monthly deposit assumption still applies after a major change to your budget — the projection assumes the same contribution amount for the full period, so a mid-plan change should be re-run with updated figures.
Tips for Best Results
- Use the Effective Annual Yield figure, not the nominal rate, when comparing this account against another one that compounds at a different frequency.
- Set a specific savings goal to get the "time to reach goal" figure — it's more actionable than just watching the year-by-year balance table.
Fixing Common Problems
Changing the compounding frequency setting didn't change my projected ending balance. — This is expected — the month-by-month simulation always compounds monthly regardless of the selector; the compounding frequency setting only changes the separately shown Effective Annual Yield figure used for comparing against other accounts.
Terms Explained
Effective Annual Yield: The true annual return an account produces once its compounding frequency is factored in, shown here as (1 + rate ÷ n)^n − 1.
Time to reach goal: The first month in the simulation where the projected balance meets or exceeds your entered savings goal.