Future value calculator 2026: savings and goal planner
Last revised: November 6, 2026 · By the FintechZoom Markets Desk, reviewed under our editorial policy
This future value calculator projects what a starting balance and regular deposits could grow to by a set date at an annual return you choose, and shows the result in today’s dollars. The example below starts with $10,000, adds $500 at the end of each month and assumes 8 percent a year compounded monthly for 10 years: it grows to $113,669.42, or $84,580.72 at 3 percent inflation. Goal mode works the other way and finds the monthly amount needed to reach a target. The 8 percent is an example input, not a forecast.
Growth projection
See compounding take shape
The line assumes a constant return. Real investments usually move unevenly and may lose value.
Year-by-year growth
| Year | Beginning balance | Contributions | Estimated growth | Ending balance | Today’s dollars |
|---|
Calculation summary
Your money and estimated growth, clearly separated.
Your result combines the starting balance, recurring deposits and estimated compound growth.
Why compare scenarios?
A small return change can create a large difference over a long horizon. The comparison above uses the same deposits and timing, changing only the hypothetical annual return, 2 percentage points down and up.
How this calculator works
For a single amount invested now, the future value is:
FV = PV × (1 + r/n)n × t
PV is the starting investment, r is the annual return as a decimal, n is the number of compounding periods a year and t is the number of years. For a level deposit PMT made at the end of every compounding period, with i = r/n and N = n × t, the deposits add:
FVdeposits = PMT × ((1 + i)N − 1) ÷ i
Deposits made at the start of each period earn one more period of growth, so that part is multiplied by (1 + i). When the return is 0 percent, the future value is simply the starting investment plus all deposits.
Deposits and compounding on different schedules
The calculator does not assume that deposits and compounding happen on the same schedule. It places each deposit on its own date and grows the balance between dates by (1 + r/n)n × Δt, where Δt is the time between deposits in years. That is the same as using the equivalent rate per deposit period, (1 + r/n)n/c − 1, where c is the number of deposits a year. With the example inputs, changing only the compounding frequency gives:
| Compounding (8 percent a year, $500 monthly deposits) | Rate applied per month | Future value after 10 years |
|---|---|---|
| Annually | 0.6434 percent | $111,651.39 |
| Monthly | 0.6667 percent | $113,669.42 |
| Daily (365) | 0.6688 percent | $113,858.47 |
Annual increase, partial years and today’s dollars
- Annual contribution increase: every deposit in year 1 uses the amount you enter. The raise applies from the first deposit of year 2, for both beginning-of-period and end-of-period timing, and again at the start of each later year.
- Partial years: a period such as 7.5 years compounds for the final half year too, using the same formula with a fractional exponent. The last row of the table is marked partial.
- Today’s dollars: the projected value is divided by (1 + inflation)t. The chart toggle and the table column use the same calculation.
- Scenario cards: the same deposits and timing at your return minus and plus 2 percentage points.
Worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with: $10,000 to start, $500 at the end of each month, 8 percent a year compounded monthly, 10 years and 3 percent inflation.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Starting investment | $10,000.00 |
| Deposits (120 × $500, end of month) | $60,000.00 |
| Lump sum part: 10,000 × (1 + 0.08/12)120 | $22,196.40 |
| Deposit part: 500 × ((1 + 0.08/12)120 − 1) ÷ (0.08/12) | $91,473.02 |
| Future value | $113,669.42 |
| Estimated growth | $43,669.42 |
| In today’s dollars: 113,669.42 ÷ 1.0310 | $84,580.72 |
| Same plan at 6 percent and 10 percent | $100,133.64 and $129,492.90 |
In goal mode with the same inputs, reaching $150,000 needs $698.59 a month, which projects to $150,000.67. If the $150,000 goal is in today’s dollars, the target at 3 percent inflation becomes $201,587.46 and the monthly amount rises to $980.57.
What return should you enter?
The return is the input that moves the result most, and nobody knows future returns. FintechZoom does not forecast them here. These official sources help set a sensible range:
- Stocks: the SEC’s Investor.gov guide to asset allocation says stocks have historically had the greatest risk and highest returns among the three main asset categories, and that large company stocks as a group have lost money in about one year out of three on average.
- Bonds: the same guide says bonds are generally less volatile than stocks but offer more modest returns.
- Cash and insured deposits: the guide calls cash equivalents the safest of the three with the lowest return, and names inflation as their main risk. The FDIC publishes national average deposit rates each month:
| Insured deposit product | FDIC national rate, October 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Savings | 0.38 percent |
| Money market | 0.63 percent |
| 12-month CD | 1.76 percent |
| 60-month CD | 1.41 percent |
Individual banks pay more or less than these averages. Because a fixed rate smooths out good and bad years, run a lower and a higher rate as well; the scenario cards do this for 2 points either side. Investor.gov’s own compound interest calculator takes the same approach with a rate variance range.
What each input means
- Starting investment: the amount invested at the start.
- Recurring contribution and contribution frequency: the amount added each month, quarter or year.
- Estimated annual return: a nominal yearly rate before inflation, taxes and fees. Negative rates down to minus 99 percent are allowed.
- Investment period: 0.01 to 100 years.
- Compounding frequency: how often returns are credited (annually, semi-annually, quarterly, monthly or daily on a 365-day year).
- Contribution timing: beginning of period if money arrives at the start of each month, quarter or year; end of period if it arrives at the end, as with most paycheck savings.
- Annual contribution increase: a yearly raise in the deposit, applied from year 2.
- Estimated inflation rate: used only for the value in today’s dollars and for goals entered in today’s dollars. The default is 3 percent; consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in the 12 months to September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Savings goal (goal mode): the amount you want at the end of the period, in future dollars or today’s dollars.
Future value, present value and compound interest
Future value is what money is projected to be worth on a later date. Present value runs the same formula backward and tells you what a future amount is worth now. Compound interest is the growth on earlier growth that links the two. If you want the interest side in detail, with APY, withdrawals and a rate range you set, use the compound interest calculator. This page is for planning toward an amount: raises in your deposits, the value in today’s dollars and the contribution a goal needs. To see how prices have changed in the past, try the inflation calculator.
Limitations
- One fixed return every year. Real returns vary, and a bad year near the end of the period has a bigger effect than the average suggests.
- No taxes, fund expense ratios, advisory fees or account charges.
- No withdrawals; contributions cannot be negative.
- US dollars only. Inflation is a single flat rate.
- Results are estimates for education and planning, not a quote, a guarantee or personalized investment advice.
Future value calculator FAQs
What is the future value formula?
For a single amount, FV = PV × (1 + r/n) raised to the power n × t, where PV is the amount invested now, r is the annual rate as a decimal, n is the number of compounding periods a year and t is the number of years. For a level deposit made at the end of every compounding period, add PMT × ((1 + i) raised to the power N, minus 1) ÷ i, where i = r/n and N = n × t. For deposits at the start of each period, multiply that deposit part by (1 + i).
How does the calculator handle monthly deposits with daily or annual compounding?
It converts the annual rate to the equivalent rate for each deposit period: (1 + r/n) raised to the power n/c, minus 1, where c is the number of deposits a year. At 8 percent compounded annually, each monthly deposit grows by 0.6434 percent a month. With the opening example the result is $111,651.39 with annual compounding, $113,669.42 with monthly compounding and $113,858.47 with daily compounding.
How do I work out the monthly amount needed to reach a goal?
Use goal mode under the calculator. It takes the starting amount, return, period, compounding, timing and any annual increase from the main form and solves for the regular contribution, rounded up to the cent. With $10,000 to start, 8 percent compounded monthly and 10 years, a $150,000 goal needs $698.59 at the end of each month. Your $10,000 alone would grow to $22,196.40.
What annual return should I enter?
There is no single right number, so try a few. The SEC’s Investor.gov guide to asset allocation says stocks have historically had the greatest risk and highest returns of the three main asset categories, and that large company stocks have lost money in about one year out of three on average. Cash equivalents have the lowest return. For insured deposits, the FDIC national rate for savings accounts was 0.38 percent as of October 19, 2026. The scenario cards show your rate 2 points lower and higher.
When does the annual contribution increase start?
With the first deposit of year 2. Every deposit in year 1 uses the amount you enter, and each later year’s deposits are raised by the percentage you set. For example, $1,000 a year at the end of each year, 7 percent compounded annually, a 2 percent yearly raise and 30 years grows to $116,017.87 from $40,568.08 of deposits.
What does the value in today’s dollars mean?
It is the projected balance divided by (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years, so it shows roughly what that future sum could buy at today’s prices. The calculator uses 3 percent by default. For comparison, consumer prices rose 3.7 percent in the 12 months to September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics release of October 14, 2026.
How is this different from the FintechZoom compound interest calculator?
The compound interest calculator is built around interest on a balance, with APY, withdrawals and a rate range you choose. This future value calculator is for planning toward an amount by a date: it adds yearly contribution raises, a value in today’s dollars and goal mode, which solves for the contribution needed. Both use the same compounding math, so the same inputs give the same balance.
Can I enter a period that is not a whole number of years?
Yes. The calculator compounds for the fraction of the period too, so $1,000 at 10 percent compounded annually for half a year grows to $1,048.81, which is 1,000 × 1.1 raised to the power 0.5. Some banks pay simple interest for a part period instead, which gives a slightly different figure.
Does the result include taxes, fees or market losses?
No. The projection assumes the same return every year, with no taxes, fund fees or account charges. Real investments rise and fall from year to year, and fees and taxes reduce what you keep. Treat the result as an illustration of your assumptions, not a forecast or a promise.
How we check this calculator
On November 6, 2026 we read the calculator code line by line and ran six test plans, including monthly deposits with daily compounding and a yearly contribution raise, plus edge cases (a half-year period, 100 years with daily compounding, a minus 99 percent return, quarterly deposits with monthly compounding). We compared every result with an independent calculation of the formulas above, and all matched to the cent. The math was already correct; the printed formula had lost its exponent, and that is fixed. We also checked the deposit formula against the period-by-period schedule in the Calculator.net future value calculator. Goal mode was added and tested by solving for a contribution and projecting it forward, which reaches the goal every time.
Revision history: November 6, 2026, page renamed to future value calculator, goal mode, return guide and method notes added, formula display fixed, FAQ rewritten; previous edition September 21, 2026.
Related: compound interest calculator, inflation calculator, Social Security calculator, income tax calculator, ETF guide, Treasury rates, all calculators.
Sources: SEC Investor.gov, Beginners’ Guide to Asset Allocation; SEC Investor.gov, savings goal calculator; SEC Investor.gov, compound interest calculator; FDIC, National Rates and Rate Caps (October 2026); BLS, Consumer Price Index news release; Calculator.net, future value calculator.
This calculator gives educational estimates from the figures you enter. It is not investment, tax or financial advice, and past returns do not guarantee future results. See our disclaimer.
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