Future Value Calculator
This future value calculator shows what money invested today, plus a fixed deposit every period, will be worth at a future date. Enter a starting amount, a regular payment, an annual interest rate and the number of years, choose how often payments are made and interest compounds, and you get the future value, how much you put in and how much came from interest.
Updated
Results
- Total contributedPresent value plus all payments
- Interest earnedFuture value minus total contributed
- Number of periodsYears × payments per year
Results are estimates. See the methodology below.
How to use the calculator
- Present value: the lump sum you have today. It can be $0 if you only make regular payments.
- Payment per period: the amount you add every period. With monthly frequency it is a monthly deposit; with annual frequency, a yearly one. Leave it at 0 for a single lump sum.
- Annual interest rate: the nominal yearly rate, or the average return you want to test.
- Years: how long the money stays invested, in steps of a quarter year.
- Frequency: annually, quarterly or monthly. Payments and compounding always use the same frequency.
- Advanced options: payments at the end of each period (ordinary annuity, the default) or at the start (annuity due).
The result shows the future value, the total you contributed, the interest earned and the number of periods used.
The future value formula
The calculator uses the standard time-value-of-money formula:
FV = PV × (1 + i)^n + PMT × [(1 + i)^n − 1] / i
- PV is the present value and PMT the payment per period.
- i is the periodic rate: the annual rate divided by the number of periods per year (1, 4 or 12).
- n is the number of periods: years × periods per year, rounded to a whole number.
The first term grows the lump sum; the second adds up every payment and the interest each one earns. When payments are made at the start of each period, the payment part is multiplied by (1 + i), because every deposit earns one extra period of interest. At a 0% rate, the future value is simply PV + PMT × n.
This is the same calculation as the FV function in Excel or Google Sheets and the FV key on a financial calculator. It differs from our compound interest calculator, which keeps monthly deposits separate from the compounding frequency and adds inflation and a year-by-year table. Here, one frequency drives everything, which is how most textbooks and loan or annuity problems are set up.
Assumptions: the rate is constant, every payment is the same and on time, nothing is withdrawn, and taxes and fees are not included.
Worked examples
1. A starting balance plus $100 a month
You invest $5,000 today and add $100 at the end of every month for 15 years at 6% a year, compounded monthly. That is 180 periods. The future value is $41,352.34: you contributed $23,000.00 and earned $18,352.34 in interest. Making each deposit at the start of the month instead raises the result to $41,497.75.
2. A single lump sum
$10,000 left for 10 years at 5% compounded annually, with no further payments, grows to $16,288.95, of which $6,288.95 is interest.
3. The cost of waiting
Saving $500 at the end of every month at 7% compounded monthly:
| Years | Total contributed | Future value |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $120,000.00 | $260,463.33 |
| 30 | $180,000.00 | $609,985.50 |
The extra ten years add $60,000 of deposits but about $349,522 of value, because the money already saved keeps compounding.
How to read your results
Compare interest earned with total contributed. Over short periods most of the future value is your own money; over decades, interest can become the larger part. Time and rate matter far more than compounding frequency.
The future value is a nominal amount: it does not account for inflation, so $100,000 in 25 years will buy less than $100,000 today. Investment returns are not fixed and can be negative, so treat a projected rate as a scenario and test a lower one too.
Frequently asked questions
What is future value?
Future value is what a sum of money, or a series of payments, will be worth at a later date once interest has been added. It is the core idea behind the time value of money: a dollar invested today can grow into more than a dollar later.
What is the difference between an ordinary annuity and an annuity due?
In an ordinary annuity each payment is made at the end of the period, as with most savings plans. In an annuity due payments come at the start, as with rent. An annuity due always has a slightly higher future value because each payment earns one more period of interest.
How do I get the same result in Excel?
Use =FV(rate/12, years*12, -payment, -present_value, type) for monthly periods, where type is 0 for end-of-period and 1 for start-of-period payments. The minus signs follow the spreadsheet convention that money you pay in is negative.
My bank quotes an APY. What rate should I enter?
APY already includes compounding. To reproduce it exactly, enter the APY and choose annual frequency. With monthly frequency the calculator treats the rate as nominal and divides it by 12, which gives a slightly higher effective yield than the APY.
Are taxes and fees included?
No. Results are before income or capital gains taxes, account fees and fund expense ratios. Tax-advantaged accounts such as 401(k)s and IRAs follow their own rules. To approximate costs, lower the rate you enter.
Why do I get an error when both amounts are zero?
With no present value and no payment there is nothing to grow, so the future value would always be $0. Enter a starting amount, a payment per period, or both.
Sources
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not financial, investment or tax advice. Actual results depend on rates, fees, taxes and market conditions.