Future Value Calculator
With amount today 10000 usd, added each month 200 usd, annual return 7 percent, years 20 years, future value comes to $144,572.72 — future value. It is reached in 8 steps, the last of which is 40387.388 + 104185.33, and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by SEC investor.gov, not an approximation fitted to it.
What a sum becomes after compounding, with or without regular additions, and how much of the result is the money you put in rather than the return.
Formula and sources checked · How we check
Amount today 10000, Added each month 200, Annual return 7, Years 20 years
$144,572.72
Future value for the example below. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.
It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.
- Compounding factor, (1 + i)ⁿ
pow(1 + 0.0058333, 240)4.039- What the lump sum becomes
10000 * 4.0387388$40,387- What the contributions become
200 * (4.0387388 - 1) / 0.0058333 * (1)$104,185- Future value
40387.388 + 104185.33$144,573- Total you put in
10000 + 200 * 240$58,000- Of which return
144572.72 - 58000$86,573- Share of the total that is return
86572.72 / 144572.72 * 10059.882- Years to double at this rate
log(2) / log(1 + 7 / 100)10.245
Worked example
$10,000 today plus $200 a month for twenty years at 7% comes to $144,573. You contribute $58,000 of that and the market supplies $86,573 — 60% of the ending balance is return, which is the whole argument for starting early rather than saving more later.
How to work it out yourself
- 1.Separate the two engines. The lump sum grows by (1 + i)ⁿ and the contributions grow as an annuity; the second dominates over long horizons and small starting balances, which is why "I have nothing to invest with" is answered by the monthly figure rather than the lump.
- 2.Use a real return if you are planning in today’s money. 7% nominal on equities is about 4.5% after long-run inflation, and a twenty-year projection at the nominal rate overstates what the money will buy.
- 3.Check whether contributions land at the start or the end of the month. An annuity due earns one extra period on every payment — worth about 0.6% over twenty years at 7%, which is small but free if your payroll allows it.
Future value by return
| Annual return (percent) | Future value | Future value | Of which return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | $83,867.95 | $83,868 | $25,868 |
| 5 | $109,333.14 | $109,333 | $51,333 |
| 6 | $125,510.22 | $125,510 | $67,510 |
| 7 | $144,572.72 | $144,573 | $86,573 |
| 9 | $193,668.89 | $193,669 | $135,669 |
| 11 | $262,477.76 | $262,478 | $204,478 |
The formula
- Compounding factor, (1 + i)ⁿ
pow(1 + 0.0058333, 240) - What the lump sum becomes
10000 * 4.0387388 - What the contributions become
200 * (4.0387388 - 1) / 0.0058333 * (1) - Future value
40387.388 + 104185.33 - Total you put in
10000 + 200 * 240 - Of which return
144572.72 - 58000 - Share of the total that is return
86572.72 / 144572.72 * 100 - Years to double at this rate
log(2) / log(1 + 7 / 100)
Source: SEC investor.gov — compound interest calculator and the formula behind it, CFPB — the effect of regular saving over time
Questions people actually ask
- What is the future value formula?
- FV = PV × (1 + i)ⁿ for a lump sum, plus PMT × ((1 + i)ⁿ − 1) ÷ i for regular contributions, where i is the rate per period and n the number of periods. Both terms are computed here monthly, which is how a savings account or a payroll deduction actually compounds.
- How long does it take money to double?
- ln(2) ÷ ln(1 + r). At 7% that is 10.2 years, which is where the "rule of 72" comes from: dividing 72 by the rate gives a shade over ten years here, close enough for arithmetic in your head and wrong by a few months at the extremes.
- Why is most of the ending balance return rather than contributions?
- Because early contributions compound for the whole term. In the example above, 60% of the final $144,333 is growth: the first year’s $2,400 has nineteen years to work, the last year’s has none, and the difference between those two is what "start early" means numerically.
Related
- Present Value CalculatorWhat a future sum, or a stream of payments, is worth today at a given discount rate. Names what the wait costs, as money and as a share of the nominal total.
- Compound Interest CalculatorFuture value of a starting balance plus monthly contributions, separating what you put in from what the interest earned.
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