Savings calculator.
See what regular saving adds up to. Enter what you start with, what you add each month, your rate and how long, and watch the balance and the interest grow, year by year.
Plan your savings
LiveFuture balance
$21,111
in 5 years
Assumes a constant rate; savings rates move. Estimate for planning, not financial advice. Calculations run in your browser; nothing you enter is stored.
How it works
How your savings grow
The calculator starts with your opening balance, adds your monthly deposit, and applies your rate each month so interest earns interest, which is compounding. The grey band is the money you paid in; the green band is the interest on top.
Starting with $1,000 and adding $300 a month at a 4% APY for 5 years reaches about $21,111. You deposit $19,000; the other $2,111 is interest the account paid you.
Make it count
Save smarter, not harder.
Automate it
A standing transfer on payday means you save before you can spend, which is the habit that does most of the work.
Chase a real APY
A high-yield account can pay many times the rate of a standard one, for the same money and the same effort.
Keep a buffer
Aim for three to six months of expenses in easy-access savings before you lock any money away for longer.
Year by year
Your savings, year by year.
Each row is one year: the total you have deposited, the interest earned so far, and the balance at the end. The longer you leave it, the more the interest does the work.
| Year | Deposits | Interest earned | Balance |
|---|
The full guide
The complete savings guide.
How compounding builds a balance, what rate to look for, and how to reach a goal sooner.
How compound interest builds savings
Saving earns interest, and that interest then earns interest of its own. This is compounding, and it is why a balance grows faster the longer you leave it alone. Even at a modest rate, regular deposits plus time produce a total that is much larger than the deposits by themselves.
On the chart, the grey band is the money you paid in and the green band is the interest. Early on the green band is thin, but it widens every year as the balance, and the interest it earns, gets bigger.
APY versus interest rate
When you compare savings accounts, look at the APY rather than the plain interest rate. APY already includes the effect of compounding within the year, so it is the honest number for comparing one account against another. A higher APY on an easy-access account is extra money for the same effort.
Watch for introductory bonus rates that drop after a few months, and for accounts that only pay the headline rate above a certain balance.
Saving toward a goal
To reach a target by a certain date, work backwards. Put your goal and timeframe into the calculator and try different monthly deposits until the balance lands where you need it. You will usually find that raising the monthly deposit moves the finish line far more than chasing a slightly higher rate.
Breaking a big goal into a monthly number also makes it feel manageable, and lets you see straight away whether the timeframe is realistic or needs to stretch.
Where to keep your savings
Match the account to the job. A high-yield savings account suits your emergency fund and short-term goals because the money stays safe and reachable. For cash you are sure you will not touch, a CD or money-market account can pay a little more. Money you will not need for many years may belong in investments instead, where it can grow more but can also fall in value.
The rule of thumb is to keep three to six months of expenses in easy-access savings before you tie money up for longer.
Common savings mistakes
The big ones are leaving cash in an account paying almost nothing, not automating deposits so saving depends on willpower, and dipping into the emergency fund for things that are not emergencies. Another is holding money for a far-off goal in plain cash, where inflation quietly eats its value.
None of these are hard to fix. A standing transfer into a high-yield account on payday solves most of them at once.
The formula
No black box.
Here is the math.
Your balance is the future value of your starting amount plus every monthly deposit, each one compounding at your rate.
See compound interest ›# Future balance
FV = P(1+i)ⁿ + D × [ ((1+i)ⁿ − 1) / i ]
# where
P = starting amount
D = monthly deposit
i = rate / 12
n = months
# worked example
$1,000 + $300/mo, 4%, 5y → $21,111Questions
Savings questions.
How do I calculate how much my savings will grow?
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Enter your starting amount, your monthly deposit, your rate and the number of years. The calculator compounds the balance month by month and shows the future balance, the interest earned and a yearly schedule.
What interest rate should I enter?
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Use the APY on your account. If you are comparing options, the rate on a good high-yield savings account is a sensible benchmark. The calculator assumes the rate stays the same the whole time.
How often does it compound?
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Monthly, which matches how many savings accounts work. Compounding more or less often than that changes the result only slightly.
Is this different from a compound interest calculator?
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The underlying maths is the same. This page is framed around everyday saving, with a starting amount, monthly deposits and a goal in mind.
Is this savings calculator free and private?
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Yes. It is completely free with no sign-up, and every calculation runs locally in your browser, so nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.
About the developer
Jean Borg
Jean builds and maintains every calculator on freecalculators.pro from Malta, with a focus on tools that are fast, free and show their working. The savings calculator uses standard compound-interest maths and is provided for planning and education, not as personalised financial advice.