Value over time
Year by year
The formula
How it works
Project how an investment grows from a starting amount, regular yearly contributions and an annual return. See the final value, how much you contributed, and how much of the total is investment growth.
FAQ
What return should I assume?
It depends on what you invest in. A broad stock-market average is often taken as around 7% a year after inflation over the long run, but returns vary and are never guaranteed. Try a range of rates to see how sensitive the outcome is.
Does this account for inflation?
No — it shows the nominal future value. To see the result in today’s money, use a lower “real” return (the return minus inflation), or compare it with an inflation calculator.
Does starting earlier matter more than contributing more?
Often, yes — money invested earlier spends more years compounding, so it can end up worth more than a larger contribution made later. Try shifting the years input to see how much a delay costs compared with adding to the yearly contribution.
When are the yearly contributions assumed to happen?
The calculator adds each yearly contribution as a single lump sum for that year rather than spreading it across months. Contributing smaller amounts more frequently in real life would compound slightly sooner, giving a marginally higher actual result.
Why might my real returns differ from the rate I entered?
Markets do not deliver the same return every year — some years are up, some are down — so actual outcomes can differ from a steady average even if the long-run average matches your input. This is sometimes called sequence-of-returns risk, and it matters most for money withdrawn during a downturn.
Does this include taxes on investment gains?
No — the projection is gross of any taxes on dividends, interest or capital gains. Investing inside a tax-advantaged account can let more of the projected growth actually reach you.
Why does the split between contributions and growth matter?
It shows how much of your final balance is money you actually put in versus money the market added on top. Over long horizons the growth share often ends up larger than the contributions themselves, which is the clearest illustration of compounding at work.
About the investment calculator
This calculator projects the future value of an investment that grows through compound returns and regular contributions. Starting with a lump sum and adding to it each year, your money can grow substantially over time as returns are earned on both your contributions and the gains they generate. Splitting the final total into what you put in and what the market added makes the power of long-term compounding clear.
How to use it
Enter your initial investment, the amount you plan to add each year, the annual return you expect, and how many years you will stay invested. The calculator shows the projected final value, your total contributions, and the growth on top. For example, $10,000 plus $5,000 a year at 7% for 20 years grows to around $244,000 — of which more than $100,000 is investment growth beyond what you paid in.
The formula
The final value combines the growth of the starting amount and the growth of each yearly contribution: , where is the initial investment, is the yearly contribution, is the annual return as a decimal and is the number of years. The first term is compound growth on the lump sum; the second is the future value of a stream of equal yearly deposits.
Where it is used
Investors use it to set goals and see how contributions and time affect the outcome — often discovering that starting earlier matters more than investing more. Financial advisers use it to model portfolios and retirement pots, and it underpins the projections behind pensions, index funds and long-term savings plans. Because it shows growth separately from contributions, it is a compelling way to explain why investing early pays off.