Investment Calculator
Project compound growth from regular investing — contributions vs growth, inflation-adjusted, year by year.
Enter what you would invest today, what you will add regularly, and an expected annual return — then watch compound interest do the heavy lifting. The calculator simulates your plan month by month and splits the result into money you put in versus the growth it earned, in stat cards, a chart, and a year-by-year table. That split is the whole story of long-term investing: early on the balance is mostly your contributions, but given enough years the growth overtakes them — and you can see exactly when.
Fine-tune the model with quarterly or yearly contributions, an annual increase to what you save, and monthly, quarterly, or yearly compounding. Turn on inflation to restate every figure in today’s money — the honest version of any long-range projection — and use the goal seeker to find the monthly amount a target requires. It is a projection, not a promise: the math assumes a constant return, and real markets never move in a straight line. Nothing here is financial advice.
How to project investment growth
- 1
Enter a starting amount, a regular contribution, your expected annual return, and the number of years.
- 2
Read the future value and the contributions-vs-growth split, then explore the chart and the year-by-year table.
- 3
Optionally set inflation, contribution increases, or compounding frequency under Advanced — or enter a target to see the monthly amount it needs.
Why use Nofolo’s investment calculator?
Month-by-month simulation
Contributions land at the start of each period and growth compounds monthly, quarterly, or yearly — real mechanics, not a one-line shortcut.
Contributions vs growth
The chart and stat cards show how much of the future value is your own money versus compound growth.
Inflation-adjusted results
An optional inflation rate restates the projected balance in today’s purchasing power, year by year.
Growing contributions
Model an annual increase to your contribution — the realistic way saving grows with income.
Goal seeker
Enter a target amount and get the monthly contribution it requires, solved against the same model.
Live and private
Everything recalculates as you type, entirely in your browser — nothing is sent or stored.
Frequently asked questions
How is compound interest calculated?
The tool simulates the plan month by month: contributions are added at the start of each period, growth accrues each month at the annual rate ÷ 12, and it is credited to the balance at the end of each compounding period (monthly, quarterly, or yearly). With monthly compounding this reproduces the standard future-value formula FV = P(1+i)ⁿ + PMT·((1+i)ⁿ−1)÷i·(1+i) exactly.
What annual return should I assume?
Broad stock-index funds have averaged roughly 7–10% per year before inflation over long historical periods — about 10% nominal for the S&P 500 since 1926, nearer 7% after inflation — while bonds and savings accounts return less. Those are historical averages, not guarantees: past performance does not predict the future, so many planners also run a conservative 5–6% scenario alongside.
What does inflation-adjusted mean?
It restates future money in today’s purchasing power by dividing each year’s balance by (1 + inflation) raised to that year. If the projection says $340,000 in 20 years and inflation runs 2.5%, the inflation-adjusted value of about $207,000 is what that balance would buy today — usually the more honest number to plan with.
How often is compounding applied?
Monthly by default, with quarterly and yearly options under Advanced. At the same nominal rate, more frequent compounding grows slightly faster — 8% compounded monthly is an effective 8.30% a year, versus 8.24% quarterly and 8.00% yearly. Contributions always land at the start of their period, so every deposit starts earning from the month it arrives.
Is this calculator free — and is it financial advice?
It is completely free, with no signup, and every calculation runs locally in your browser — your numbers are never uploaded or stored. It is not financial advice: the projection assumes the same return every single year, which real markets never deliver, and it ignores taxes and fees. Treat the output as a scenario to compare plans, not a prediction.
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