— Investment
Future Value Calculator
Find what a sum today plus a stream of regular payments is worth at a future date — the present value and the payments grown forward at your rate.
Future value in 10 years
$37,405.09
- Total contributed
- $22,000
- Interest earned
- $15,405.09
- Total return
- 70.02%
— Year by year
| Year | Opening | Payments | Interest | Total interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | $1,200 | $762.16 | $762.16 | $11,962.16 |
| 2 | $11,962.16 | $1,200 | $904 | $1,666.16 | $14,066.16 |
| 3 | $14,066.16 | $1,200 | $1,056.1 | $2,722.27 | $16,322.27 |
| 4 | $16,322.27 | $1,200 | $1,219.2 | $3,941.46 | $18,741.46 |
| 5 | $18,741.46 | $1,200 | $1,394.08 | $5,335.54 | $21,335.54 |
| 6 | $21,335.54 | $1,200 | $1,581.61 | $6,917.15 | $24,117.15 |
| 7 | $24,117.15 | $1,200 | $1,782.69 | $8,699.84 | $27,099.84 |
| 8 | $27,099.84 | $1,200 | $1,998.31 | $10,698.15 | $30,298.15 |
| 9 | $30,298.15 | $1,200 | $2,229.51 | $12,927.66 | $33,727.66 |
| 10 | $33,727.66 | $1,200 | $2,477.43 | $15,405.09 | $37,405.09 |
— Contributions vs interest
Download— How it works
FV = PV(1 + i)^n + PMT · [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] · (1 + i if paid at start)
What future value means
Future value is what money is worth at a later date once it has earned a return. It is one half of the time-value-of-money idea — money today is worth more than the same amount later, because today’s money can be put to work. This calculator grows two things at once: a present value (a lump sum you hold now) and a stream of equal payments you add along the way.
In the formula above, PV is the present value, PMT is the payment each period, i is the rate per period and n is the number of periods. The first term grows the lump sum; the second is the future value of the payment stream, an annuity.
Worked example — $10,000 today plus $100 a month for 10 years at 7% (monthly): The $10,000 grows to ≈ $20,097. The $100 monthly payments ($12,000 paid in) grow to ≈ $17,308. Future value ≈ $37,400 — of which about $15,400 is interest.
Contributions vs interest
The chart stacks the money in two layers: everything you contribute — the present value plus every payment — and the interest earned on top. Together they reach the future value. Early on the contributions layer dominates; over time the interest layer takes over and eventually dwarfs it, which is compounding doing its work.
The yearly table breaks the same story into rows: how much you paid in that year, the interest credited, the running total of interest, and the year-end balance.
End vs start of period
When a payment lands matters. A payment made at the end of each period (an ordinary annuity) earns no interest in the period it is paid; a payment made at the start (an annuity due) earns one extra period of interest. Toggle the timing and watch the future value tick up slightly for start-of-period — the difference compounds over a long horizon.
Rent, subscriptions and many savings deposits behave like start-of-period payments; loan and bond payments are usually end-of-period. Choose whichever matches your situation.
— Reader questions
What is the difference between future value and compound interest?
They share the same maths. The Compound Interest calculator is framed around interest mechanics, with tax and inflation options; this one is framed in time-value-of-money terms — a present value plus a payment stream (PV and PMT) — and adds the end-vs-start payment-timing choice. Use whichever framing fits your problem.
What is present value?
Present value is the lump sum you have today. Future value grows it forward at the rate of return; present value is the reverse — what a future amount is worth in today’s money. Enter 0 for the present value if you are only growing a stream of payments.
What is an annuity due?
An annuity due is a series of payments made at the start of each period rather than the end. Because each payment is invested one period earlier, it earns slightly more interest, so its future value is higher. Switch “Payments made at” to Start of period to model it.
Does the compounding frequency change the result?
A little. More frequent compounding at the same nominal rate lifts the future value modestly — monthly beats annual by a percent or two over long periods — but the rate and the time horizon matter far more.
Can I use this for just a lump sum?
Yes. Leave the payment at 0 and the calculator grows the present value alone — the classic future-value-of-a-single-sum case.