Interest & Returns Calculators
Calculate CAGR, future value and inflation-adjusted value and other interest & returns calculations.
These are the building blocks of every savings and investment calculation: moving an amount forward in time (future value), back to today (present value), measuring growth (CAGR), and adjusting for inflation. Knowing which direction you are moving money in time tells you which calculator to use.
Which Interest & Returns calculator do you need?
- What will a lump sum grow to?Future Value CalculatorCompounds today's amount forward at an annual rate.
- What is a future amount worth today?Present Value CalculatorDiscounts a future amount back to today at the rate you choose.
- What annual growth rate did an investment achieve?CAGR CalculatorCompound annual growth rate from a start value, an end value and the years between.
- What will today's expenses cost in the future?Inflation CalculatorGrows a current cost at an inflation rate.
- What is a future amount worth in today's money?Inflation-Adjusted Value CalculatorRemoves inflation from a future amount to show its purchasing power now.
- How much must I save each month to reach a goal?Savings Goal CalculatorMonthly deposit needed to reach a target at an expected return.
All Interest & Returns Calculators
Future value and present value are the same formula
Future value multiplies by (1 + r) for every year; present value divides by it. The inflation calculators use exactly the same arithmetic with an inflation rate in place of a return — which is why a 6% inflation rate roughly halves the purchasing power of a fixed sum in 12 years.
Interest & Returns Guides
How CAGR Is Calculated
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the constant annual rate that would take an investment from its initial value to its final value over the holding period — found by taking the ratio of final to initial value to the power of 1 divided by the number of years.
Read guideHow the Future Value of a Lumpsum Investment Is Calculated
A lumpsum's future value is its present value multiplied by (1 + rate)^years — the same compound-growth formula behind compound interest, applied here to any investment with an expected annual rate of return.
Read guideHow the Present Value of a Future Amount Is Calculated
A future amount's present value is that amount divided by (1 + discount rate)^years — the exact reverse of compounding, showing what a future sum is actually worth in today's money.
Read guideThree Different Ways to Decide How Much to Save
"How much should I save?" has at least three different answers depending on which question you're actually asking — what am I saving right now, what does a general rule of thumb suggest, or what does a specific future goal actually require.
Read guideWhy Average Return and CAGR Can Tell Very Different Stories
A +50% year followed by a -50% year averages to exactly 0%, but actually leaves an investment down 25% overall — a 13.4% annualized loss that the simple average return completely hides.
Read guide