Project how a starting investment plus regular contributions can grow over time.
FV = P(1+r)ⁿ + C · ((1+r)ⁿ − 1) / r
$10,000 initial + $500/month at 8% for 15 years grows to about $205,000, of which ~$100,000 is growth.
An investment calculator lets you experiment with the two variables that dominate long-term wealth: how much you invest and how long you leave it alone. A well-built calculator turns a topic that usually requires spreadsheets, formulas, or expert guidance into a single input form with an instant, trustworthy answer. That matters because most people making a decision — a budget, a purchase, a health goal, a homework problem — do not want to install software or open a textbook. They want a clear number and a short explanation of where it came from, and they want it to load on their phone in a second.
Whether you're a new investor opening a first brokerage account or a mid-career saver deciding how aggressively to fund a taxable account, this tool works for both. Different visitors arrive here with very different backgrounds. Some are professionals double-checking a value they already estimated in their head. Others are complete beginners who have never seen the underlying formula before. The tool above is designed so both groups can succeed on the first try: defaults reflect realistic real-world inputs, labels are written in plain English, and the result panel highlights the primary number in a large, glanceable format while keeping supporting figures visible for context.
Time in the market is the single most powerful lever ordinary investors have. Doubling the years on the horizon can more than quadruple the final balance. Understanding the "why" behind a calculation is what turns a one-off answer into a lasting mental model. This is why every calculator on CalcCosmos publishes the exact formula it uses and walks through a worked example with real numbers. When you can see that a percentage change is nothing more than the difference divided by the starting value, or that a monthly loan payment is a rearranged annuity formula, you gain a portable skill you can reuse anywhere — on a napkin, in a job interview, or with a friend who needs help.
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The long-run U.S. stock market average is roughly 10% nominal or ~7% after inflation.
The number is pre-tax. Reduce your effective return to model taxable accounts.
Historically, lump-sum investing beats DCA on average, but DCA is a valuable behavioral tool.
A 1% expense ratio can shave more than 25% off a 30-year balance — favor low-cost index funds.
See how compound growth turns steady contributions into serious money.
See what your nest egg could look like at retirement based on today's savings and future contributions.
Project the growth of a savings account with regular deposits and interest.
Measure how well an investment performed — in total and per year.
See what today's dollars will be worth in the future — or what past dollars are worth now.