Free Investment Calculator
Calculate the future value of an investment with regular contributions, and its purchasing power after inflation. Free. No signup required.
Inflation at 3%/yr means your $103,044.16 nest egg only buys what $66,140.13 buys today.
- Inflation-Adjusted Value (today's $)$66,140.13
- Total Contributed$50,000.00
- Investment Growth$53,044.16
About the Free Investment Calculator
This calculator splits your projected balance into two numbers that get conflated far too often: the future value your account statement will actually show, and what that balance can actually buy once inflation has quietly taken a bite out of it. A projection that only shows the first number makes a 20-year plan look better than it really is.
It's built for the moment you're deciding how hard to push a savings goal that's still years off — sizing up a down payment fund, a college account, or an early-retirement date — and want to see what a given monthly contribution and a realistic return assumption actually turn into, rather than eyeballing it.
Every field here stays in your browser. There's no account to make and nothing about your savings amount, your return assumption, or your goal gets sent anywhere — handy when the numbers you're testing are basically your entire financial plan and you'd rather not hand that to a random website.
How it’s calculated
The future value is two pieces added together: your initial balance compounding on its own at the expected return over the full time horizon, plus your monthly contributions growing as an ordinary annuity, where each deposit compounds for whatever time remains after it goes in.
The inflation-adjusted figure takes that nominal future value and divides it by (1 + inflation rate) raised to the number of years, which converts tomorrow's dollars back into today's purchasing power — the honest way to compare a future balance against your current cost of living.
Frequently asked questions
What's a realistic annual return to assume for a stock-heavy portfolio?
Long-run US stock market averages have historically landed in the 7-10% nominal range before inflation, though any single decade can look very different. Many planners use a more conservative 6-8% for long-horizon projections precisely because assuming the best-case average tends to overstate what you'll actually end up with.
Why does the inflation-adjusted number matter if I'm not spending the money yet?
Because the goal you're saving for — a house, tuition, a retirement lifestyle — will cost more in future dollars too. Comparing your nominal future value against today's prices makes the goal look easier to hit than it actually is.
Does this calculator account for capital gains taxes?
No — it projects pre-tax growth. Taxable brokerage accounts owe capital gains tax on growth when sold, while tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s defer or eliminate that depending on the account type, so your actual take-home figure depends heavily on where this money is held.
How much difference does contributing monthly actually make versus investing a lump sum?
Regular contributions add up through their own compounding, but a lump sum invested earlier has more total time in the market working for it. Try zeroing out the monthly contribution and comparing the future value against your current inputs to see the gap for your own numbers.
Is a higher expected return always the better assumption to plan around?
No — using an overly optimistic return to plan a goal is a common way to under-save. It's usually safer to run this calculator at a conservative return and treat any extra growth as a buffer rather than something to count on.
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