Future Value Calculator
What today's money will be worth later.
Details
Future value
$53,623
After 15 years at 6%
Starting amount
$10,000
Total contributions
$18,000
Interest earned
$25,623
Total invested
$28,000
This works out what an amount today will be worth after a period of growth, with or without regular contributions.
It gives the future value and separates the growth from the money you put in.
What future value means
Future value answers: what will this money be worth later? It takes an amount today and grows it forward at a given rate for a given time.
It is one half of a pair. [Present value](/financial/present-value-calculator) runs the same equation backwards, asking what a future amount is worth today. Multiply to go forward, divide to come back.
$10,000 at 6% for 10 years has a future value of $17,908. Read the other way, $10,000 received in 10 years has a present value of $5,584. Same rate, same period, opposite directions.
Growing forward and discounting back are the same operation inverted. If you can do one, you can do the other.
What to enter
- Present value
- The amount you have today. It compounds for the entire period.
- Interest rate
- The growth rate per period. Match it to the compounding frequency you use.
- Number of periods
- Years, months or whatever unit the rate uses. They must agree.
- Regular contributions
- Optional. Each one compounds only for the periods remaining after it is added.
What this assumes
A constant rate throughout, which is realistic for a fixed-rate product and a simplification for investments.
Inflation is not deducted. The buying power of a future amount is always less than its face value.
How to calculate future value
Raise the growth factor to the number of periods, then multiply.
- PV
- Present value, the amount today
- r
- Rate per period as a decimal
- n
- Number of periods
Match the rate to the period. An annual rate with a count in years, or a monthly rate with a count in months. Mixing them is the usual error.
Work out the growth factor. (1 + r) raised to n. At 6% over 10 years that is 1.06¹⁰ = 1.7908.
Multiply by the present value. $10,000 × 1.7908 = $17,908.
Add contributions if there are any. Each one grows for the periods remaining after it, which is why later contributions add much less.
See a worked example: forward and back
- Amount
- $10,000
- Rate
- 6% a year
- Period
- 10 years
Growth factor: 1.06¹⁰ = 1.7908.
Future value: $10,000 × 1.7908 = $17,908.
Reversing: $10,000 ÷ 1.7908 = $5,584, the present value of $10,000 received in ten years.
One caution: at 3% inflation, $17,908 in ten years buys what about $13,325 buys today.
$17,908 after 10 years
Frequently asked questions
Future value grows money forward: what will this be worth later? [Present value](/financial/present-value-calculator) discounts it back: what is a future amount worth today?
They are the same equation. Multiply by (1 + r)ⁿ to go forward, divide by it to come back.
The calculation is identical. [Compound interest](/financial/compound-interest-calculator) usually describes the interest earned, while future value describes the resulting total.
$10,000 at 6% for 10 years earns $7,908 of compound interest and has a future value of $17,908. Two labels for the same arithmetic.
For anything long-term, yes. $17,908 in ten years is not $17,908 of today's buying power; at 3% inflation it is about $13,325.
You can either compute in nominal terms and discount at the end, or use a real return (nominal minus inflation) throughout. Do not mix the two approaches.
For a fixed product, the contracted rate. For investments, something defensible: 7% is common for a diversified stock portfolio, around 5% for a balanced one.
Run a lower rate as well. A single projection reads as a prediction; a range reads as what it actually is.
Use a monthly rate (annual ÷ 12) and count periods in months, then add the annuity term for the contributions on top of the lump sum's growth.
The lump sum compounds for all n periods. Each contribution compounds only for the periods after it arrives, so the final year's contributions barely grow at all.
Problems people actually run into
Mixing an annual rate with monthly periods
Using 6% with 120 periods instead of 0.5% gives an answer wildly larger than reality. It is the most common mistake with this formula.
Convert the rate first, every time: an annual rate divided by 12 for monthly work.
Treating the future value as spending money
$17,908 in ten years is not $17,908 of today's goods. At 3% inflation it is closer to $13,325, and in a taxable account some of the growth is taxed as well.
Discount long projections for inflation before planning around them, particularly for retirement targets where the horizon is decades.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Last updated: September 4, 2026