+$50 per month
- First-year monthly contribution
- $300.00
- Projected final balance
- $150,436.50
- Additional money contributed
- $12,000.00
- Additional growth or loss
- $8,551.68
Before tax and after modelled fees. Growth assumptions are not guaranteed.
Saving & growth
Compound interest calculator
Give your money some time. Explore a starting amount, regular contributions, and compounding. Compare your what-ifs privately.
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Your savings
MonthlyFirst-year deposit, added at the end of each month.
Nominal annual rate divided by 12. An assumption, not a forecast.
Fees, contributions & inflation
Modelled as 1/12 of this percentage, deducted from the balance monthly. Avoid double-counting fees already in your rate.
Raises the monthly deposit after each complete year. Set 0% to keep deposits fixed.
Only changes the purchasing-power estimate, not the growth path.
Lump sums and withdrawals
Month 1 is the first projected month. Uses the selected start/end deposit timing.
Withdrawals happen at month end, after growth, fees and deposits. No borrowing is assumed if funds run short.
Change the rate assumption
Work toward a target
Future value after modelled withdrawals and fees. Set 0 to turn off the target illustration.
See what time could do
AssumptionsProjected balance after 20 years
Before tax, after modelled fees$129,884.82 CAD
DollarMath provides calculators and information for educational purposes. It does not provide financial advice. Read the disclaimer.
Total contributed$70,000Starting amount + all deposits
Projected growth$59,885Balance + withdrawals − deposits
In today’s money$87,409At 2% annual inflation
Your money over time
Projected balance (CAD)Projected balanceMoney contributed
Deposits arrive at month end and regular contributions increase 0% each year. The entered rate stays constant. Total withdrawn: $0.00. Fees deducted: $0.00. The dashed line shows total deposits, with no withdrawals subtracted. Returns can be negative. Taxes and account limits are excluded.
What could a little extra change?
Increase your first-year monthly contribution in CAD, keeping the same horizon, rates, fees, deposit timing, lump sum and withdrawals. Any annual contribution increase still applies.
+$100 per month
- First-year monthly contribution
- $350.00
- Projected final balance
- $170,988.19
- Additional money contributed
- $24,000.00
- Additional growth or loss
- $17,103.37
Before tax and after modelled fees. Growth assumptions are not guaranteed.
+$200 per month
- First-year monthly contribution
- $450.00
- Projected final balance
- $212,091.55
- Additional money contributed
- $48,000.00
- Additional growth or loss
- $34,206.73
Before tax and after modelled fees. Growth assumptions are not guaranteed.
These are illustrations, not recommendations. Trying an option updates your current inputs and results. Saved comparisons are kept.
Yours to keep.
Your plans on this device
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Saved alternatives
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Quick comparison
Keep one quick baseline, then change your numbers. Use named plans above to keep several alternatives.
The longer view
Year-by-year growth
| Year | Total contributed | Total withdrawn | Total growth or loss | Projected balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $13,000.00 | $0.00 | $581.33 | $13,581.33 |
| 2 | $16,000.00 | $0.00 | $1,345.89 | $17,345.89 |
| 3 | $19,000.00 | $0.00 | $2,303.06 | $21,303.06 |
| 4 | $22,000.00 | $0.00 | $3,462.67 | $25,462.67 |
| 5 | $25,000.00 | $0.00 | $4,835.11 | $29,835.11 |
| 6 | $28,000.00 | $0.00 | $6,431.24 | $34,431.24 |
| 7 | $31,000.00 | $0.00 | $8,262.52 | $39,262.52 |
| 8 | $34,000.00 | $0.00 | $10,340.98 | $44,340.98 |
| 9 | $37,000.00 | $0.00 | $12,679.27 | $49,679.27 |
| 10 | $40,000.00 | $0.00 | $15,290.66 | $55,290.66 |
| 11 | $43,000.00 | $0.00 | $18,189.15 | $61,189.15 |
| 12 | $46,000.00 | $0.00 | $21,389.42 | $67,389.42 |
| 13 | $49,000.00 | $0.00 | $24,906.91 | $73,906.91 |
| 14 | $52,000.00 | $0.00 | $28,757.84 | $80,757.84 |
| 15 | $55,000.00 | $0.00 | $32,959.28 | $87,959.28 |
| 16 | $58,000.00 | $0.00 | $37,529.15 | $95,529.15 |
| 17 | $61,000.00 | $0.00 | $42,486.32 | $103,486.32 |
| 18 | $64,000.00 | $0.00 | $47,850.59 | $111,850.59 |
| 19 | $67,000.00 | $0.00 | $53,642.79 | $120,642.79 |
| 20 | $70,000.00 | $0.00 | $59,884.82 | $129,884.82 |
Exported files contain financial inputs. Store and share them carefully. Printing includes your current plan and any loaded comparison.
How does compound interest with monthly contributions work?
With the default settings, the previous balance grows by the nominal annual rate divided by 12, then the monthly contribution is added. Advanced options change deposit timing, increase contributions annually and deduct a modelled investment fee. Total contributions include your starting amount. Results are before tax and after modelled fees; the inflation estimate shows the final balance in today’s money.
Reviewed October 24, 2026 by DollarMath. Educational estimates. Sources and calculation scope.
Common questions
What does $2,000 grow to at 5% over two years?
At a nominal annual rate of 5% compounded monthly, $2,000 with no additional deposits grows to $2,209.88 after two years, before taxes and fees. The monthly rate is 0.05 divided by 12. A 5% effective annual return would give a different result.
Are monthly contributions added at the start or end of the month?
The default is month end, after growth and fees. In the advanced settings, choose start of month to add each deposit before growth and fees instead. An optional annual increase raises the monthly deposit after every complete year.
Does my province change the compound interest calculation?
The pre-tax compounding formula is the same across Canada. Provincial taxes, account rules and personal circumstances affect after-tax outcomes and are excluded. This tool does not calculate TFSA room, RRSP room, investment taxes or withdrawal taxes.
Is the projected growth a guaranteed investment return?
No. The rates are your assumptions, held constant within each selected stage. Actual returns vary and can be negative. The main balance is in future currency amounts before tax and after modelled fees; the separate purchasing-power estimate uses your annual inflation assumption.
How are investment fees included?
The annual percentage fee is divided by 12 and deducted monthly from the balance after growth, before any month-end deposit. Total fees deducted exclude the additional growth lost because those fees are no longer invested. Enter a before-fee rate if you model a separate fee. Fixed charges, trading fees and taxes are excluded.
Can this calculate how much I need to save each month?
Yes. Enter a target final balance in the advanced settings. The illustration finds a first-year monthly contribution, to the cent, that reaches the target and funds requested withdrawals under your selected rates, fees, timing, lump sum and annual contribution increases. The target is in future currency amounts, and the result is not guaranteed.
What happens if planned withdrawals exceed available savings?
The projection withdraws only available whole cents and shows the first month with an unfunded withdrawal and the total shortfall. It does not assume borrowing. Withdrawn money is included when calculating growth, so a withdrawal is not counted as an investment loss.
What changes when I try an additional-contribution preview?
Each option adds 50, 100 or 200 in the selected currency to your current first-year monthly contribution. Other inputs stay the same, including annual contribution increases, fees, rate stages and withdrawals. The preview separates additional deposits from additional growth or loss, and identifies extra withdrawals funded. Use and view results applies that contribution to the current plan without overwriting a saved comparison. The options are illustrations, not recommended budgets.
Can I save plans or use my results in Excel or Google Sheets?
Yes. Save named plans in this browser without an account, then reopen, compare, rename or duplicate them. JSON backups can restore editable plans after local validation and a review step. Download a spreadsheet for typed inputs, results and detailed schedules where available, then open it in Excel or import it into Google Sheets yourself. Workbooks are snapshots, not live calculator formulas. Plans and files are not encrypted; clearing browser data can remove device plans. Nothing is automatically uploaded or synchronized.
The math behind your projection
Calculation version: monthly-growth-v3. Generic savings mathematics in CAD, separate from Canadian tax and account rules.
One month at a time
The monthly rate is the nominal annual rate divided by 12. With the default month-end deposits and zero fees, new balance = previous balance × (1 + monthly rate) + monthly contribution. The starting amount and deposits are rounded to cents; growth is calculated without monthly rounding, and displayed yearly results are rounded to cents.
For a constant monthly rate i over n months with no fees or contribution increases, the same result is P × (1 + i)^n + C × ((1 + i)^n − 1) / i, where P is the starting amount and C is the month-end deposit. At zero growth, the balance is simply P + C × n. A nominal 5% rate compounded monthly is different from a 5% effective annual return.
Advanced settings can instead use an effective annual rate, such as APY or AER: monthly rate = (1 + annual rate)^(1/12) − 1. The same convention applies to both rate stages. At a 10% effective annual rate, $10,000 becomes $12,100 after two years without deposits or fees. The Canadian default remains nominal monthly compounding; the other currency versions start with effective annual savings rates.
An independently checked example
$2,000 at a nominal 5% annual rate, compounded monthly for two years with no deposits, becomes $2,209.88 before taxes and fees. This matches the worked example published by ASIC’s Moneysmart. With zero growth, $1,000 plus $100 at each month end for two years totals $3,400.
Advanced contribution and fee assumptions
Start-of-month deposits are added before growth and fees; end-of-month deposits are added afterward. An annual contribution increase raises the monthly deposit after every 12 months: first-year deposit × (1 + increase)^completed years, rounded to cents. It is not automatically linked to inflation.
The annual fee percentage is divided by 12 and applied to the balance after that month’s growth, before a month-end deposit. For example, a 1.2% annual fee deducts 0.1% of that balance each month. This is an illustrative convention; actual products may calculate charges differently. Fees reduce future compounding as well as the balance. The fee total is the sum deducted, not the full lost-growth effect. Use a before-fee rate when entering a separate fee, to avoid counting the same charge twice.
Future dollars and purchasing power
The main balance is in future dollars after modelled fees and before tax. To express it in today’s dollars, we divide the unrounded final balance by (1 + annual inflation)^years. Inflation is an effective annual assumption. It does not change deposits or the nominal growth path.
Lump sums, withdrawals and a second rate
A one-time contribution follows the selected start/end deposit timing in its chosen month. Monthly withdrawals start in the chosen month, after growth, fees and all deposits. Withdrawals are capped at available whole cents; unfunded amounts are tracked without borrowing. Growth is final balance + cash withdrawn − total contributed, so taking money out is not reported as an investment loss. The dashed chart line shows total deposits without subtracting withdrawals. Charts connect year-end observations.
A second nominal annual rate can begin after a chosen full year and remains constant thereafter. This models two stages, not market volatility. For a target balance, we search for the smallest first-year monthly contribution to the cent, up to 100,000, that reaches the nominal target and funds all withdrawals under the entered assumptions. Annual contribution increases still apply. Targets are in future dollars; the separate inflation estimate does not change the target.
What this projection leaves out
The default rates are examples, not current offers or forecasts. This model excludes taxes, fixed charges, transaction fees, account contribution limits, and daily calendar timing. A smooth curve does not represent market volatility. Negative rates show an illustration of losses; actual outcomes can be worse.
The same pre-tax mathematics applies across Canadian provinces and territories. Province, account type, and personal circumstances matter when calculating tax. This tool does not label its results as after-tax RRSP, TFSA or non-registered outcomes, and does not check whether a contribution is permitted. The RRSP deduction calculator separately estimates same-year tax relief.
Supported projections span 1 to 50 whole years, with non-negative deposits and a maximum projected balance of $1 trillion. These are educational illustrations, not a product recommendation or personalized financial advice.