Looking for a investment growth calculator with monthly contributions? This free tool gives you end balance, total contributions and total growth over time. Just enter your numbers and press Calculate — results are instant.
An investment grows in two ways: the money you put in, and the return that money earns. Enter your starting amount, what you will add every month, the yearly return you expect, and how many years you will leave it. The calculator compounds the balance monthly, adds each contribution, and reports the end balance split into what you paid in and what the growth added. The return you enter is an assumption, not a promise — real markets go up and down.
Example: Starting amount $20,000 · Monthly contribution $500 · Expected return 8% per year · 25 years
End Balance: $622,316.72
No one can promise a return. A common planning assumption for a diversified mix of stocks is in the mid-to-high single digits per year, and lower for bonds or savings. Run the numbers at a lower rate too, so you are not counting on the best case.
Both work. A lump sum starts compounding immediately on the full amount; monthly contributions spread your timing, so you buy through ups and downs instead of guessing the right day. Most people do a mix: invest what they have, then add monthly.
No. The result is in nominal dollars — the face value in the future. To think in today's purchasing power, subtract expected inflation from the return you enter, or remember that $100 in 20 years will buy less than $100 today.