Future Value of an Annuity Calculator
Find what a stream of equal payments grows to, or solve for the payment, time or rate needed to reach a goal. Ordinary annuity or annuity due, any payment and compounding frequency, a starting balance, growing payments, inflation and a full schedule.
How it works
Per-period rate i = annual rate ÷ payments per year · Ordinary annuity FV = PMT × [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] · Annuity due FV = ordinary FV × (1 + i) · Starting balance grows to PV × (1 + i)^n · Different compounding: i = (1 + r ÷ m)^(m ÷ q) − 1
The future value of an annuity is what a series of equal payments adds up to once each payment has earned compound interest until the end. The payment frequency sets how many payments there are (n) and the rate per period (i). An annuity due pays at the start of each period, so every payment earns one extra period of interest and its value is the ordinary figure times (1 + i). Under More options you can add money already saved (it grows as a lump sum), let interest compound on a different schedule from the payments (the annual rate is then converted to an equivalent rate per payment period), raise the payment once a year to model a growing annuity, and enter inflation to see the result in today’s money. The Solve for buttons turn the formula around: the payment needed for a target, the time it takes to reach it, or the annual return it requires. The rate is found numerically because it has no closed-form formula.
Worked example
Depositing $500 at the end of every month for 10 years at 6% (i = 0.5% a month, 120 payments) grows to $81,939.67: you pay in $60,000, so $21,939.67 is interest. Paying at the start of each month instead gives $82,349.37. To reach $100,000 in the same 10 years you would need $610.21 a month, and at $500 a month it takes 11 years 7 months.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an ordinary annuity and an annuity due?
An ordinary annuity pays at the end of each period; an annuity due pays at the beginning. Because every beginning-of-period payment earns one extra period of interest, an annuity due is always worth (1 + i) times the equivalent ordinary annuity. The calculator shows both values.
Does payment frequency change the result?
Yes, a little. Paying the same yearly total in smaller, more frequent amounts means money goes in earlier and earns interest sooner, so monthly ends slightly ahead of quarterly and annual. The rate per period and the number of payments both change with the frequency.
What if interest compounds on a different schedule from my payments?
Pick the compounding under More options. The calculator converts the annual rate into the equivalent rate per payment period, i = (1 + r ÷ m)^(m ÷ q) − 1, where m is compounding periods and q payments per year. For example, monthly deposits into an account that compounds daily earn slightly more than the plain 6% ÷ 12.
How do I work out the monthly saving needed to reach a goal?
Choose Solve for: Payment and enter the target. The calculator divides what the target still needs (after any starting balance grows) by the future value of $1 per period. Solve for Time instead gives the number of payments until the balance first passes the target.
What is a growing annuity?
One where the payment rises over time, for example by 3% a year to keep pace with pay rises. Enter the yearly increase under More options. Payments stay level within each year and step up at the start of the next.
How is this different from a future value calculator?
A plain future value calculation grows a single lump sum. This one grows a stream of recurring payments, plus an optional starting balance, which is the right model for regular savings, pension contributions or sinking funds.
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Educational estimate, not financial advice.