Find out what an investment made today will grow to in the future.
The investment compounds annually at the given rate for the chosen number of years.
Future value: P × (1 + r)ⁿ
A future value calculator answers one of the oldest questions in finance: if I invest this amount today and leave it alone, what will it be worth after a number of years? It uses the lump-sum compound interest formula, with growth added once a year.
Families use it to see what a gift, a bonus or an inheritance could become by the time a child grows up. Investors use it to set expectations before choosing between deposits and equity. It is also the building block for many other calculators on this site, including inflation, present value and goal planners.
The answer depends heavily on the rate and the number of years, and the what-if slider lets you see how much.
1. Note the present value P, the expected annual return r% and the number of years n.
2. Convert the rate to a decimal: r ÷ 100.
3. Compute the growth factor: (1 + r ÷ 100)ⁿ.
4. Multiply: FV = P × (1 + r ÷ 100)ⁿ.
5. Gain = FV − P.
6. If your investment compounds more often, such as quarterly, use FV = P × (1 + r ÷ (100m))^(mn), where m is the number of compounding periods per year.
After one year at rate r, P becomes P(1 + r). In the second year, the whole of P(1 + r), not just P, earns r, giving P(1 + r)². Repeating this n times gives P(1 + r)ⁿ. The key idea is that returns earn returns. With simple interest, the gain would be P × r × n and grow in a straight line. With compounding, the gain grows faster each year, and over long periods the difference is dramatic. At 10%, simple interest doubles money in 10 years; compound interest does it in a little over 7.
Because the rate sits inside a power, small changes have large effects over long periods. Over 30 years, ₹1 lakh at 8% becomes about ₹10 lakh, while at 12% it becomes about ₹30 lakh. The rate gap is 4 points but the outcome is three times larger. Time works the same way: adding five more years at the end of a long period adds far more rupees than five years at the start. This is why the rate assumption deserves care and why starting early matters.
This calculator compounds once a year. Bank FDs usually compound quarterly, and some products monthly, which gives a slightly higher effective rate for the same quoted rate. The formula also assumes a constant rate, no additions or withdrawals, and no tax taken out along the way. For market investments, the constant rate is a simplification of a path that goes up and down. Treat the result as what happens if the average rate turns out as assumed.
When her granddaughter is born, Sarala invests ₹3,00,000 in a fund she plans to leave untouched for 15 years, assuming a 9% yearly return.
Write the formula: FV = P(1 + r)^n
Convert the rate: r = 9% = 0.09
Substitute: FV = 300000 × (1 + 0.09)^15
Future value: FV
Wealth gained: 1092744.74 − 300000
Answer: Future value ₹10,92,745; Gain ₹7,92,745
Using the monthly SIP formula for a one-time investment, or this formula for a SIP.
Assuming an optimistic rate over a long period without trying a lower one.
Forgetting that the future value is in future rupees, not today's purchasing power.
Ignoring tax on interest or gains, which reduces the effective rate.
Mixing up the quoted rate with the effective yearly rate when compounding is more frequent.
Estimating what a lump sum set aside for a child could become.
Comparing the long-term outcome of different return assumptions.
Showing the effect of starting an investment earlier.
Checking projections in insurance or investment sales pitches.
What's the difference between this and a SIP calculator?
This is for a single one-time investment. A SIP calculator is for many smaller monthly investments made over time, where each one grows for a different length of time.