What's the difference between this and the Investment Calculator?

The Investment Calculator always solves for future value. This calculator can solve for any one of future value, present value, payment, or number of periods — useful when you know your goal and need to work backward.

Can this solve for the interest rate too?

Not directly — solving for rate requires a different (iterative) method. Use the Interest Rate Calculator for that, which solves for the rate on a loan given its payment, principal, and term.

Finance Calculator

A flexible time-value-of-money calculator — solve for future value, present value, payment, or the number of periods, given the other three.

Solve for

Present value

Payment per period

Number of periods

Rate per period

Future Value

$5,959.89

How It Works

The core equation

All four modes are built on the same time-value-of-money equation: Future Value = Present Value × (1+r)ⁿ + Payment × [((1+r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r], where r is the rate per period and n is the number of periods.

Solving for different variables

The same equation can be rearranged algebraically to solve for present value, payment, or the number of periods instead of future value — this calculator picks the right rearrangement based on which value you're solving for.

Example Calculation

Starting with $1,000, contributing $100 per period, at a 5% rate per period, after 20 periods the future value is about $5,960.

Common Mistakes

Mixing up the period length — if contributions are monthly, the rate and number of periods should also be monthly, not annual.
Expecting a solution for every combination of inputs — some combinations (e.g. a target that can't be reached with negative periods) have no valid positive answer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between this and the Investment Calculator?: The Investment Calculator always solves for future value. This calculator can solve for any one of future value, present value, payment, or number of periods — useful when you know your goal and need to work backward.
Can this solve for the interest rate too?: Not directly — solving for rate requires a different (iterative) method. Use the Interest Rate Calculator for that, which solves for the rate on a loan given its payment, principal, and term.