Investment Calculator
What regular investing grows into, after fees and inflation.
Compounding is the whole argument for investing early, but it is hard to feel in the abstract. The number that makes it concrete is the split between what you put in and what the money earned on its own — over a long enough period the second number overtakes the first, and then keeps going.
Two things quietly work against you, and most calculators leave both out. An annual fee is charged on the whole balance every year, so it compounds against you exactly as returns compound for you. And inflation means the final figure buys less than the same number does today. This shows all four numbers together.
Your numbers
Value after 25 years
$412,009.56
🇺🇸 US · USD
- Total you contribute
- $160,000.00
- Growth on top
- $252,009.56
- Growth as a share of the total
- 61.2%
- Worth in today’s money
- $222,234.08
- Lost to fees over the period
- $33,785.71
- Return after fees
- 6.50%
Estimates only. Results from this calculator are for general informational purposes and are not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice. Rates change and individual circumstances vary — confirm figures with the CRA, the IRS, your state or provincial authority, or a licensed professional before acting on them.
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How it's calculated
- Monthly rate r = (1 + annual return after fees)^(1 ÷ 12) − 1
- Future value = Start × (1 + r)^months + Contribution × ((1 + r)^months − 1) ÷ r
- Return after fees = expected return − annual fee
- Today’s money = Future value ÷ (1 + inflation)^years
The annual return is treated as an effective annual figure, so 7% compounds to exactly 7% over a year. Calculators that divide by twelve instead quietly return about 7.23%, which flatters long projections.
Frequently asked questions
- What return should I assume?
- Long-run averages for a diversified stock portfolio have historically landed somewhere around 7% a year after inflation, but any individual decade can be far above or below that. Running the calculation at a few different rates is more honest than trusting one.
- Why does a 0.5% fee cost so much?
- Because it is charged on the whole balance every year, including the growth. On the default figures a 0.5% annual fee costs roughly $34,000 over 25 years — the fee compounds against you exactly as returns compound for you.
- What does "worth in today’s money" mean?
- It converts the final figure back into what it would buy now. A pot of $412,000 in 25 years buys about what $222,000 buys today at 2.5% inflation, which is the more useful number for planning.
- Are contributions added at the start or end of the month?
- At the end, which is the conservative convention. Contributing at the start of each month would produce a slightly higher figure.
- Does this account for tax?
- No. Returns inside a TFSA, RRSP, ISA, 401(k) or IRA are sheltered in different ways, and a taxable account is treated differently again. Treat the result as a before-tax projection.
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