Free Online Investment Goal Calculator

What the savings goal calculator shows

This savings goal calculator works backward from a number you want to reach. You enter a target amount, the savings you already have and an expected annual return, and it answers one of two questions:

• How much do I need to save each month to reach the target in a chosen number of years?
• How long will it take to reach the target if I save a chosen amount each month?

The same tool works as an investment goal calculator for long-term targets, such as a retirement pot or a child's education fund, and as a plain savings calculator for short-term goals, such as a $10,000 cushion or a house deposit. It shows the monthly amount or the time needed, how much of the final sum comes from your own deposits and how much from growth, a chart of the path to the target and a year-by-year table. Everything runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

In this guide:

• How to fill in each field and read the results, the chart and the table
• The formulas behind the numbers, and what the calculator leaves out
• How much to save per month, how long goals take, and what share of income to save
• How the return, the start date, compounding and timing change the answer
• A reference grid, three worked examples in US dollars and common mistakes

If saving toward a target with investments is new to you, start with what investing is.

How to use the investment goal calculator

The calculator opens in US dollars with a target of $100,000, current savings of $20,000, a return of 8% and a 10-year horizon. The examples in this guide use USD. On wide screens the UAH / USD / EUR switch sits in the header of the Your numbers panel; on phones and tablets it is under More options. Only the symbol and formatting change.

The inputs appear in this order:

1. What do you want to solve for? Monthly contribution or Timeframe. This decides which result you get and which field is shown in step 5.
2. Target amount. The sum you want to reach. The slider runs from 1,000 to 1,000,000 in USD or EUR and from 20,000 to 20,000,000 in UAH.
3. Current savings. What you have already set aside for this goal. The slider runs to 200,000 in USD or EUR and to 4,000,000 in UAH.
4. Expected annual return. The yearly return you assume, in percent. The slider covers 0% to 15%, and you can type up to 50%. The Conservative, Moderate and Aggressive chips under it set 5%, 8% or 11%.
5. Time horizon in whole years (Monthly contribution mode) or Monthly contribution (Timeframe mode, slider to 5,000 in USD or EUR and to 100,000 in UAH).

More options is collapsed at first and holds Compounding frequency (Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannual or Annual), Monthly contribution timing (Beginning of month or End of month) and a note on when contributions are added.

You can type values beyond a slider's range. Values outside a range are pulled back to its limit, and the time horizon is rounded to whole years. On phones, the money fields use − and + buttons instead of a slider, in steps of 10,000 for the target, 2,000 for current savings and 50 for the monthly contribution in USD or EUR, and twenty times that in UAH; the return and the time horizon keep their sliders.

Reading the results

On wide screens the results stay in view to the right of the inputs. The headline is Required monthly contribution or Required timeframe, depending on the mode. The amount is rounded to whole currency units. The timeframe is given in years and months and rounded up to the first month in which the target is reached. A bar under the headline splits the ending value into your money and growth, and three figures follow:

• Projected total contributions is your current savings plus every monthly deposit.
• Projected investment growth is the return earned on that money.
• Projected ending value is the sum of the two. In Monthly contribution mode it equals the target, or exceeds it when current savings are already enough. In Timeframe mode it is slightly above the target, because the goal is reached during the last month.

A note appears in the results when current savings are already enough, and another when a target stays out of reach within 100 years. The Chart tab draws the target as a dotted grey line, the projected value and the contributions, starting from year 0, with whole years on the axis. The Year by year tab lists Year, Contributions, Growth, Projected value and Remaining gap at the end of each year. In Timeframe mode the last row can be a part year, such as 7.7.

Pin to compare keeps the current inputs as a reference. The headline then shows the change, such as −$4 vs pinned when you pin Example 1 below and raise the return to 5%, the chart adds the pinned projected value as a dashed line, and a Pinned scenario caption lists the pinned inputs and result. Switching the mode or the currency, Reset or a reload clears it. PDF exports the inputs, the results and the yearly table, without the pinned scenario. Its inputs name the mode (Monthly contribution needed or Timeframe) and list only the fields that mode uses. Share shares a link to the page without your numbers, and Reset, the round-arrow button on wide screens, restores the defaults, including US dollars. On phones and tablets, the results sit in a bar fixed to the bottom of the screen; Details opens the figures, the notes, the tabs and the buttons.

How the calculation works

The calculator works month by month. It turns the annual return into a monthly rate, grows your current savings and adds a deposit every month.

The monthly rate

i = (1 + r ÷ n)^(n ÷ 12) − 1

• r is the expected annual return as a decimal (8% is 0.08)
• n is the number of compounding periods per year: 12 for Monthly, 4 for Quarterly, 2 for Semiannual, 1 for Annual
• i is the monthly rate used in every step

With Monthly compounding, 8% becomes 0.6667% a month, which is 8.30% a year in effective terms. With Annual compounding it becomes 0.6434% a month, which compounds to exactly 8.00% a year.

Future value

FV = S × (1 + i)^m + C × ((1 + i)^m − 1) ÷ i × k

• S is current savings
• C is the monthly contribution
• m is the number of months
• k is 1 + i for Beginning of month and 1 for End of month

The first term is your current savings growing. The second is the series of monthly deposits. With a 0% return, the formula becomes simply S + C × m.

Solving for the monthly contribution

In Monthly contribution mode, the calculator first grows your current savings alone over the time horizon. If that already reaches the target, the answer is zero. Otherwise it divides the remaining gap by the deposit factor:

C = (T − S × (1 + i)^m) ÷ (((1 + i)^m − 1) ÷ i × k)

• T is the target amount and m is the time horizon times 12

Solving for the timeframe

In Timeframe mode, there is no formula to rearrange neatly, so the calculator searches. It finds the smallest whole number of months for which the future value reaches the target, looking as far as 1,200 months. If even 1,200 months are not enough, it shows 100+ years.

Assumptions behind the numbers

• A fixed return every month. No losing years, no volatility and no change in rates.
• Equal monthly deposits. The contribution never grows with your income or with inflation, and there are no withdrawals.
• A fixed target. The target is an amount, not a purchasing power. Inflation is not applied.
• Not modelled: taxes, fund fees, account costs and exchange rates. Enter a return that is already net of them if you want them included.

The results are scenarios at the return you choose, not forecasts.

How much to save per month for a goal

The most common question behind a savings goal is how much to put aside each month. The answer depends on three things: the size of the target, the time you allow and the return. The table shows the required monthly contribution from zero savings at a 5% return, with monthly compounding and deposits at the end of each month:

Two patterns stand out. For short goals, the return barely matters: $10,000 in one year takes $833 a month at 0% and $814 at 5%, because each deposit is invested for only a few months. For long goals, the return does most of the work: $1,000,000 in 30 years at 5% takes $1,202 a month, and your deposits add up to only $432,558 of it.

Money you already have counts too. Reaching $100,000 in 10 years at 5% takes $644 a month from zero, $538 with $10,000 already saved, $379 with $25,000 and $114 with $50,000. Always enter the savings you have set aside for the goal in Current savings.

Why starting early matters

The best time to start saving for a long-term goal is as early as you can, because time lets growth do more of the work. The table shows the monthly contribution needed to reach $1,000,000 from zero at the Moderate 8% return, for different time horizons, and how much of the final $1,000,000 is your own money:

Each five-year delay raises the monthly amount by roughly half or more. Starting with 40 years to go, $286 a month is enough at this return; starting with 20 years, it takes $1,698. The total you deposit almost triples, from $137,496 to $407,456, for the same final sum.

The effect is weaker at lower returns. At 5% a year, the same target takes $655 a month over 40 years and $2,433 over 20 years. It never disappears, though, and it is the main reason to start a long-term goal before the amount feels meaningful. The dollar-cost averaging article explains why investing a fixed sum on a schedule is a practical way to begin.

How long it takes to reach a savings goal

Timeframe mode answers the opposite question: if you can afford a fixed amount each month, when will you reach the target? The table shows the time from zero savings at the Moderate 8% return:

The time does not fall in proportion to the deposit. Going from $200 to $500 a month cuts the time to $1,000,000 by 11 years. Going from $2,000 to $3,000 saves under 4 years.

The same targets take longer at the Conservative 5%: $500 a month reaches $100,000 in 12 years 2 months instead of 10 years 8 months, and $1,000,000 in 44 years 10 months instead of 33 years 5 months. If you plan around a long timeframe, check the result at a lower return too.

Growth can also do the job alone. With the default $20,000 of current savings, no monthly contribution and 8% a year, Timeframe mode shows 20 years 3 months to reach the default target of $100,000. That is compound growth on a lump sum, which the article on compound interest and the time value of money explains in detail.

What percentage of income to save

There is no official answer to how much of your income you should save. Several rules of thumb are widely used:

• 50/30/20: 50% of take-home pay for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings and extra debt payments.
• 70/20/10: 70% for living costs, 20% for saving and investing and 10% for debt repayment or giving.
• Pay yourself first: move a fixed share to savings on payday, before spending.

For context, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the US personal saving rate was 4.1% of disposable income in August 2026 (released September 30, 2026; the next release is due October 29, 2026). That is an average across all households, not a target.

The calculator turns a savings rate into a timeline. Here is what different shares of $5,000 in monthly take-home pay reach in Timeframe mode, from zero savings at 5% a year:

Moving from 10% to 20% of income cuts the time to $250,000 by more than 8 years. A better approach than any fixed rule is to list your goals, find the required monthly contribution for each one, and add them up. If the total does not fit your budget, extend a timeframe, lower a target or decide which goal comes first. A cash reserve usually comes before long-term investing, as the emergency fund article explains, and the emergency fund calculator sizes it.

Choosing an expected return

The expected annual return is the input you know least about and the one with the largest effect on long goals. The three return chips are round assumptions, not forecasts: Conservative is 5%, Moderate 8% and Aggressive 11%. None of them is a promise, and none comes from a specific investment.

For a $100,000 goal in 15 years from zero savings, the calculator gives:

A few practical guidelines:

• Match the return to where the money will be. A goal in two years is usually kept in cash, deposits or short-term bonds, so a return near deposit rates is more realistic than 8%. Higher expected returns come from investments that can fall in value, which the risk and return article explains.
• Test more than one return. Run the plan at the Conservative chip as well as your main assumption. If the plan only works at 11%, it is fragile.
• Remember inflation. The calculator does not adjust for it. Over 15 years at 3% inflation, $100,000 of today's purchasing power needs $155,797 in future dollars (100,000 × 1.03^15, computed for this guide). At 8%, that higher target takes $450 a month, not $289.

There are two ways to plan in today's money. You can raise the target to the future amount, as above, and keep your nominal return; this assumes a flat monthly deposit. Or you can keep the target in today's money and enter a real return, which assumes your deposit rises with inflation each year. With 8% and 3% inflation, the exact real rate is (1.08 ÷ 1.03) − 1, about 4.85%. Entering 4.9% with Annual compounding gives $381 a month in today's money. The inflation impact calculator shows how fast a target loses buying power, and the article on inflation and why money loses value covers the background.

Compounding frequency and contribution timing

These two settings fine-tune the result. They matter much less than the return or the time horizon, but they explain why two calculators can give slightly different answers.

Compounding frequency sets how the annual rate is converted into the monthly rate. More frequent compounding means a higher effective yearly rate from the same quoted figure. Contribution timing sets whether each deposit grows during the month it arrives (Beginning of month) or starts growing the following month (End of month).

For $100,000 in 10 years from zero savings at 8% a year:

The full spread is $12 a month. Over 10 years, Monthly compounding with deposits at the beginning of the month needs $65,159 of your own money; Annual compounding with deposits at the end needs $66,621.

Use the setting that matches the figure you enter. A bank quoting a nominal rate compounded monthly should be entered with Monthly. An expected return from investments is usually an effective yearly figure, so Annual is the closer match. For timing, choose what your transfer actually does: a standing order the day after payday is close to Beginning of month.

Turning a goal into a number

The calculator needs a target amount, and choosing it is often harder than finding the monthly amount. A few common goals:

• An emergency fund. Usually a number of months of essential spending, kept safe and accessible. It is often the first goal.
• A house down payment. A share of the price you expect to pay, plus closing costs, at the time you plan to buy. Keep short-horizon money in low-risk savings and use a low return.
• Education. A cost in today's money for a date many years away. Raise it for inflation or plan with a real return.
• Retirement. The income you want from your savings each year, turned into a pot. The FIRE calculator helps you find that target from your spending and a withdrawal rate; this calculator then shows how much to save to reach it.

Where you save can matter as much as how much. In the US, tax-advantaged retirement accounts have yearly caps. For 2026, the IRS set the employee contribution limit for 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plans and the Thrift Savings Plan at $24,500 and the IRA limit at $7,500, with catch-up contributions of $8,000 and $1,100 for people aged 50 and over. These are 2026 figures, checked on October 16, 2026; the limits are usually adjusted each year.

Divided by 12, the 2026 IRA limit is $625 a month. Entered in Timeframe mode at 8% from zero, $625 a month reaches $1,000,000 in 30 years 10 months; at 5%, in 40 years 10 months. If your required monthly contribution is above an account's monthly equivalent, the rest has to go somewhere else.

Savings goals at a glance

This grid shows the monthly contribution needed to reach $100,000 from zero savings, with monthly compounding and deposits at the end of each month. Every value comes from the calculator. The amounts scale with the target, so $250,000 needs 2.5 times these figures and $1,000,000 ten times, give or take a few dollars, because the grid shows rounded values.

Read across a row to see the value of time, and down a column to see the value of return. Over 5 years the return changes the monthly amount by about a quarter between 0% and 11%. Over 30 years it changes it nearly eightfold.

Worked examples

Each example uses USD as the display currency, Monthly compounding and End of month timing unless stated, and shows what the calculator returns.

Common mistakes when planning a savings goal

• Leaving current savings at zero. Money already set aside for the goal can cut the monthly amount sharply. $50,000 saved reduces $644 a month to $114 for $100,000 in 10 years at 5%.
• Using a long-term return for a short-term goal. A target two years away is usually kept in cash or deposits. Use a return close to what that account pays.
• Forgetting inflation. A target fixed in today's dollars buys less in 20 years. Raise the target or enter a return after inflation.
• Ignoring fees and taxes. The return is used exactly as entered. A 1% yearly fee lowers an 8% return to roughly 7%, which the fees drag calculator shows in detail.
• Treating a smooth line as a promise. Real investments rise and fall. A plan that only works at the Aggressive chip has no room for a bad decade.
• Planning each goal on its own. Several goals compete for the same income. Add up their monthly contributions and check that the total fits.

Limitations and next steps

The investment goal calculator answers a narrow question well: at a constant return, how much you need to save each month to reach a fixed target, or how long a fixed monthly amount takes. It does not know your income, your taxes or what markets will do. It cannot model a contribution that grows with your pay, withdrawals along the way, changing returns or a losing year, and it does not adjust for inflation unless you build it into the inputs.

Use it to size a goal, then look at the parts it leaves out:

• The compound interest calculator shows how a balance grows from a given deposit over a given period.
• The inflation impact calculator shows how much a future target will really buy.
• The dollar-cost averaging calculator shows how regular investing behaves when prices move.
• The FIRE calculator helps set a retirement target from your spending.

For background, read about compound interest and the time value of money and the main types of investment assets. For decisions about your own retirement, taxes or accounts, consider a qualified, independent financial adviser who can take your full situation into account.