Future Value Calculator
Calculate future value (FV) of an initial investment lump sum given an expected annual interest rate.
Future Value Result
What a sum today becomes, and what it will buy
Future value answers a single question: what is a sum today worth after growing at a given rate for a given time? The mechanism is compounding — each period's growth joins the balance and earns in its own right — and the result is exponential rather than linear, which is why long horizons produce figures that look implausible until you check them.
Two variants cover most real cases. A lump sum grows as one amount for the whole period. An annuity adds a regular contribution, and each contribution compounds only for the time it has been invested, so the first is worth far more than the last. Where contributions are made at the start of each period rather than the end — an annuity due — every payment gets one extra period of growth, which adds a few percent over a long run.
The number the calculator gives you is nominal. Inflation is the correction most people forget: at 3%, purchasing power roughly halves every 24 years, so a projected million is worth considerably less in today's terms. Either subtract inflation from your rate to work in real money, or hold in mind that the headline figure is inflated. And treat the rate as an assumption — at these time horizons, small differences compound into very large ones.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Future Value (FV) formula?
FV = PV × (1 + r)^n, where PV is Present Value, r is interest rate per period, and n is number of periods.
What is future value?
What a sum today will be worth at a future date given an assumed rate of return: FV = PV x (1+r)^n. It is the forward-looking half of the time value of money, and the assumption that does all the work is r - small changes in the assumed rate compound into very large differences over long horizons.
Should I use nominal or real returns?
Use real - inflation-adjusted - returns if you want the answer in today's purchasing power, which is usually what you actually care about. A projection showing $1 million in 30 years at nominal 7% is closer to $410,000 in today's money at 3% inflation. Mixing nominal returns with today's expenses is the most common projection error.
How reliable are long-term projections?
Directionally useful, precisely wrong. They assume a constant return, but real markets deliver sequences, and the order of returns matters enormously once you are withdrawing. Treat a future value as one scenario among many and re-run it with pessimistic assumptions before relying on it.