Savings Calculator
See what a starting balance plus regular deposits grows to at your APY — and how much of the final balance is your money against the bank's interest.
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What this calculator works out
Give it what you have, what you can add, and the APY your bank pays, and it projects the balance year by year — with the total split into your deposits and the interest they earned. That split is the honest way to look at a savings account: at typical rates and timeframes, most of the balance is money you put there.
It suits any deposit account with a quoted APY: high-yield savings, money market accounts, or a credit union share account. For a single deposit locked to a term, the CD calculator is the better fit; for money invested in markets, use the investment calculator, which frames its assumptions very differently.
Why the APY is the only rate you need
Banks advertise savings rates as an annual percentage yield precisely so you do not have to care about compounding schedules. The APY already includes the effect of the bank's compounding — daily, monthly, whatever it is — expressed as the percentage your money actually grows in a year. Two accounts with the same APY pay the same, whatever their internal mechanics.
That is why this form asks for one rate and no compounding setting. Enter the APY as advertised, and the calculator converts it internally to a rate per deposit period.
A worked example
Start with $5,000, add $250 a month for five years at 4.25% APY. You deposit $20,000 in total ($5,000 to open, $15,000 along the way), and the balance lands near $22,800 — roughly $2,800 of it interest.
Notice the proportions: after five years, about 88% of the balance is your own money. Savings accounts protect and modestly grow money; they do not multiply it. The value of the account is safety and access, with interest as a bonus — which is exactly what an emergency fund wants.
Reading the yearly table
The interest column grows every year even though the deposit never changes. That is compounding at work: each year's interest is earned on a bigger balance, part of which is previous years' interest. Over five years the effect is visible; over twenty it dominates. If the timeframes you care about are long, compare the same inputs on the compound interest calculator to see the curve isolated from the deposits.
What this does not cover
- Rate changes. Savings APYs float with market rates and change at the bank's discretion. The projection holds yours constant.
- Tax. Interest in an ordinary account is taxable in the year it is credited, which reduces what actually compounds.
- Inflation. The figures are nominal dollars. At many points in history, savings rates have trailed inflation — the balance grows while its purchasing power shrinks.
- Withdrawals. The plan assumes every deposit stays put.
See our methodology for how these tools are built and tested.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between APY and interest rate?
The interest rate is the nominal annual figure before compounding; the APY is what your money actually grows in a year once compounding is included. The APY is always the larger of the two (or equal, with annual compounding), and it is the number banks must advertise.
Use the APY here. If you only have a nominal rate and a compounding schedule, the CD calculator converts between them.
How much should I keep in savings?
A common guideline for an emergency fund is three to six months of essential expenses, kept somewhere safe and accessible — which is what a savings account is for. Beyond that, money with a long time horizon is usually better matched to investments, and money with a fixed date to a CD.
Guidelines are not advice; the right figure depends on how stable your income is and what obligations you carry.
Does it matter if I deposit weekly instead of monthly?
Barely, if the total is the same. Depositing $57.69 weekly instead of $250 monthly gets money earning slightly sooner, but at savings rates the difference over years is a few dollars. Pick the schedule you will actually keep — consistency matters far more than frequency.
Is savings interest taxed?
Yes. Interest is ordinary taxable income in the year it is credited, whether or not you withdraw it, and your bank reports it on Form 1099-INT above $10. This calculator does not deduct tax, so your after-tax growth is somewhat lower than shown.
Why is my bank's projection slightly different?
Small differences come from deposit timing — start or end of the period, and which day interest is credited — and from rounding. This calculator adds deposits at the end of each period. The differences are cents-to-dollars over typical timeframes, not structural.
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This calculator is provided for general educational and estimation purposes only. It does not constitute financial or investment advice. Savings rates change at the bank's discretion, and interest earned is generally taxable. Confirm current rates and terms with your bank before relying on a projection.