Future value is the standard time-value-of-money function, and this version works in periods rather than years so it fits any schedule. A period can be a month, a quarter or a year — you supply the rate for one period and the number of periods, and the same arithmetic applies.
Two components are added together. The present sum grows by (1 + i) raised to the number of periods, and the stream of equal payments is accumulated with the future value of an ordinary annuity formula. Either part can be set to zero if you only need the other.
On the defaults — $5,000 present value, 1.5% per period for 40 periods with $250 added each period — the future value is $22,637. Of that, $9,070 comes from the opening sum and $13,567 from the payment stream.
The formula
FV- Future value
PV- Present value, the sum you start with
PMT- Payment added each period
i- Interest rate per period, not per year
n- Number of periods
How to use this calculator
- Enter the sum you are starting with, or zero if there is none.
- Enter the rate for one period — divide an annual rate by 12 for monthly periods.
- Enter the number of periods and any recurring payment.
- The gauge shows the future value, split into its two components below.
Worked examples
40 monthly periods at 1.5% each
$5,000 compounds to $9,070 on its own. Adding $250 at the end of every period contributes a further $13,567, for a future value of $22,637 against $15,000 actually paid in.
Converting an annual rate
For monthly periods at a 9% annual nominal rate, enter 0.75% per period and the number of months. Do not enter 9% with a month count — that would apply 9% every month and produce a wildly overstated figure.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
Why does this use periods instead of years?
Because most real schedules are not annual. Working in periods lets the same function handle monthly savings, quarterly deposits or annual contributions without a separate frequency setting, provided the rate and the count refer to the same period.
Are payments made at the start or end of each period?
At the end, which is the ordinary annuity convention. For payments at the start, an annuity due, multiply the payment component by (1 + i) — every payment then earns one extra period of interest.
What if the rate is zero?
The formula degenerates to the present value plus the payment multiplied by the number of periods, which is what the calculator returns. It is a useful sanity check on the other figures.
How does this relate to present value?
They are inverses. Future value multiplies by (1 + i)^n to move money forward in time; present value divides by the same factor to move it back. Both rest on the idea that a sum available sooner is worth more than the same sum later.
Future value factor reference
| Periods | 0.5% | 1% | 1.5% | 2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1.0617 | 1.1268 | 1.1956 | 1.2682 |
| 24 | 1.1272 | 1.2697 | 1.4295 | 1.6084 |
| 36 | 1.1967 | 1.4308 | 1.7091 | 2.0399 |
| 60 | 1.3489 | 1.8167 | 2.4432 | 3.2810 |
| 120 | 1.8194 | 3.3004 | 5.9693 | 10.7652 |
| 240 | 3.3102 | 10.8926 | 35.6328 | 115.8887 |
Multiply your present value by the factor to get its future value.