Tools · Calculator
Savings goal calculator
See how many years a starting amount, a yearly addition and a fixed rate take to reach a goal, or the yearly addition that would land on that goal in a number of years you choose.
An illustration, not a forecast. This calculator applies a fixed rate you choose. Real-world growth isn't steady and can be negative; the result shows how the arithmetic of a goal works, nothing more.
The formula
End of year = start of year × (1 + rate) + amount added
Addition for a set number of years = (goal − start × (1 + rate)years) × rate ÷ ((1 + rate)years − 1)
When the rate is zero, the addition simplifies to (goal − start) ÷ years. The years to the goal are found by walking forward one year at a time rather than rearranging the first formula, so a changing mix of growth and additions stays easy to follow in the table.
A worked example
Start with 5,000, add 2,000 at the end of each year, and grow at 5% a year, toward a goal of 25,000. Year 1: 5,000 × 1.05 + 2,000 = 7,250. Year 2: 7,250 × 1.05 + 2,000 = 9,612.50. The total first clears 25,000 in year 8, at about 26,485.49. To land on 25,000 in exactly eight years at the same rate, the yearly addition is about 1,844.44, because the original 5,000 grows to about 7,387.28 on its own and the additions have to make up the rest, themselves growing after they are added.
The compound growth calculator shows a path for a set number of years without a goal. The inflation-adjusted return calculator can put a goal in starting-year dollars first, if you want the target to keep its purchasing power.
Common questions
How are the years to the goal counted?
The calculator grows the running total one year at a time, adds the yearly amount at the end of the year, and reports the first year the total is at or above the goal. It stops looking after 100 years.
What if I want the total to equal the goal in a set number of years?
Type that number in the last box. The calculator works out the amount to add at the end of each year so the total lands on the goal. With no growth, that amount is simply (goal − start) ÷ years.
Is the rate a prediction of returns?
No. It is a fixed rate you choose, held steady for the illustration. Real returns change from year to year and can be negative.
What if the starting amount is already above the goal?
Then the years to the goal are zero, and no yearly addition is needed to stay at or above it.
How is this different from the compound growth calculator?
The compound growth calculator starts from an amount, a rate and a number of years and shows the ending amount. This one starts from a goal and asks how many years, or how large an addition, would get there.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings
- The editor holds no position in any company named on this page. As of Nov 11, 2026.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this calculator. No affiliate links on this calculator.
- Sources
- Each company's own SEC filings, linked next to each number.
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and it doesn't consider your situation.
More in Learn and Tools · Methodology & Disclosures explains where every number comes from.