Compound growth,
without the guesswork.
Explore how starting money, contributions, fees, inflation and hypothetical returns can change a future balance. No investment recommendation, no account required.
Your scenario
Amounts in AUD. Change anything; results update instantly without sending data to a server.
Rates are illustrative, not historical averages, recommendations or predictions. Keep them ordered low to high.
No data is stored unless you choose Save on device.
Your scenario, three ways
End balance in future dollars for the assumed rates. Not a prediction or advice.
Middle scenario: total contributions — · modelled growth after fees — · approximate present purchasing power —.
View accessible year-by-year table
| Year | Low | Middle | High |
|---|
How this calculation works
We begin with the starting amount. Each month, the current balance grows or falls at the chosen illustrative annual return divided by twelve. We apply the annual fee as a monthly reduction, then add that month's contribution. Any one-off amount is added at the end of the selected year. Annual contribution increases take effect at the start of each new 12-month period.
For the comparison in today's dollars, we divide the nominal balance by an inflation factor. This is a simplified model: it doesn't estimate your tax, account-specific charges, brokerage, volatility, market crashes, dividends versus price growth, or the order in which returns actually arrive.
A worked example you can verify
Starting with $10,000, adding $500 at the end of each month, over 20 years at a hypothetical 6% annual nominal rate compounded monthly, with no fees or additional contributions, gives $264,122.49. That comprises $130,000 contributed and $134,122.49 of modelled growth. The same starting amount does not remain flat: it is compounded alongside later contributions. The calculation is covered by an exact automated regression test.
Important trade-offs
- Fees: even a modest ongoing percentage fee can make a substantial difference over long periods.
- Inflation: purchasing power can be lower than the future-dollar figure on a projection chart.
- Variation: real markets do not produce smooth, fixed returns; actual results can be negative.
- Tax: not modelled here, because tax treatment depends on the investment and taxpayer. This calculator is not a tax estimate.
For additional information, read the compound growth guide and full methodology.