Savings Goal Calculator

Setting a savings target (a down payment, an emergency fund, a vacation, a big purchase) is easy. Figuring out exactly how much to set aside each month, or how long it'll actually take at the amount you can afford, is the harder part. This calculator solves both directions of that problem for a regular monthly contribution, with an optional annual interest rate for a savings account or investment that earns interest along the way.

Monthly Contribution Needed takes a target amount, a timeframe in months, and an annual interest rate, and works out the fixed monthly deposit required to land exactly on the target by the end of that timeframe. Time to Reach Goal flips the question around: given a target amount and a fixed monthly contribution you already have in mind, it works out how many months (and years) it'll take to get there.

With no interest rate (0%), the math is just the target divided evenly across the months, or the target divided by the monthly amount. With a non-zero rate, the calculator uses the standard future-value-of-an-annuity formula for monthly contributions compounding monthly, so the required contribution comes out lower (and the time to goal comes out shorter) than the interest-free math would suggest: the earlier deposits have longer to earn their own interest before the deadline.

Every figure updates live as you type, with no "Calculate" button to press, and switching between the two modes keeps your inputs separate so going back and forth doesn't lose what you'd already entered. Every calculation runs as plain JavaScript directly in your browser, so nothing you type is ever sent to a server, logged, or stored anywhere.