See what a lump sum grows to with compound interest. Enter an amount, a rate, and a time horizon — get the exact future value and a year-by-year breakdown. Under the hood it’s one exponent: (1 + r)n.
Worked example: $10,000 at 7% for 20 years, compounded annually. The growth factor is 1.0720 = 3.8697, so the future value is 10,000 × 3.8697 = $38,696.84. You put in $10,000; compounding did the other $28,696.84.
Future value is FV = PV × (1 + r/n)n·t — starting amount times one plus the periodic rate, raised to the number of periods.
Compounded annually, it grows to $38,696.84, because 1.0720 ≈ 3.8697.
Yes, a little. $1,000 at 7% for 10 years is $1,967.15 compounded annually, but $2,009.66 compounded monthly — the more often it compounds, the more you get.
