Savings Goal Calculator

Calculate how much to save monthly free online to reach a specific savings goal by a target date. Accounts for interest earned on savings, not just simple division.

Savings Goal

Months to Reach It

Annual Interest Rate on Savings (%)

Browser only.

How to Use This Tool

Enter your savings goal and timelineThe target amount and number of months

Enter your savings account interest rateEven a small rate changes the required contribution

See your required monthly contributionAccounts for compounding, not simple division

Savings Goal Calculator is a free online tool that works entirely in your browser — no signup, no data uploaded, no limits.

Simple Division Overstates What You Actually Need to Save

Dividing a goal by months ignores that money saved early has more time to earn interest than money saved near the deadline. This calculator uses the future value of an annuity formula, the same math behind retirement contribution planning, to find the monthly amount that -- combined with compounding interest -- reaches your goal exactly by the deadline.

Why Even Modest Interest Rates Help

A savings account earning even a small interest rate means each monthly deposit starts compounding immediately, which adds up meaningfully over a multi-year savings goal. The required monthly contribution drops accordingly, since interest is doing some of the work alongside your deposits.

Starting From Zero -- A Deliberate Simplification

This calculates the contribution needed starting from no existing savings toward this specific goal. If you already have a head start, calculating that existing amount's projected future value separately, then finding the remaining gap, gives a more accurate picture than treating the full goal as starting from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Simple division ignores any interest your savings earn along the way, which means it overstates how much you actually need to save monthly if your savings account or investment generates any return during the saving period.

It uses the future value of an annuity formula, which calculates the monthly contribution needed so that regular deposits plus compounding interest reach your target amount by the deadline -- accounting for the fact that earlier contributions have more time to earn interest than later ones.

Setting the interest rate to zero or very close to it makes this calculator behave like simple division, since there's no compounding effect to account for -- the formula naturally handles this edge case correctly.

Yes, especially over longer time horizons -- more time for compounding to work means a higher rate has more opportunity to contribute toward the goal, reducing how much you personally need to contribute through monthly deposits.

This calculator computes the monthly contribution needed from zero starting savings. If you already have some amount saved, you'd want to first calculate that amount's future value at the deadline, then calculate the remaining gap separately.