Project account growth from a return percent over periods.
A compounding calculator shows how a balance grows when each period's return is added to it and then earns a return of its own. Enter a starting balance, a return per period, the number of periods and an optional regular deposit, and it projects your final balance, the money you put in, the profit and the total return.
Final balance = S × (1 + r)ⁿ + D × ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1) ÷ r
Total contributed is S + D × n, profit is the final balance minus that figure, and total return is final balance ÷ total contributed − 1.
You start with 5,000, expect 2% a month for 12 months and add 100 at the end of each month. First, 1.02¹² ≈ 1.268242.
Without deposits, 5,000 grows to 6,341.21. Simple growth at 2% a month would reach only 6,200, so compounding adds 141.21 in the first year.
Traders use compounding projections to set realistic targets and to see what a steady monthly return means over a year or more. Real returns vary from period to period, and a losing month sets the curve back, so treat the result as an illustration rather than a forecast.
For context, read is forex trading profitable?, how much money you need to start and how to build a trading plan. To see how a loss changes the path, try the drawdown calculator.
Returns are never fixed in trading, so use this as a planning illustration, not a promise. Real results vary from period to period and drawdowns interrupt compounding, which means a steady rate is an average at best.
Any interval you like: a day, a week, a month or a year. Keep the return and the number of periods on the same basis. For example, enter a monthly return with 12 periods to project one year, or with 36 periods to project three years.
The rule of 72 gives a quick estimate: divide 72 by the return per period. At 2% a month, 72 ÷ 2 = 36 months. The calculator agrees: 1,000 at 2% for 36 periods grows to about 2,040.
Each deposit is added at the end of a period, after that period's return has been applied, so it starts earning from the next period. Total contributed counts your starting balance plus every deposit, and the total return is measured against that amount.
Simple returns are earned on your starting balance only. Compound returns are earned on the growing balance, including past profits. At 2% a month for a year, simple growth comes to 24%, while compounding gives about 26.8%.