Free CD Calculator: Ending Balance, Interest and APY
Free, no sign-up, works in your browser. Enter your deposit, the interest rate or APY, the term and how often interest compounds to see what a certificate of deposit (CD) will be worth at maturity, the interest you'll earn and the APY. Works for terms from 1 month to 20 years, with daily, monthly, quarterly, semiannual, yearly or at-maturity interest. An estimate, not financial advice.
%
Ask your bank. Most CDs compound daily or monthly.
- Ending balance
- $10,450.00
- Interest earned
- $450.00
- APY
- 4.50%
That works out to an interest rate of 4.402% and an APY of 4.50%.
| When | Interest earned | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| At maturity (12 months) | $450.00 | $10,450.00 |
An estimate, not financial advice. Banks round interest each period, and taxes and early-withdrawal penalties aren't included. Your numbers stay on your device.
Why use the CD Calculator
- Rate or APY, your choice
- Start from whichever number your bank gives you and see the other one worked out.
- Every kind of compounding
- Daily, monthly, quarterly, every six months, yearly, or simple interest at maturity.
- Balance year by year
- See what your CD is worth at the end of each year of its term, not just at the end.
- 100% free
- Use it as often as you like. No sign-up, no watermark, nothing to install.
- Private by design
- What you type stays in your browser and is never sent to us.
- Works on any device
- Runs in your browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone. No app needed.
Who it's for
- Comparing two CD offers
- Enter each bank's APY and term and see which one leaves you with more at the end.
- Planning for a goal
- Find out what a lump sum will be worth in time for a down payment, a tuition bill or a trip.
- Choosing a term
- See how 6 months, 1 year and 5 years change the interest at the same APY.
- Checking a bank's number
- Enter the rate and the compounding and confirm the APY the bank quotes.
- Building a CD ladder
- Run each rung on its own and add up the interest.
How CD Calculator compares
- Your bank's CD page
- It lists the real rates and terms on offer. Use this calculator to see what those numbers turn into.
- Rate-comparison sites
- Sites like Bankrate and NerdWallet compare current CD rates across banks. This calculator shows what one of those rates would earn on your deposit.
- The Compound Interest Calculator on this site
- A better fit for savings you keep adding to, or for investments with no fixed term.
How to use the CD Calculator
- Enter your deposit.
- Choose whether you know the bank's interest rate or its APY, and enter it.
- Enter the term in months or years, and choose how often the interest compounds.
- Read the ending balance, interest earned and APY, and the balance at the end of each year.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a CD?
- A certificate of deposit is a savings product where you leave a sum with a bank or credit union for a fixed term, from a few months to several years, and earn a fixed interest rate. You get your deposit and the interest back at maturity. Taking the money out early usually means a penalty.
- What's the difference between interest rate and APY?
- The interest rate is the yearly rate before compounding. APY (annual percentage yield) is what you actually earn in a year once compounding is counted, so it's a little higher. In the US, banks have to quote APY, which makes CDs easy to compare. A 5% rate compounded monthly is a 5.116% APY.
- How is the ending balance calculated?
- Balance = deposit × (1 + r ÷ n)^(n × t), where r is the interest rate, n is the number of times it compounds a year and t is the term in years. For $10,000 at 5% compounded monthly for 1 year: 10,000 × (1 + 0.05 ÷ 12)^12 = $10,511.62. Interest paid only at maturity is simple interest: deposit × (1 + r × t).
- Which should I enter, the rate or the APY?
- Use whichever your bank gives you. Banks always list the APY, so it's usually the easy one to enter. If you enter the APY, the calculator works back to the interest rate and doesn't compound it a second time.
- Does compounding matter much?
- Only a little on a typical CD. At 4% for one year on $10,000, daily compounding earns $408.08 and yearly compounding earns $400.00. The rate and the term matter far more. More frequent compounding always earns slightly more at the same rate.
- Is CD interest taxable, and is my money safe?
- In the US, CD interest is generally taxed as ordinary income in the year it's earned, even if you don't withdraw it. This calculator doesn't include taxes. CDs at FDIC-insured banks, and at NCUA-insured credit unions, are covered up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership category.
- Is the CD calculator free, and is my data kept?
- Yes, it's free to use and needs no account. The sums run in your browser, and the numbers you type stay on your device. It's an estimate: banks round interest each period, so a real statement can differ by a few cents.
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