Compound Interest Calculator

Compounding means your money earns returns, and then those returns start earning returns too. A dollar that grows 7% in a year becomes $1.07 — and the next year, that 7% applies to $1.07, not the original dollar. Left alone long enough, that small difference turns into most of your final balance.

This calculator applies your growth rate monthly rather than once a year, since that's closer to how most real accounts compound, and adds your monthly contribution on top each time. The chart splits the outcome into two lines: the money you actually put in, and the total balance — the growing gap between them is interest working on your behalf rather than money out of your pocket.

This is a general-purpose growth calculator, not specific to dividend stocks — it works just as well for a savings account, an index fund, or any investment with a fairly steady long-term average return.