CD Calculator
Enter the deposit, the rate and the term in months, and read what a certificate of deposit is worth the day it matures, with the interest earned, the effective yield and the stated rate beside it. The rate can be entered as an APR or as an advertised APY, compounding runs daily, monthly, quarterly or annually, the balance is listed at the end of each year, and the same money can be laid out over six terms at once. There is no rate sheet on this page: the rate in the answer is the one you type, the three worked examples underneath are illustrations rather than offers, and every figure is worked out in your browser.
Balance along the way
The balance at the end of each year, and at maturity. Interest is added each month and left in the certificate, which is what makes the yield higher than the rate.
| After | Balance | Interest so far |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 10,459.40 | 459.40 |
Worked examples
Three certificates worked through, each one loadable into the fields above. The figures are illustrations of the arithmetic, not rates on offer.
Common questions
- What is the difference between APY and APR on a CD?
- APR is the stated annual rate and ignores compounding. APY is the effective annual yield and includes it. A certificate paying 4.5% APR compounded monthly earns 4.593983% over a year; compounded daily the same 4.5% earns 4.602496%. Banks advertise whichever number flatters the product, so the toggle beside the rate field asks which one you typed, and both are printed under the answer. Read the pair, not one of them.
- What does the compounding frequency actually change?
- Less than the word suggests. $10,000 at 4.5% for five years matures at $12,523.05 compounded daily, $12,517.96 monthly, $12,507.51 quarterly and $12,461.82 annually. The whole distance between compounding every day and once a year is $61.23, and between daily and monthly it is $5.09. The rate and the term move the answer; the frequency mostly moves the marketing.
- What happens if I take the money out early?
- This page cannot tell you, because the penalty is a term of your certificate and is not derivable from arithmetic. Banks usually state it as a number of months of interest, for example 90 days of interest on a one-year term, and it is written on the disclosure you signed. What the calculator can do is show the interest you would have earned up to that point: enter the shorter term in months and read the interest line, then subtract the penalty your disclosure names.
- Does this calculator know current CD rates?
- No, and that is on purpose. Rates differ by bank, by term, by balance tier and by week, so a rate shipped inside a page is wrong somewhere the day after it is written, and a page that quotes one stops being a calculator and starts being an advertisement. Take the rate off the offer in front of you and type it in. The three worked examples at the foot of the page are illustrations of the arithmetic, not rates anyone is offering. Nothing here is fetched from anywhere and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
- How do I compare CD terms, or a ladder?
- Switch to Compare terms and the same deposit is run over 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 60 months, plus whatever term you have in the field, so the interest each one earns sits in one column. Every row uses the single rate you entered, which is the honest default when the page has no rate sheet. A real ladder is usually quoted a different rate per rung, so put each rung's own rate in the field and read its row.
- Is any of this uploaded, and does it need an account?
- Neither. The arithmetic runs in the page, there is no account and nothing is sent anywhere. The deposit, rate, term and compounding you last used are remembered in your own browser so the page opens where you left it, and clearing your browser data removes them.
Exact compound interest arithmetic on the deposit, rate, term and compounding you enter. It cannot know your bank's early withdrawal penalty, fees or tax treatment, and it does not carry any rate of its own.