The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
Your savings account balances and investments can grow more quickly over time through the magic of compounding. Use the compound interest calculator above to see how big a difference it could make for you.
Using this compound interest calculator
Try your calculations both with and without a monthly contribution — say, $50 to $200, depending on what you can afford.
This savings calculator includes a sample rate of return. To see the interest you can expect, compare rates on NerdWallet.
SoFi Checking and Savings
APY
2.00%SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 2.00% annual percentage yield (APY) interest on all account balances in their Checking and Savings accounts (including Vaults). Members without direct deposit will earn 1.00% APY on all account balances in Checking and Savings (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. Rate of 2.00% APY is current as of 08/12/2022. Additional information can be found at //www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet
UFB Rewards Savings
LendingClub High-Yield Savings
Citizens Online Savings Account
Min. balance for APY
$5,000
CIT Bank Savings Connect
These cash accounts combine services and features similar to checking, savings and/or investment accounts in one product. Cash management accounts are typically offered by non-bank financial institutions.
These cash accounts combine services and features similar to checking, savings and/or investment accounts in one product. Cash management accounts are typically offered by non-bank financial institutions.
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on Wealthfront's website
Wealthfront Cash Account
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on Aspiration's website
Aspiration Spend & Save Account - Aspiration Plus
APY
5.00%The Aspiration Save Account’s up to 5.00% Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) with up to 71x the national interest rate is variable, subject to change, and only available to customers enrolled in Aspiration Plus after conditions are met. Customers not enrolled in Aspiration Plus receive 3.00% APY after conditions are met.
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on Betterment's website
Betterment Cash Reserve
APY
2.00%The annual percentage yield ("APY") on the deposit balances in Betterment Cash Reserve ("Cash Reserve") is 2.00% and represents the weighted average of the APY on deposit balances at the banks participating in Cash Reserve (the "Program Banks") and is current as of September 12, 2022. This APY is variable and subject to change daily. Deposit balances are not allocated equally among the participating Program Banks. A minimum deposit of $10 is required, but there is no minimum balance required to be maintained. The APY available to a customer may be lower if that customer designates a bank or banks as ineligible to receive deposits. APY applies only to Cash Reserve and does not apply to checking accounts held through Betterment Checking. Cash Reserve and Betterment Checking are separate offerings and are not linked accounts.
CDs (certificates of deposit) are a type of savings account with a fixed rate and term, and usually have higher interest rates than regular savings accounts.
CDs (certificates of deposit) are a type of savings account with a fixed rate and term, and usually have higher interest rates than regular savings accounts.
LendingClub CD
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on Nationwide's website
Nationwide CD
LendingClub CD
Checking accounts are used for day-to-day cash deposits and withdrawals.
Checking accounts are used for day-to-day cash deposits and withdrawals.
SoFi Checking and Savings
APY
2.00%SoFi members with direct deposit can earn up to 2.00% annual percentage yield (APY) interest on all account balances in their Checking and Savings accounts (including Vaults). Members without direct deposit will earn 1.00% APY on all account balances in Checking and Savings (including Vaults). Interest rates are variable and subject to change at any time. Rate of 2.00% APY is current as of 08/12/2022. Additional information can be found at //www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet
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Deposits are FDIC Insured
Upgrade - Rewards Checking
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Deposits are FDIC Insured
Current Account
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Deposits are FDIC Insured
Chime Checking Account
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on Citibank, N.A.'s website
Citi Priority Account
Money market accounts pay rates similar to savings accounts and have some checking features.
Money market accounts pay rates similar to savings accounts and have some checking features.
UFB Rewards Money Market
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Deposits are FDIC Insured
Zynlo Bank More Money Market Account
APY
2.25%Start earning up to 2.25% APY when you open a Zynlo More Money Market Account using the code NERD
Min. balance for APY
$0.01
Here’s a deeper look at how compounding works:
What is compound interest?
For savers, the definition of compound interest is basic: It’s the interest you earn on both your original money and on the interest you keep accumulating. Compound interest allows your savings to grow faster over time.
In an account that pays compound interest, such as a standard savings account, the return gets added to the original principal at the end of every compounding period, typically daily or monthly. Each time interest is calculated and added to the account, the larger balance earns more interest, resulting in higher yields.
For example, if you put $10,000 into a savings account with a 0.50% annual yield, compounded daily, you’d earn $51 in interest the first and second years, and $53 the third year. After 10 years of compounding, you would have earned a total of $513 in interest.
But remember, that’s just an example. For longer-term savings, there are better places than savings accounts to store your money, including Roth or traditional IRAs and CDs.
Compounding investment returns
When you invest in the stock market, you don’t earn a set interest rate but rather a return based on the change in the value of your investment. When the value of your investment goes up, you earn a return.
If you leave your money and the returns you earn invested in the market, those returns are compounded over time in the same way that interest is compounded.
If you invested $10,000 in a mutual fund and the fund earned a 7% return for the year, you’d gain about $700, and your investment would be worth $10,700. If you got an average 7% return the following year, your investment would then be worth about $11,500.
Over the years, your investment can really grow: If you kept that money in a retirement account over 30 years and earned that average 7% return, for example, your $10,000 would grow to more than $76,000.
In reality, investment returns will vary year to year and even day to day. In the short term, riskier investments such as stocks or stock mutual funds may actually lose value. But over a long time horizon, history shows that a diversified growth portfolio can return an average of 6% to 7% annually. Investment returns are typically shown at an annual rate of return.
The average stock market return is historically 10% annually, though that rate is reduced by inflation. Investors can currently expect inflation to reduce purchasing power by 2% to 3% a year.
Compounding can help fulfill your long-term savings and investment goals, especially if you have time to let it work its magic over years or decades. You can earn far more than what you started with.
More NerdWallet calculators
Compounding with additional contributions
As impressive as compound interest might be, progress on savings goals also depends on making steady contributions.
Let’s go back to the savings account example above. We started with $10,000 and ended up with a little more than $500 in interest after 10 years in an account with a 0.50% annual yield. But by depositing an additional $100 each month into your savings account, you’d end up with $21,821 after 10 years, when compounded daily. The interest would be $821 on total deposits of $22,000.