This investment calculator shows how a starting balance and regular monthly contributions grow with compound interest in Canada. Change any input and the final balance, the amount you contributed and the growth update as you type, along with how long your money takes to double. This page is general education, not financial advice.
How do you use this investment calculator?
Enter a starting amount, a monthly contribution, the number of years, an expected annual return and a compounding frequency, and the calculator updates the result immediately.
- Starting amount — the balance you have today
- Monthly contribution — what you plan to add each month
- Years — how long the money stays invested
- Annual return — the yearly rate you expect before inflation, fees and tax
- Compounding frequency — how often growth is added back to the balance (monthly, quarterly, annually or daily)
The tool opens with a sample case: a $1,000 starting amount, $500 a month for 25 years at 7%, compounded monthly. That grows to about $410,761, of which $151,000 is money you put in. The “money doubles every” line uses the Rule of 72: divide 72 by the annual return.
How much will my investment grow?
At an assumed 7% annual return compounded monthly, $500 a month for 25 years grows to about $405,036. Only $150,000 of that is your own contributions; the other $255,036 is compound growth. In the final years, growth adds more to the balance each year than your contributions do.
The same deposits give very different results at different rates. At 2.5%, $500 a month for 25 years reaches about $208,088. At 5%, it reaches about $297,755. The return rate you enter is an assumption, so run the calculator at two or three rates rather than trusting one number.
Why does time matter more than the amount?
Time matters more because each year of growth compounds on all the growth before it, so money invested early does far more work than larger amounts added later.
| Saving plan | Total contributed | Balance at 7%, compounded monthly |
|---|---|---|
| $500 a month for 30 years | $180,000 | $609,985 |
| $1,000 a month for 20 years | $240,000 | $520,927 |
| $2,000 a month for 10 years | $240,000 | $346,170 |
The 30-year saver contributes $60,000 less than the other two plans and still finishes $89,058 ahead of the 20-year plan and $263,815 ahead of the 10-year plan. The only difference is how long compound interest had to work.
Interest calculator: how compound interest is calculated
An interest calculator applies one formula. A starting amount P grows to P × (1 + r/n)^(n × t), where r is the annual rate as a decimal, n is the number of compounding periods per year and t is the number of years. Regular contributions add PMT × ((1 + r/n)^(n × t) − 1) ÷ (r/n) on top, where PMT is the amount added each period. The calculator above adds the two parts together.
Simple interest is the contrast. With simple interest, $10,000 at 7% earns the same $700 every year, so after 30 years the balance is $31,000. With compound interest paid once a year, the same $10,000 reaches about $76,123, because each year’s interest also earns interest.
Does compounding frequency matter?
Yes, but much less than the return rate or the number of years: $10,000 at 7% for 30 years grows to about $76,123 with annual compounding and $81,165 with monthly compounding.
Daily compounding lifts the same example only to about $81,645, so the jump from monthly to daily is small. Match the setting to the product: savings accounts usually calculate interest daily, many GICs compound once a year, and reinvested ETF distributions arrive monthly or quarterly depending on the fund.
Savings calculator: what cash, savings accounts and GICs earn
The calculator works as a savings calculator too: enter a posted interest rate instead of an expected investment return. YieldMaple checked each rate below on the provider’s own site: the savings rates on September 23 and 24, 2026, and the GIC rates on October 8, 2026. Wealthsimple Savings pays 2.5% (available to every client, no tiers). Tangerine’s regular Savings Account pays 0.30%. For money you can lock away, EQ Bank pays 3.70% on a 1-year GIC and 4.30% on a 5-year GIC, and Tangerine pays 4.25% on a 5-year GIC.
| Item | Current figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wealthsimple Savings account interest | 2.5% (available to every client, no tiers) | wealthsimple.com Verified October 7, 2026 |
| Tangerine Savings Account posted interest rate (Tangerine rate date February 23, 2026) | 0.30% | tangerine.ca Verified October 7, 2026 |
| EQ Bank 1-year GIC rate (non-registered and registered) | 3.70% | eqbank.ca Verified October 8, 2026 |
| EQ Bank 5-year GIC rate (non-registered and registered) | 4.30% | eqbank.ca Verified October 8, 2026 |
| Tangerine 5-year GIC rate (Tangerine rate date October 3, 2026) | 4.25% | tangerine.ca Verified October 8, 2026 |
Here is what $10,000 left alone for five years becomes at each rate, assuming interest compounds once a year and the rate never changes:
- Tangerine Savings: about $10,151
- Wealthsimple Savings: about $11,314
- Tangerine 5-year GIC: about $12,313
- EQ Bank 5-year GIC: about $12,343
Savings account rates can change at any time, so the savings figures are snapshots; a GIC rate is fixed until the GIC matures. For current rate comparisons, see the guides to high-interest savings accounts in Canada and GIC rates in Canada.
For a savings target built from small weekly amounts, the 100 envelope challenge printable tracks each week’s deposit on one page.
What return rate should you use in an investment calculator?
Use a rate that matches what you actually hold: cash and GICs pay a known rate today, while stock ETFs have no guaranteed return at all.
For cash, enter the posted rate, such as 2.5% (available to every client, no tiers) for Wealthsimple Savings. For a GIC held to maturity, enter the GIC rate, such as 4.30% for EQ Bank’s 5-year term. For stock ETFs, history is the only guide and it moves around a lot: BlackRock reports that XEQT returned 13.94% a year over the five years to September 30, 2026. A five-year run that strong is not a sound basis for a 25-year projection, so compare a lower assumption, such as the 7% used in this page’s examples, with a cautious one before relying on any single result. For what different funds hold, see the guide to the most popular Canadian ETFs.
Should you use real or nominal returns?
Use real (after-inflation) returns for long-term goals, because they show the result in today’s purchasing power; nominal returns suit short time frames and side-by-side comparisons.
The Bank of Canada aims to keep inflation at 2% (the midpoint of a 1% to 3% target range), per its inflation-control page (checked September 29, 2026). Subtracting that 2% from a 7% nominal assumption gives a rough real return of 5%. At 5%, $500 a month for 25 years reaches about $297,755 in today’s dollars, compared with $405,036 in future dollars at 7%. Both describe the same plan; the lower number is what the money would buy at today’s prices, if inflation averages 2%.
Where does compound growth go furthest in Canada?
Compound growth goes furthest in a registered account, because tax paid each year on interest, dividends or gains is money that stops compounding.
- TFSA — growth and withdrawals are tax-free. The 2026 TFSA dollar limit is $7,000. Contributing that amount every year for 25 years at 7% (about $583 a month) grows to about $472,542, with no tax on the $297,542 of growth. The TFSA calculator models this in more detail, and the TFSA explainer covers the rules.
- RRSP — contributions are deductible and growth is tax-deferred until you withdraw. The 2026 RRSP dollar limit is $33,810; your own room also depends on your earned income. The RRSP calculator adds the tax refund.
- FHSA — for a first home, contributions are deductible and a qualifying withdrawal is tax-free. The first year gives $8,000 of room. The FHSA guide covers eligibility.
- Non-registered — no contribution limit, but interest, dividends and realized gains are taxable, which slows compounding.
Wealthsimple is one of several places to hold a TFSA; the complete Wealthsimple guide covers its accounts, fees and account protection, and the guide on how to invest in Canada walks through the first steps.
Who this calculator is for (and what it leaves out)
This investment calculator suits anyone who wants a quick projection for a TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, savings account or GIC, or wants to see how much difference an extra $100 a month or five more years makes. It is also a fast way to test the effect of a different return assumption before building a longer plan.
It leaves several things out. It assumes the same return every year, while real markets rise and fall. It ignores fund fees, so subtract a fund’s MER from your return (XEQT’s MER is 0.19%). It ignores tax, which matters in a non-registered account. It assumes the same contribution every month for the whole period. Treat every result as an estimate to compare scenarios, not as a forecast of what any account will be worth.