Savings Calculator

Watch savings grow at a high-yield APY vs the national average.

PrivateFreeSourcedReviewed Sep 29, 2026

Balance after 10 years

$51,410

at 4% APY · ≈ $38,254 in today's dollars (3% inflation)

You deposit: $41,000
Interest earned: $10,410
vs 0.38% avg: +$9,531

You deposit $41,000 and interest adds $10,410 — $9,531 more than the same deposits earn at the 0.38% national average. In today's dollars that's about $38,254 of buying power.

Try a what-if

Your savings, year by yearDeposits plus interest at 4% APY, vs the same deposits at the 0.38% national average (FDIC, May 2026).

Your numbers

Starting balance

$5,000

Monthly deposit

$300 / month

Savings APY

Annual percentage yield — already includes compounding. We convert it to the exact monthly rate.

4.00% APY

Default 4%FDIC National Rates + reported HYSA APY (top online banks)as of May 2026

Years

10 years

Inflation (for today's dollars)

Set to 0 to skip the inflation view.

3.00% a year

Default 3%Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U (long-run avg)as of 2026

Saving for something specific? The savings goal calculator tells you how long it takes. Money you won't need for 5+ years may do better invested — compare in savings vs investing.

Next steps

$5,000 plus $300 a month in a 4.00% APY high-yield savings account grows to about $51,410 in 10 years — $10,410 of it interest — versus $41,879 at the 0.38% national average rate. This savings calculator shows how any balance grows with regular monthly deposits, and puts the two rates side by side so you can see what a better account is worth. APY already includes compounding, so the calculator converts it to the exact monthly rate, (1 + APY)^(1/12) − 1, instead of simply dividing by 12. Add an inflation rate to see what the final balance is worth in today's dollars — the honest test of whether cash savings are growing or just keeping pace.

How this calculator works

Enter what you have saved today as the starting balance.
Set how much you'll deposit each month. Automating it on payday is the easiest way to make it stick.
Enter your account's APY. The default is a typical top high-yield rate; tap the preset to compare the national average.
Choose how many years to project.
Leave inflation at 3% to see the balance in today's dollars, or set it to 0 to hide that view. Read the balance, deposits, interest and the gap versus the national average.

r = (1 + APY)^(1/12) − 1
balance(m) = balance(m − 1) × (1 + r) + deposit
FV = P(1 + r)^n + D × ((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r
today's dollars = FV ÷ (1 + inflation)^years

APY is an effective annual yield, so the equivalent monthly rate is the twelfth root of (1 + APY), minus 1 — a 4.00% APY pays about 0.327% a month. Deposits are added at the end of each month. The inflation-adjusted figure divides the ending balance by cumulative inflation.

P: Starting balance
D: Monthly deposit
r: Monthly rate equivalent to the APY
n: Number of months

Frequently asked questions

How much interest will $10,000 earn in a high-yield savings account?

At a 4.00% APY, $10,000 earns $400 in the first year and grows to about $12,167 in five years and $14,802 in ten, with no new deposits. At the 0.38% national average savings rate, the same $10,000 would be only about $10,387 after ten years — $4,415 less.

How much will I have if I save $500 a month?

Saving $500 a month at a 4.00% APY builds about $33,090 in five years, including $3,090 of interest, and about $73,348 in ten years, of which $13,348 is interest. The longer the money sits, the bigger the share interest contributes, because each month's interest starts earning interest too.

What's the difference between APY and interest rate?

APY (annual percentage yield) already includes compounding; a quoted interest rate or APR does not. A 4.00% APY account compounding monthly pays about 0.327% a month, equal to a 3.93% nominal rate. This calculator converts APY to a monthly rate as (1 + APY)^(1/12) − 1, so $10,000 earns exactly $400 in a year.

Is a high-yield savings account worth it?

Usually, for cash you need to keep safe and reachable. Top online banks pay around 4.0% APY versus the FDIC national average of 0.38%. Starting with $5,000 and adding $300 a month for 10 years, that gap is worth about $9,531 — $51,410 versus $41,879 — with the same FDIC insurance up to $250,000.

Do my savings keep up with inflation?

At 4.00% APY and 3% inflation, savings grow about 1% a year in real terms — enough to protect buying power, not to build wealth. The $51,410 you'd have from $5,000 plus $300 a month over 10 years is worth about $38,254 in today's dollars. Money for goals five or more years away usually belongs in investments.

Sources used in this calculator

Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team. How we source our data

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