Compounding calculator
See what steady, boring consistency does to an account over time.
Final balance
$5,475.44
Total deposited
$3,400
Total growth
+$2,075.44
Be honest with the return you enter — professional traders average a few percent per month at best, and losing months happen. Treat big numbers here as motivation for discipline, not a forecast.
What this tool actually tells you
This projects what a steady rate of return does to a balance over time. It's genuinely useful for setting expectations — and most useful for showing how unrealistic the numbers in trading adverts actually are.
The maths is honest; the assumption underneath it usually isn't. Compounding requires consistency, and consistency is the thing beginners have least of.
Worked example
Starting with $1,000, returning 3% a month, reinvesting everything, for two years.
| After 6 months | ≈ $1,194 |
| After 12 months | ≈ $1,426 |
| After 24 months | ≈ $2,033 |
| One −30% month in year two costs | ≈ $600 |
Doubling in two years at a rate most professionals would be happy with — and a single bad month undoing the better part of a year.
How to read the result
- Treat the output as a ceiling, not a forecast. It assumes you never have a losing month, which nobody manages.
- Small differences in monthly rate compound into large differences in outcome — which is why cost control matters as much as trade selection.
- If you'd need a rate above roughly 5% a month to hit your goal, the goal needs changing rather than the risk.
Common mistakes
- Entering 10% or 20% a month. Those numbers come from marketing, not from track records.
- Ignoring withdrawals and tax, both of which break the compounding chain.
- Escalating position size after wins. The model assumes a fixed percentage risk; raising stakes turns it into something else entirely.
Put it into practice — risk-free
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Tools
Educational tools only — results are estimates and not financial advice. Real trading involves risk of loss; most beginners lose money.