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Create AccountCompounding Calculator
See what a steady percentage gain becomes over time, with or without regular deposits.
Your Result
The calculation runs in your browser. Rates used for currency conversion are indicative — check your broker for the exact figure.
Compounding is the reason a modest, boring percentage beats an occasional large win. Five percent a month is unremarkable in isolation; sustained for two years it more than triples the account, because each month is worked out on the total the previous one produced.
It is also a useful reality check. If a plan needs twenty percent a month to reach its target, this calculator will show what that implies over a year — and the number is usually large enough to make clear that the plan, not the market, is the problem.
When to use it
- When setting a realistic target for the next year.
- When deciding between withdrawing profit and leaving it to compound.
- When someone promises a monthly return and you want to see where it leads.
- When planning regular deposits alongside trading gains.
Without deposits it is a simple power. With them, each deposit compounds for the periods it has left.
Final = Start × (1 + Gain)ⁿ
With deposits: Final = Start × (1 + g)ⁿ + Deposit × [((1 + g)ⁿ − 1) ÷ g]
Periods to Double = ln(2) ÷ ln(1 + g)- The period can be anything — a month, a week, a single trade — as long as the gain and the count use the same unit.
- A negative gain compounds too. Losing 5% a month for a year leaves 54% of the account, not 40%.
- Real trading does not deliver a constant percentage. Treat the curve as an illustration of the arithmetic, not a forecast.
A $1,000 account growing 5% a month for 24 months, with no deposits.
Working: $1,000 × 1.05²⁴ = $3,225.10. The first month adds $50 and the twenty-fourth adds $154, which is the whole point — the same percentage moves more money each time.
Is 5% a month realistic?
Sustained, it is an excellent result. Plenty of months will be negative, and the calculator assumes none are. Use it to understand the arithmetic, not to set an expectation.
Should I withdraw profits or compound them?
Compounding grows the account faster but also grows the money at risk, since a percentage risk rule scales with the balance. Many traders withdraw a share and compound the rest.
How does the deposit calculation work?
Each deposit is added at the end of its period and compounds for every period after that. The first deposit therefore grows the most and the last one not at all.
What is the rule of 72?
A shortcut: divide 72 by the percentage gain to estimate the periods needed to double. At 5% that suggests about 14, close to the exact figure of 15.
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