Savings Goal Calculator 🔒 Your data never leaves your browser.
Find out how long it takes to reach a savings goal.
Time to reach your goal
About this tool
This savings goal calculator answers a different question than most compound-interest tools: instead of "how much will I have after N years?", it works backwards from a target amount to tell you "how long until I get there?" Enter what you are saving for, what you already have set aside, how much you can add each month, and — if the money sits in an interest-bearing account — an annual interest rate, and it counts the months until your balance reaches the goal, along with how much of the total came from your own contributions versus interest.
It runs the same month-by-month compounding math as our compound interest calculator, just solved for time instead of final balance — think of them as two sides of the same coin. Leave the interest rate at 0 if you are saving in cash or a non-interest account; the tool will still tell you exactly how many months of contributions you need. Everything is calculated instantly in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Why does adding even a small interest rate change the result so little for short-term goals?
Interest needs time to compound meaningfully — over just a few months, even a decent annual rate only contributes a tiny fraction of a percent per month, so it barely dents how many months you need. The effect becomes much more visible over multi-year goals, where compounding has enough time to snowball. For a goal you'll hit within a year or so, your monthly contribution amount is what actually drives the timeline, not the interest rate.