How much will $1,000 a month be worth in 10 years?

Investing $1,000 a month for 10 years means paying in $120,000 in total. At a hypothetical 7% annual return it would grow to $171,052: $120,000 from your contributions and $51,052 from investment growth. At 4% the balance would be $146,696 ($26,696 of growth), and at 10% it would be $199,864 ($79,864 of growth).

At 4% a year

$146,696

$26,696 of that is growth

At 7% a year

$171,052

$51,052 of that is growth

At 10% a year

$199,864

$79,864 of that is growth

4%, 7% and 10% are example rates, not forecasts. Real returns change from year to year and are never guaranteed, and these figures leave out fees, taxes and inflation.

$1,000 a month for 10 years at different rates of return

Annual return	Final balance	Total contributed	Interest earned
1%	$126,121	$120,000	$6,121
2%	$132,597	$120,000	$12,597
3%	$139,448	$120,000	$19,448
4%	$146,696	$120,000	$26,696
5%	$154,363	$120,000	$34,363
6%	$162,473	$120,000	$42,473
7%	$171,052	$120,000	$51,052
8%	$180,124	$120,000	$60,124
9%	$189,719	$120,000	$69,719
10%	$199,864	$120,000	$79,864
11%	$210,590	$120,000	$90,590
12%	$221,930	$120,000	$101,930

Assumes no starting balance, a contribution at the end of every month, and a constant rate compounded once a year (an effective annual rate). You pay in $120,000 in every row; only the growth changes, from $6,121 at 1% to $101,930 at 12%.

Try your own numbers

The calculator starts with this example at 7%. Change the amount, rate or time period, add a starting balance, or switch the compounding, and the result updates as you type.

Balance after 10 years

$171,052

29.8% of that is interest. Your balance is 1.43 times what you put in.

Total contributions

$120,000

Interest earned

$51,052

Growth by year

Contributions
Interest

Year-by-year breakdown

Year	Contributions	Interest	Balance
1	$12,000	$380	$12,380
2	$24,000	$1,627	$25,627
3	$36,000	$3,801	$39,801
4	$48,000	$6,968	$54,968
5	$60,000	$11,196	$71,196
6	$72,000	$16,560	$88,560
7	$84,000	$23,139	$107,139
8	$96,000	$31,019	$127,019
9	$108,000	$40,291	$148,291
10	$120,000	$51,052	$171,052

How much is your money and how much is growth?

At 7%, 10 years is not long enough for growth to overtake what you pay in: growth is 30% of the final balance and the other 70% is your own money. Keep contributing at the same pace and growth would pass contributions during year 19. A different rate moves that point, but not into these 10 years: it would come in year 14 at 10% and in year 33 at 4%.

In year 10 alone, the balance earns $10,761 at 7%. That is less than the $12,000 you add that year, and compares with $380 of growth in year 1.

What if you change the plan?

Each row changes one thing and keeps everything else the same, at the 7% example rate. The comparison is with $1,000 a month for 10 years, which ends at $171,052.

Change	Final balance	Difference
Keep contributing for 5 more years (15 years in total)	$311,105	+$140,053
Start 5 years later (contribute for 5 years)	$71,196	−$99,856
Contribute $1,500 a month instead of $1,000	$256,578	+$85,526
Start with $10,000 already invested	$190,723	+$19,672
Contribute at the start of each month instead of the end	$172,019	+$967
Earn 6% a year instead of 7%	$162,473	−$8,578

Starting 5 years later means paying in $60,000 less, but the final balance is $99,856 lower. The gap is bigger than the missing contributions because the earliest payments are the ones with the longest time to grow. A return that is one point lower leaves you with $8,578 less after 10 years, which is roughly what a 1% annual fee would cost.

Working backwards: to reach $250,000 in 10 years at 7%, starting from zero, you would need to invest about $1,462 a month.

When would the balance reach $250,000?

The table shows the year in which the balance first reaches each amount, assuming the same $1,000 a month continues for as long as it takes. Years in bold fall within this page's 10-year period.

Balance reaches	At 4%	At 7%	At 10%
$25,000	Year 3	Year 2	Year 2
$50,000	Year 4	Year 4	Year 4
$100,000	Year 8	Year 7	Year 7
$250,000	Year 16	Year 14	Year 12

How this is calculated

The rate is treated as an effective annual rate, so the balance grows by exactly 7% over a full year. The monthly rate that compounds to 7% a year is:

Monthly rate = (1 + 0.07)^1/12 − 1 = 0.5654%

With $1,000 added at the end of each month for 120 months (10 × 12), the contributions grow to:

Balance = 1,000 × [1.005654¹²⁰ − 1] ÷ 0.005654 ≈ $171,052

The rates shown here are rounded; the result uses full precision. Of that balance, 1,000 × 120 = $120,000 is your contributions and the remaining $51,052 is growth. Every other row in the rate table uses the same formula with a different annual rate. The compound interest calculator page explains the formulas in more detail.

Frequently asked questions

How much interest will $1,000 a month earn in 10 years?

It depends on the rate of return. At a constant 7% a year, $1,000 a month for 10 years earns $51,052 on top of $120,000 in contributions, for a balance of $171,052. At 4% the growth is $26,696, and at 10% it is $79,864. These rates are examples, not predictions.

How long does it take to reach $250,000 investing $1,000 a month?

With a constant 7% annual return and no starting balance, the balance passes $250,000 during year 14. For comparison, at 10% it takes until year 12, and at 4% it takes until year 16.

How much do I need to invest each month to have $250,000 in 10 years?

At a constant 7% annual return you would need about $1,462 a month for 10 years, starting from zero. At 4% you would need about $1,704 a month, and at 10% about $1,251 a month.

$1,000 a month over other periods

Other monthly amounts for 10 years

A single lump sum for 10 years

See all compound interest examples in one table, or start from scratch with the compound interest calculator.