CD Calculator: Compounds Certificate of Deposit
Free CD calculator estimates how much a Certificate of Deposit will yield in compounded interest, based on initial deposit, term length, APY, and compound frequency.
Entry Fields - Compound CD Interest
Starting Amount - Often referred to as principal. This is the initial amount you plan to deposit into the certificate of deposit (CD). If you are rolling over a CD, it is the value of the CD at maturity. You can, of course, what-if calculate with various starting amounts.
APY (Percent) - The annual percentage yield (APY) of the CD. You can use the APY of a CD you are considering, or other values to what-if calculate how much you would make on your principal, if that APY is available.
CD Term - The term length of the CD, which indicates how long your principal is to remain in the certificate of deposit earning interest at the APY rate.
Compound Frequency - How often the financial institution compounds interest on the CD: daily, monthly, quarterly or annually. The shorter the compounding frequency, the more money a CD will make, since compounding enables you to earn interest on interest credited.
To easily see how compounding more frequently results in a higher yield, use the CD Compare Rates Calculator. Simply enter the same initial deposit, term, and APY, and then vary the frequency compounding.
How is CD Interest Compounded?
The formula used to compound interest is:
where:
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A = Amount at maturity: Principal + Compounded Interest
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r = APY rate, expressed as a decimal, which is APY/100
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c = compounding times, per year. For example, if compounding is done daily, c is 365, if monthly, c is 12, if quarterly, it is 4, and if annually, it is 1
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Y = term length, based on number of years. Convert to year (e.g. from month) as necessary.