Calculate the future value of a series of cash flows by entering your interest rate, compounding frequency, and up to five cash flow amounts with their corresponding periods. Choose whether payments occur at the beginning or end of each period, and the calculator returns the total future value along with a per-cash-flow breakdown showing how much each contributes.
Total Future Value
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Total Cash Flows (Sum)
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Total Interest / Growth
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Growth Multiple
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The future value (FV) of cash flows is the total worth of a series of payments or receipts at a specific point in the future, after applying compound interest. It answers the question: if I invest these amounts today and in coming periods, how much will they all be worth at the end of my time horizon?
Each cash flow is compounded individually using FV_n = CF_n × (1 + i/m)^(m × (N – n)), where CF_n is the cash flow at period n, i is the annual interest rate, m is the compounding frequency, and N is the total number of periods. The total FV is the sum of all individual future values.
When cash flows occur at the beginning of a period (annuity due), each payment has one extra period to compound compared to end-of-period payments (ordinary annuity). This means an annuity due always results in a higher future value than an equivalent ordinary annuity at the same rate.
Present value (PV) tells you what a future sum is worth in today's dollars by discounting it back. Future value (FV) does the opposite — it projects today's or near-term cash flows forward in time, compounding their growth. FV answers 'how much will I have?' while PV answers 'how much is it worth now?'
More frequent compounding means interest is calculated and added to the principal more often, which in turn earns more interest in subsequent periods. For example, monthly compounding at 8% per year yields more than annual compounding at 8% because interest compounds 12 times rather than once.
Yes. Unlike a standard annuity calculator that assumes equal periodic payments, this calculator lets you assign a different amount and period to each cash flow. Each is compounded for its own remaining number of periods, making it ideal for irregular investment schedules or project cash flows.
N is the future date (expressed in periods) to which all cash flows are compounded. For example, if N = 5 and one cash flow occurs at period 2, it will compound forward for 3 periods (5 – 2 = 3). All cash flows are brought to the same end point for the total FV calculation.
The total interest or growth is simply the total future value minus the sum of the original cash flow amounts. It represents the pure gain attributable to compounding over the investment horizon.