CD Interest Rate Calculator

What is a CD Calculator?

A CD calculator is a tool that shows the amount you’ll earn on a CD after it matures. In exchange for locking away your funds for a set period of time.

Certificate of Deposit Calculator

Definitions

What is an Initial deposit?: The starting balance of your CD.
Months: The term of the CD, expressed in months.
Interest rate: The published interest rate for this CD. Make sure to enter the actual interest rate, not the annual percentage yield (APY). It is important to remember that these scenarios are hypothetical and that future interest rates can't be predicted with certainty.
Compounding: The interest earned on your CD is added to your CD balance at regular intervals. This is called "compounding." This calculator allows you to choose the frequency that your CD's interest income is compounded. The more frequently this occurs, the sooner your accumulated interest income will generate additional interest. You may wish to check with your financial institution or account opening documents to find out how often interest is being compounded on your CD.
Annual percentage yield (APY): This is the effective annual interest rate earned for this CD. A CD's APY depends on the frequency of compounding and the interest rate. Since APY measures your actual interest earned per year, you can use it to compare CDs that have different interest rates and compounding frequencies.

How to use our CD calculator

You’ll need a few pieces of information to plug in, but all of this can be easily found on the CD provider’s page.

Deposit amount: This is the amount of money you’ll put in a CD. Many CDs have a minimum required amount, while others allow flexibility.
APY: The interest rate that CDs offer can vary wildly, largely depending on the bank and the CD’s term. Note, smaller banks and credit unions tend to offer some of the better CD rates.
Term: How long are you willing or able to lock away your cash? All CDs have terms and most have early withdrawal penalties. While interest rates typically increase with longer terms, consider carefully whether you’ll need the money early before committing. The sweet spot these days, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates to quash inflation, is a term length around one or two years.

In the results, you’ll see the total amount of interest the CD will provide if you keep it for the full term. You’ll also see your initial balance and the entire value at the end.