College Savings Calculator

About this calculator

A college savings projection models how regular monthly contributions grow into a future college fund by compounding at an assumed investment return over the years until enrollment — the same future-value-of-an-annuity math behind 529 plans in the U.S. and similar tax-advantaged education savings accounts elsewhere. Each month's contribution earns returns for a different length of time, so contributions made early in the savings horizon compound for much longer than contributions made closer to college age.

Parents and grandparents use this projection to work backward from a college cost target — figuring out how much to contribute monthly to hit a goal by a child's 18th birthday — or forward from a fixed monthly amount to see what fund size it's likely to produce, factoring in that college costs themselves tend to rise over time.

This calculator takes your monthly contribution, expected annual return, and years until college and projects the resulting fund size.