Deposit
$10,000
CD Calculator
See what a certificate of deposit earns, and what the same money could do invested.
✓ Free. No signup, no email.
Deposit
%
yrs
%
CD value at maturity
$11,249
Your $10,000 CD at 4% earns $1,249. Invested, the same money could be $12,597.
Interest earned
$1,249
If invested
$12,597
reckon.tools
How this is calculated
We grow your deposit at the APY you enter for the full term, then compare it to the same money invested at your expected market return.
CD value = deposit x (1 + APY)^years. The gap between the two is the growth a CD leaves on the table.A CD is safe, but safe has a cost. See the gap for your own numbers.
See what your money could do with OpenTradeEstimate based on your inputs. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
How a CD calculator works
A certificate of deposit locks your money for a set term and pays a fixed annual percentage yield (APY). This calculator compounds your deposit at that APY, then shows what the same money might have earned invested over the same period.
- Enter your deposit, the CD's APY, and the term in years.
- We compound the deposit at the APY for the full term to get its value at maturity.
- The same deposit is grown at an expected market return so you can see the gap.
APY vs interest rate
The interest rate is the base rate a bank quotes. APY folds in compounding, so it reflects what you actually earn over a year. When comparing CDs, compare APY to APY; a higher APY at the same term means more interest at maturity.
CD vs index fund: which is better?
A CD hands you certainty: your principal is protected and the return is fixed. A broad index fund carries real risk but has historically returned more over long horizons. Money you need soon usually belongs in a CD or savings; longer-horizon money is where the gap shown above tends to matter most.