How to use the CD calculator
- Enter your deposit amount — the principal you put in.
- Enter the annual rate as a percentage.
- Enter the term in years.
- Enter compounding per year — 1 for annual, 4 for quarterly, 12 for monthly, 365 for daily.
- Read your maturity value, total interest and APY.
Worked example
You deposit $1,000 at 5% for 2 years, compounded monthly (12 times a year). The maturity value is about $1,104.94, total interest is $104.94, and APY is about 5.12%.
The math
maturity = deposit x (1 + rate / 100 / freq) ^ (freq x term)
interest = maturity - deposit
APY = (1 + rate / 100 / freq) ^ freq - 1
A higher compounding frequency gives a slightly higher APY than the quoted nominal rate. APY is the true annual return.