A single deposit with nothing added or withdrawn. Choose the compounding frequency below.
Maturity amount
₹2,68,506
- Interest earned
- ₹1,68,506
- Versus simple interest
- +₹68,506
Simple interest would give ₹2,00,000
Year by year
The formula
A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt), where P is the principal, r the annual rate as a decimal, n the number of times it compounds per year and t the number of years. The interest earned is A − P.
Raising n increases the result, but with sharply diminishing returns. Going from yearly to quarterly on ₹1 lakh at 10% over 10 years adds about ₹9,000; going from monthly to daily adds under ₹500. The frequency matters far less than the rate and the term.
Why the comparison line is there
Simple interest pays only on the original principal — the same amount every year, forever. Compound interest pays on the balance, which keeps growing. Over one year they are identical; over thirty they are not remotely.
The 'versus simple interest' figure is the whole of what compounding contributed, isolated. On a long term it is usually larger than the principal itself.
Common questions
Fixed deposits compound quarterly. Savings accounts pay interest quarterly on a daily balance. PPF and most small savings schemes compound annually. Loans are a separate matter — those charge interest monthly on the reducing balance.
Related calculators
Simple interest
Interest on the original amount only, never on the interest. The formula every school textbook starts with — and a few real products still use.
Fixed deposit
What a fixed deposit is worth at maturity, compounded quarterly the way banks actually post it.
Lumpsum
One amount, invested once, left to compound. See what it becomes and how much of that is growth rather than your own money.
CAGR
The single annual rate that would have taken you from where you started to where you ended. The fairest one-number summary of an investment's performance.