Account Compounding Calculator
Project what a fixed percentage gain per period compounds to, with optional withdrawals and a target balance.
An account compounding calculator projects what a fixed percentage gain per period would grow into. Traders use a compounding plan to set targets: a certain percentage a month, held for a certain number of months, produces a certain balance.
Formula: balance = start x (1 + gain)^periods, less withdrawals
Your figures
Applied to the balance at the start of each period.
Months, weeks or trades — whatever the gain above refers to.
Optional — taken at the end of each period.
Optional — works out how many periods it would take to reach.
Results
Final balance
US$16,125.50
after 24 periods at 5.00% each
- Total gain
- +US$11,125.50
- Total return
- +222.51%
- Growth multiple
- 3.23×
What this means
Compounding 5.00% per period for 24 periods turns US$5,000.00 into US$16,125.50. This is what a constant return would compound to — it is arithmetic on the figure you entered, not a projection of what any strategy will achieve. No strategy returns the same percentage every period, and this curve shows none of the drawdowns that occur along the way.
- Assumes a constant percentage gain and no losing periods. Real equity curves are not smooth.
- Small changes to the gain compound into very large differences over many periods, which is the main thing this calculation shows.
- Excludes commission, spread, swap and tax.
Final balance: US$16,125.50
The link reopens this calculator with the same numbers. Nothing you enter is sent to a server.
Continue with these figures
About the Account Compounding calculation
The arithmetic is compound growth applied to a trading account rather than a savings balance, so the same page serves as a forex compounding calculator or a trading compounding calculator for shares, futures or crypto — the instrument changes nothing. It is genuinely useful for seeing how sensitive the outcome is to small changes in the assumed rate: the difference between 3% and 5% a month over two years is far larger than the gap suggests.
It is worth being clear about what this is and is not. A trading account projection is arithmetic applied to a number you entered, not a forecast. No strategy returns the same percentage every period, and the smooth curve hides every drawdown that occurs along a real equity curve.
Account Compounding formula
balance(n) = balance(n−1) × (1 + gain) − withdrawal
with no withdrawals this reduces to:
final = start × (1 + gain)^periods
periods needed to reach a target:
periods = ln(target ÷ start) ÷ ln(1 + gain)- gain
- Percentage returned per period, applied to the balance at the start of it.
- period
- Whatever unit the gain refers to — a month, a week, or a single trade.
- withdrawal
- A fixed amount removed at the end of each period.
Each period's gain is calculated on the balance including all previous gains, which is what makes the curve accelerate. The absolute gain grows every period even though the percentage stays fixed.
Withdrawals break the closed form, because a fixed amount removed from a growing balance is a shrinking proportion of it. The calculator therefore iterates period by period rather than applying a single formula, and finds the periods-to-target by simulation when withdrawals are present.
The most useful thing this calculation shows is sensitivity. Over 24 periods, 5% per period produces roughly 3.2 times the starting balance while 3% produces about 2.0 times — a modest difference in the rate becomes a large difference in the result, and the same leverage applies to any error in the assumption.
Account Compounding: a worked example
A $5,000 account targeting 5% per month for 24 months, with no withdrawals.
- Growth factor per period1 + 0.05 = 1.05
- Compounded over 24 periods1.05 ^ 24 = 3.2251
- Final balance5,000 × 3.2251 = $16,125.51
- Total gain$11,125.51
- Total return222.51%
A little over $16,000, from a rate that sounds modest month to month. The same 5% assumption over 12 months rather than 24 produces $8,979 — the second year contributes far more than the first, which is the whole effect of compounding.
How to use the Account Compounding calculator
- Enter your starting balance and the percentage gain you want to model per period.
- Set the number of periods. Be consistent about what a period is — if the gain is monthly, the periods are months.
- Add a withdrawal per period if you plan to take income from the account.
- Optionally set a target balance to see how many periods it would take to reach at that rate.
- Try varying the gain by a percentage point either way. The spread in outcomes is usually the most informative part.
Limitations of the Account Compounding calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Assumes a constant gain with no losing periods. Real equity curves have drawdowns, and a losing period compounds against you exactly as a winning one compounds for you.
- Assumes the same percentage remains achievable as the account grows. Strategies with limited capacity, or those trading illiquid instruments, do not scale indefinitely.
- Excludes commission, spread, swap and tax, all of which reduce the realised rate.
- Projecting a high rate over many periods produces very large numbers. That is arithmetic working correctly on an assumption, not evidence the assumption is achievable.
Frequently asked questions about Account Compounding
Is a fixed percentage per month realistic?
Returns vary period to period in every strategy, so a constant rate is a modelling convenience rather than a description of trading. The calculator shows what an assumption compounds to; whether the assumption holds is a separate question it cannot answer.
Why does the balance grow so much faster later on?
Because the percentage applies to a larger base each period. At 5% on $5,000 the first period adds $250; by the time the balance reaches $15,000 the same 5% adds $750. The percentage is constant, the absolute gain is not.
How do withdrawals change the projection?
They slow growth disproportionately at the start, when the withdrawal is a large share of the balance, and less later. If the withdrawal exceeds the gain, the balance falls and any target becomes unreachable — the calculator reports that rather than looping indefinitely.
What does an account growth calculator leave out?
Drawdowns, mainly. A curve that rises smoothly from $5,000 to $16,000 shows none of the periods where the account fell, which is where most plans actually fail. Pair this with the maximum drawdown and risk of ruin calculators.
Can I use this for weekly or per-trade compounding?
Yes. The period is whatever you decide, provided the gain refers to the same unit. For per-trade compounding, enter your expectancy as a percentage of the account and the number of trades as periods.
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