S&P 500 growth calculator
Enter an amount and see what it could become in the S&P 500 at the market’s historical average return. Drag the sliders to change the time frame and rate.
Based on a 10% average annual return. The S&P 500 has historically averaged roughly 10% a year before inflation (about 7% after) — but real returns swing widely year to year, some years are negative, and past performance doesn’t predict the future. This is an educational estimate, not investment advice.
How the S&P 500 calculator works
- What is the S&P 500?
- It's an index that tracks 500 of the largest U.S. companies — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and hundreds more. When people say “the market” went up or down, they usually mean the S&P 500. Buying an S&P 500 index fund is a common way to own a slice of all of them at once.
- What return does this calculator assume?
- Whatever you set the slider to. It defaults to 10%, which is roughly the S&P 500's long-run average before inflation (closer to about 7% after inflation). Those are long-term averages — individual years are often very different, and some are negative.
- Is this a guarantee of what I'll earn?
- No. It's a simple compound-growth estimate to build intuition, not a prediction. Real returns vary year to year and the market can lose money. This is educational, not investment advice.
- How is the number calculated?
- Your starting amount compounds at the chosen annual rate for the number of years you pick. Any monthly contributions are added and compounded too. The bar splits your result into what you put in versus what growth added on top.
Want to actually try investing?
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For educational purposes only and not investment advice. Estimates assume a constant annual return, which real markets never deliver. Past performance does not predict future results.