Investment Goal Calculator
If you invest $500 or $1,000 per month, how long does it take to reach $100,000, $500,000, or even $1 million?
Time to reach goal
0 years
How this works
This calculator estimates how long it takes to reach a target investment amount based on consistent monthly contributions and compound growth.
What this calculator actually tells you
This calculator answers a very specific question: how long it takes to reach a target amount if you invest a fixed amount every month.
It assumes:
- you invest consistently every month
- your investments grow at a steady average rate
- you leave the money invested the entire time
That makes it useful for planning, but it is still an estimate. Real markets fluctuate, and actual results will vary year to year.
How small changes affect your timeline
One of the most important things to understand is how sensitive your timeline is to small changes.
- Increasing your monthly contribution by $100 can shave years off your timeline
- Starting earlier matters more than increasing your return slightly
- A higher return helps, but only if you stay invested long enough
For example:
- $500/month at 7% → ~$100k in ~10–11 years
- $600/month at 7% → reaches the same goal noticeably faster
- $500/month at 8% → helps, but not as dramatically as increasing contributions
Use the calculator above to test these differences directly. The impact becomes obvious when you see the numbers change.
What is a realistic monthly investment?
A common mistake is assuming you need a very large monthly contribution to make progress. In reality, consistency matters more than size.
- $300–$500/month → steady long-term progress
- $500–$1,000/month → meaningful acceleration
- $1,000+/month → aggressive timeline toward major milestones
The key is choosing a number you can sustain. A smaller amount invested consistently is more effective than a larger amount that stops after a few months.
Why this works: compounding over time
As your balance grows, the returns generated each year also increase. This is what makes long-term investing powerful.
Early on, most of your growth comes from your contributions. Later, more of the growth comes from your existing balance.
If you want to explore this in more detail, you can use our compound interest calculator to see how your balance evolves over time.