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College Savings Plan Calculator

Work out college savings plan instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About College Savings Plan Calculator

The monthly saving required is the future-value annuity that closes the gap between the target corpus and what existing savings will grow into. Because compounding does the heavy lifting, the required monthly amount falls steeply the earlier you start.

Formulas

Future value of existing savings

FV = Existing savings x (1 + Return)^Years

Monthly investment

SIP = Gap x Monthly rate / [(1 + Monthly rate)^Months - 1]

Worked example

With the default values below, College Savings Plan Calculator returns Monthly investment required of $14,860.73. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Target corpus required
6,000,000
Years to the goal
12
Expected annual return
11
Existing savings earmarked
500,000

Results

Monthly investment required
$14,860.73
Gap to fund from new savings
$4,250,774.70
Future value of existing savings
$1,749,225.30
Total contributions over the period
$2,139,944.58

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Future value of existing savings
  3. 3Monthly investment
  4. 4Monthly investment required= 14,860.73
  5. 5Gap to fund from new savings= 4,250,774.70
  6. 6Future value of existing savings= 1,749,225.30
  7. 7Total contributions over the period= 2,139,944.58

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What return should I assume?

Be conservative — a diversified equity-heavy portfolio has historically returned 10-12% nominal over long periods, but sequence risk matters as the goal approaches.

Should I de-risk near the goal?

Yes. Shift progressively to debt in the final three to four years so a market fall does not arrive in the year the fees are due.

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