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High Yield Savings Account Calculator
Enter your starting balance, what you add each month and the rate you have been offered to see how a high yield savings account grows — and how much more it earns than a standard account.
Savings rates differ by several percentage points between banks, and on an emergency fund that difference compounds quietly for years. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Your savings plan
What you are moving in today
Leave at 0 for a one-off deposit
The rate your HYSA advertises
What your current bank pays
Most online banks compound daily
Balance after 5 years
$29,304.35
$25,000.00 of your own money plus $4,304.35 of interest, compounded monthly.
- Interest earned (HYSA)
- $4,304.35
- Interest at standard rate
- $394.65
- Total deposited
- $25,000.00
- Standard account balance
- $25,394.65
The high yield account earns $3,909.69 more
That is the gap between 4.5% and 0.45% on the same deposits over the same period — no extra saving required.
Interest is shown gross of tax and assumes the rate stays fixed. Savings rates are variable in practice, so treat this as a projection rather than a promise.
Track this account in FinwiseA free Finwise account keeps your savings balance alongside your goals and net worth.
Year by year growth
Both columns receive exactly the same deposits. The only difference is the interest rate, which is why the gap widens every year.
| Year | Deposited | High yield balance | Standard balance | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $13,000.00 | $13,522.05 | $13,051.29 | $470.77 |
| 2 | $16,000.00 | $17,205.91 | $16,116.34 | $1,089.57 |
| 3 | $19,000.00 | $21,059.00 | $19,195.20 | $1,863.80 |
| 4 | $22,000.00 | $25,089.10 | $22,287.96 | $2,801.15 |
| 5 | $25,000.00 | $29,304.35 | $25,394.65 | $3,909.69 |
How this calculator works
- 1. Start with your deposit. The opening balance is the amount already sitting in cash that you are moving into the account.
- 2. Add each month's contribution. Monthly deposits are added after each compounding step, which is how most savers actually pay in.
- 3. Apply the rate. The annual rate is divided by the compounding periods in a year and applied to the running balance, so interest earns interest.
- 4. Run the same plan twice. The identical deposits are projected at the standard rate, and the difference between the two is the real cost of leaving money in a low-rate account.
What belongs in a high yield savings account
A HYSA suits money you may need soon and cannot afford to see fall in value: an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses, a house deposit, an upcoming tax bill, or a planned purchase within a couple of years. Because the balance never drops, the trade-off is a return that roughly tracks interest rates rather than markets. Money with a horizon of many years is usually better matched to investments — the SIP calculator shows that comparison.
Before you switch accounts
- Check whether the advertised rate is an introductory bonus that drops after a few months.
- Confirm any minimum balance, monthly deposit requirement or withdrawal limits.
- Confirm the deposit protection scheme that covers the bank in your country.
- Rates are variable — recheck yours once or twice a year.
High yield savings account calculator FAQ
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