ETF Savings Plan Calculator: what does your monthly contribution really add up to?
Start with today's capital, your monthly contribution and an expected return — and see instantly how much is contributions and how much is interest earned.
Simplified model with a fixed return, not investment advice. Actual returns fluctuate.
After 20 years you'd have roughly €105,377.
Assuming a return of 7% per year, before taxes and fees.
Final capital
€105,377.00
Contributed
€49,000.00
Interest earned
€56,377.00
What does this mean for your real wealth?
“After 20 years you'd have roughly €105,377.” — that holds for the assumptions above. Whether it looks the same with your real portfolio and your real numbers, you can see in Planafolio — for free.
Save the result in your financial planWhat does the result mean?
The final capital shows what your starting capital and monthly contribution would grow to at a constant return. The share of returns grows disproportionately with time – that is the compound-interest effect. It is a model, not a forecast.
Model assumptions
- The return stays constant for the whole period. Real markets fluctuate; losing years are not part of the model.
- The model runs month by month: capital grows at the equivalent monthly rate, and the contribution is added at the end of each month.
- Taxes on returns (German flat tax, advance lump sum) are not deducted.
- Fund costs, order fees and spreads are not deducted.
- All amounts are nominal. Purchasing power falls with inflation, which the result does not reflect.
How the calculator works
The annual rate is converted into an equivalent monthly rate. Each month the capital grows by it, and then the contribution is added.
More on the methodologyWorked example
Example: savings plan with a small starting balance
Worked example, step by step, using the calculator's default values above: a small starting balance, a fixed monthly contribution, compounding month by month.
Inputs
- Starting balance€1,000
- Monthly contribution€200
- Annual return (assumption)7%
- Duration20 years
Calculation
| Total paid in (starting balance and contributions) | €49,000 |
|---|---|
| Portfolio value after 10 years | €36,177 |
| Of which returns | €56,377 |
Result
| Final balance | €105,377 |
|---|
53.5% of the final balance comes from returns, not from your own deposits. Most of it builds up in the second half of the period, because earlier returns are compounding by then.
The 7% annual return is an assumption, the same default as in the calculator above, not a forecast. Costs and taxes are not deducted.
Sources and status
Content reviewed on September 29, 2026.
- § 20 EStG – Einkünfte aus Kapitalvermögen (im Rechner nicht versteuert)
- § 18 InvStG – Vorabpauschale (im Rechner nicht berücksichtigt)
- Statistisches Bundesamt – Verbraucherpreisindex für Deutschland
The calculation is a simplified model under the stated assumptions and is not investment or tax advice.
What can I do?
Carry the contribution over into your financial plan and check how it fits your retirement goal.
How it works
The savings plan calculator in detail
Three things that shape a savings plan over the years.
Compound interest
Every gain gets reinvested and earns further gains on its own — the strongest lever over long horizons.
Regularity beats timing
A fixed monthly rate smooths out price swings (dollar-cost averaging) and doesn't require perfect market timing.
Time is the biggest factor
Saving ten years longer often matters more than a higher rate — try it in the calculator.
Background
Understanding ETF savings plans
An ETF savings plan is an automatic, recurring purchase of an exchange-traded index fund — usually monthly, often starting from as little as 25 or 50 euros. Instead of investing a large sum at once, you build up wealth gradually. Most brokers offer free or very low-cost ETF savings plans on broadly diversified indices such as the MSCI World or FTSE All-World.
The end result depends on three factors: the monthly contribution, the time horizon, and the assumed return. Of these three, the time horizon is often the most underestimated — thanks to compound interest, a portfolio grows noticeably faster in the later years of a long time horizon, because past returns start earning returns of their own.
A worked example: investing 200 EUR per month for 20 years at an assumed 7% annual return means paying in 48,000 EUR in total — but the final capital comes to around 101,500 EUR, more than double the amount paid in. That difference is entirely due to compounding.
One important caveat: the 6-8% return often cited for broadly diversified equity ETFs is a rough guide from long historical periods — the exact figure depends on index, period and currency, and it is not a guarantee. Individual years can vary significantly, including downward. A savings plan smooths this risk over time (the cost-average effect), but does not eliminate it.
Frequently asked
Questions about the savings plan calculator
A savings plan calculator shows how starting capital plus a regular monthly contribution grows over time through compound interest — split into capital contributed and interest earned.
For broadly diversified equity ETFs, 6–8% per year (nominal, before inflation) is often cited as a long-term guide — the figure differs by index, period and currency. It is an assumption for the input, not a guarantee for the future.
The calculator assumes a constant annual return and doesn't account for taxes, fees, or market swings — it's a rough guide, not financial advice.
Many brokers allow contributions starting from as little as 1-25 EUR. A savings plan makes sense regardless of the amount — what matters more than the starting size is sticking with it consistently, even if the rate starts small.
Yes, with virtually all brokers you can adjust, pause, or stop the contribution rate at any time, with no notice period. Shares already purchased are unaffected.
Yes. Capital gains on sale and distributions are subject to the German flat capital gains tax, and accumulating ETFs are additionally subject to the annual Vorabpauschale (advance lump sum). The annual tax-free allowance (€1,000, or €2,000 for jointly assessed couples) reduces the tax burden — directly at withholding if an exemption order is set up with the broker, otherwise via the tax return.
Assuming 7% p.a. (an assumption within the commonly cited range for broad equity ETFs, not a guarantee), roughly: 500 EUR/month over 20 years reaches about 254,000 EUR, over 30 years about 585,000 EUR. At 1,000 EUR/month it's about 508,000 EUR over 20 years and about 1.17 million EUR over 30 years. Enter your own rate and horizon in the calculator above for your specific scenario.
At 7% p.a. and a constant monthly contribution, it takes roughly 38 years at 500 EUR/month, or roughly 29 years at 1,000 EUR/month, to reach one million — before taxes and inflation, which reduce real purchasing power. The higher the rate or the longer the horizon, the more compounding accelerates growth in the final years.
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