Last updated: March 2026

Whether you want to measure the past performance of a portfolio, project your capital growth, or plan your monthly savings, these four free tools answer the essential questions every investor faces. No sign-up required, no data transmitted: everything runs in your browser.

CAGR calculator (compound annual growth rate)

The CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is every investor's essential performance metric. It answers a simple question: at what average annual rate has my investment grown? The calculator offers two modes.

Historical data mode: enter the initial and final value of your investment, then the duration in years or via start and end dates. A concrete example: a portfolio that grew from €10,000 to €38,697 over 20 years shows a CAGR of 7.0% per year — even if annual returns oscillated between −20% and +30%.

Total return mode: if you only know your overall performance (e.g. +150% over 10 years), this mode directly calculates the corresponding CAGR — 9.6% per year in this example.

CAGR is particularly useful for comparing investments of different durations, or for evaluating the real performance of an ETF against its benchmark. For a practical application, the Neon Invest ETF portfolio story shows how this calculation drives real investment decisions.

Future value calculator (capital projection)

This calculator answers the fundamental question for any long-term investor: how much will my capital be worth in X years? By adjusting the assumed CAGR and duration via the interactive sliders, the chart instantly illustrates the exponential growth curve of your wealth.

Some concrete examples with an initial capital of €10,000:

These figures illustrate why time is your greatest ally in investing. A 7% CAGR over 30 years multiplies your capital by 7.6 — far beyond any savings account. Note: this calculation does not account for inflation or taxation.

Investment calculator (compound interest)

This calculator simulates the growth of a capital with regular contributions — monthly or annual. It is the ideal tool for concretely measuring the effect of compound interest on a progressive investment strategy.

A concrete example: with an initial capital of €5,000, monthly contributions of €500, an annual return of 7% and a duration of 20 years, the final capital reaches approximately €280,000. Of this total, €125,000 corresponds to your cumulative contributions — and €155,000 to the interest generated. Your interest works harder than your contributions. The stacked bar chart visualises this breakdown year by year, and the interest/contributions ratio quantifies the efficiency of your strategy.

Savings calculators (3 in 1)

Three complementary tools to plan your savings depending on your starting point:

• Savings for goal: you set a target amount (e.g. €100,000) and the calculator determines the monthly savings needed to reach it within your chosen timeframe.
• Time to goal: you enter your available monthly savings and the calculator estimates how long you will need to reach your target.
• Achievable goal: you start from your current savings capacity and discover what capital you can build over a given period.

These three approaches are complementary: the first starts from the goal, the other two start from your actual means. Used together, they help align your financial ambitions with your current budget constraints.

These tools in the service of your financial independence

These calculators form the foundation of any FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) thinking. Before even defining your FIRE number, understanding how your capital evolves over time — and what savings effort is truly required — is essential.

Good news: contrary to popular belief, financial independence does not require an extreme savings rate. With a savings rate of around 20%, a solid investment strategy, and the disappearance of professional expenses once retired, FI is achievable in under 20 years for many regular investors. For a full roadmap, our early retirement guide walks through every step of this journey.

Once in the withdrawal phase, the VPW method (Variable Percentage Withdrawal) offers a more robust approach than the simple 4% rule: the withdrawal rate adapts each year based on your age, portfolio allocation and actual results. This method avoids both premature capital depletion and overly conservative under-spending. The FIRE calculator built into CaRBuRe natively integrates this approach, including Swiss-specific parameters (AHV, LPP).

Frequently asked questions

Are the calculators 100% free?

Yes, 100% free with no sign-up required. You can use all the calculators as many times as you wish. No personal data is collected, and your calculations remain private in your browser (localStorage only saves your currency and dark mode preferences).

What is CAGR and why does it matter?

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the annualised return of an investment over a given period. It is a key metric because it smooths out annual fluctuations and gives a comparable annual figure. For example, if your portfolio grows from €10,000 to €25,937 in 10 years, the CAGR is 10% per year — regardless of how volatile individual years were.

What is the difference between "Savings for goal" and "Achievable goal"?

Savings for goal: you set a target (e.g. €100,000) and the calculator tells you how much to save per month to reach it.

Achievable goal: you enter how much you can save per month (e.g. €1,000) and the calculator tells you what final amount you will reach.

The two approaches are complementary: one starts from the goal, the other from your current savings capacity.

What annual return rate should I use in the calculators?

There is no universal figure, but some historical benchmarks are useful. Over the very long term (30+ years), the global equity market has delivered a real CAGR (after inflation) of roughly 5 to 7% depending on the period. In nominal terms, a CAGR of 7 to 8% is a reasonable assumption for a diversified global equity ETF portfolio. For conservative projections, use 5%. For optimistic scenarios, 10% is plausible over short periods but unlikely to hold over the very long term. It is advisable to simulate several scenarios rather than locking in a single figure.

Do these calculators account for inflation?

No, all calculations are expressed in nominal values. To obtain a projection in real terms (constant purchasing power), subtract your estimated inflation rate from your CAGR before entering it in the calculators. For example, if you expect a nominal CAGR of 8% and inflation of 2%, use 6% to obtain a projection in constant euros. Over 20 years, the difference between nominal and real value can represent 30 to 40% of the projected capital.

How do these calculators fit into a FIRE strategy?

These tools are complementary to a complete FIRE plan. The Future Value calculator helps estimate your retirement capital across different return scenarios. The Investment calculator shows the impact of your monthly contributions. The Savings calculators determine the monthly effort needed to reach your FIRE number. For the withdrawal phase, the VPW (Variable Percentage Withdrawal) method is preferable to the 4% rule as it adapts the withdrawal rate each year to your actual situation. CaRBuRe integrates all these parameters, including Swiss-specific features (AHV, LPP).