When it comes to your money, a financial calculator is an invaluable tool. A financial calculator can help you with mortgages, saving for retirement, day to day budgeting, and a lot more. But, finding the right one for your situation can be a challenge.
Fortunately, we’ve scoured the internet to put together a list of the 30 best free online financial calculators. So, if you’re looking to get your finances in order or hoping to tweak your plans for improved returns, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look!
1. 50/30/20 Budget Calculator
One of the best ways to manage your monthly budget is to adhere to the 50/30/20 rule. This guideline divides your take-home income into needs, wants, and savings. 50% for necessities, 30% for wants, and 20% for repaying debt and savings. Here’s how it breaks down:
For starters, half of your total after-tax income should go to things you have to have to live. The big things here are food, shelter, and safety (insurance, etc.). Apply 50% of your take-home income to necessities, including:
- Rent/Mortgage
- Utilities
- Insurance
- Transportation
- Food
- Child care and other similar expenses
- Monthly payments on loans, etc.
The next piece of the pie goes to things that you don’t have to have, but that improves your quality of life. Things like movies, games, and going out are all costs that should apply to this part of your income. Put aside 30% of your after-tax income to non-necessities such as:
- Entertainment
- Eating out
- Monthly subscriptions (TV, etc.)
- Travel
Lastly, use the remaining 20% for paying down existing debt and for savings. If you have debt, start with that. Pay down your debt until it’s gone. Then, you can begin saving money and investing. 20% of your income should go to:
- Paying off debt, starting with the highest interest rates
- Putting money aside for savings and emergencies
- Saving for retirement
To help with all this, NerdWallet has one of the best free online financial calculators for following the 50/30/20 rule. Enter your total monthly after-tax income, and it will show you how much money you have for each section.
2. Net Worth Calculator
Being aware of your net worth is an invaluable piece of information. Your net worth is a basic measure of your financial health and can be a useful way to track your yearly progress.
Net worth is a total of all your assets minus your liabilities. In other words, if you were to sell everything you own, including your home and all your property, cash in your bank account, and then take away from that your total debts,(including how much you owe on your car, credit card debt, student loans, and mortgage), your tally would be how much you are worth. This total is your net worth.
While there’s no magic number that you should be striving to reach, it’s critical to know your net worth. In some cases, it may be negative, especially if you’re starting out and have a lot of student debt.
Of course, selling everything you own is not a realistic scenario. However, knowing how much you’re worth if you were to do so is a valuable exercise that can help when it comes to planning your finances, both day to day and for the future.
3. 401k Retirement Calculator
Even if you haven’t started saving for retirement yet, you’ve probably heard of 401k accounts. You may also have one with your current employer. Even so, to get a better understanding of what you’re getting into and what you truly need to retire, using a 401k retirement calculator can be an extremely useful tool.
A 401k account is a robust savings plan when it comes to retirement. Not only do you only pay taxes on contributions when you withdraw money from them, but all earnings are tax-deferred. What’s more, many employers will match contributions at a rate of anywhere from 0% to 100%.
That said, they can be confusing. Using this handy 401k retirement calculator can help you to figure out your earnings and contributions. By inputting your annual earnings and selecting a percentage to contribute, as well as a few other things, you’ll receive a solid estimate of how much you can expect when you retire.
4. College Savings Calculator
Saving for college is a big deal. Without an effective plan in place, it’s challenging to save enough money to cover everything your child needs to get through college. The more you save now, the better the headstart they’ll have when it comes to starting their own lives.
When it comes to saving for college, every little bit helps. Some of the most effective ways to save are to put money into investments such as mutual funds or a 529 plan. The point of 529 plans is saving for college. Yet, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you’re saving as long as you consistently put money away.
We all know college can be expensive and costs are rising every year. On your own, it’s tough to know how much to save for college. This college savings calculator lets you estimate costs based on your child’s age, school types, and other factors.
5. Debt Planning Calculator
Paying off your debt is a crucial step towards financial freedom. While personal loans, student loans, and credit cards are all tools to help us accomplish our goals, they can also be detrimental to financial health.
For many of us, becoming debt-free is a significant goal. Accomplishing this goal is never easy, and it takes patience and consistent management of your finances.
The debt planning calculator keeps track of cumulative interest accrued on a monthly basis as you begin to pay off your debt. It calculates the total interest you’ll pay and gives you the number of months it will take to pay off your debt completely.
6. Loan Payment Calculator
The loan payment calculator is a useful tool to determine your monthly payments. It works for car loans, mortgages, and any type of fixed loan.
There are many reasons to get a loan, but it’s always essential to know its terms. Whether you’re financing home repairs, paying for moving costs, or consolidating credit card debt, the more information you know about the loan, the better.
While a simple tool, you’ll be happy to have the loan payment calculator when you’re shopping for a loan. This tool can help you to find the best loan that’s right for your situation, be it secured or unsecured.
7. Retirement Planning Calculator
While we already mentioned the 401k calculator, this calculator will help to give you an overall picture. It’s designed to answer the question: am I saving enough for retirement?
The retirement planning calculator asks for information about your salary, savings, and household status, and it will provide you with the total amount of money you’ll need. Of course, this number will also depend on the lifestyle you intend to have during your retirement.
8. Credit Card Limit Calculator
Ever wanted to know how creditors determine the maximum limit on your credit card? The credit card limit calculator is here to help. Although there is no sure way to know what the limit will be until approved, this calculator can give you a better idea for managing your finances.
Banks and credit card companies use a variety of factors to determine credit card limits. While much of it is dependent on your income and credit history, it’s not uncommon for different companies to offer different limits based on the same information given.
As always, be careful how much you raise your limit. Before doing so, ask yourself why and what for. Having a large limit may promote overspending, which can lead to increased debt that is never good for your financial health. Also, be aware that the higher your balance, the more interest you will be paying to maintain it.
That said, it never hurts to know what limit you may be able to get for your credit cards. Life is unpredictable. If nothing else, knowing that you could have a higher limit offers peace of mind in case of an emergency.
9. Compound Interest Calculator
Compound interest can either be a good or bad thing, depending on which side of it you’re on. For instance, if you have an investment account that accrues compound interest, you’re in good shape. But, if your loan is building compound interest, you should be looking at ways to pay it off as quickly as possible.
Compound interest is interest calculated on the initial principal plus all the accumulated interest from previous periods on the loan or deposit. It’s sometimes called “interest on interest” and calculating it can be tricky. Of course, using this compound interest calculator can help.
10. Early Retirement Calculator
If early retirement sounds nice, then this calculator may be the tool for you. Retiring early takes a lot of planning and careful management of your finances. This involves analyzing what you have now and determining if it’s enough before you start receiving your pension or social security.
This early retirement calculator can be an invaluable tool for developing a strategy. It uses your spending plan and stock market history to guide you through what you’ll need to succeed.
11. Credit Card Calculator
The credit card calculator is simple. Input your balance, interest rate, and the calculation of your minimum payment, and it will provide you with the amount you will pay in interest based on the payment terms you provide.
This calculator can help you manage your credit cards without feeling like you’re making payments in the dark. With a better understanding of how much interest you might pay, you’ll be more prepared to take action required to manage your finances.
12. Auto Loan Calculator
For many of us, our car payments are a simple part of life. Yet, many of us tend to ignore the fact that we’re paying a loan, considering our car payments like any other monthly bill. Nonetheless, these payments are part of a loan, and realizing this fact can help you to make better financial decisions.
That said, this auto loan calculator is an excellent tool to use when shopping for a car. You enter your information, and you can see how much your loan payments will be. It allows you to adjust your down payment, the length of the loan, and interest rate so that you can make a more informed decision.
13. Drive or Fly Calculator
Drive or fly? Depending on your destination, it’s a great question. Many times, you might be unsure which method is the best way to travel, be it for a business trip or a family vacation. As such, the drive or fly calculator can help you to determine which is better for you.
The drive or fly calculator allows you to input all the most important factors when it comes to travel. Some of these factors include hotel stops, travel time, and the number of passengers.
The drive or fly calculator will tell you the difference in cost between getting to the airport and booking a flight versus renting a car or taking your car a paying for gas; it also breaks down your trip based on your particular needs. You have the option to customize every detail.
14. Student Loan Payment Calculator
Whether you’re just starting to pay off a student loan or looking to take out a new one, the student loan payment calculator can help you to calculate what your monthly payment is going to be.
For many, student loans are a necessary part of going to college. The danger lies in taking out too many and having crippling debt after graduating. Too much debt can make it very hard to get started in life, especially financially.
For this reason, the student loan payment calculator can be a useful tool for figuring out which student loans to take and the income you’ll need to be able to pay them back in a reasonable amount of time.
15. Pay Debt or Invest Calculator
Deciding if it’s best to use your money to pay debt or invest is not always easy. While your first instinct may be to pay off your debt first, there are times when investing your money will earn a more significant return. It’s complicated, which is why the pay debt or invest calculator is good to have.
Every time you use your money to pay off debt, you’re removing interest expense. However, investing that same money could have earned interest income. It’s a tricky balance. What’s more, it’s essential to consider future earnings on funds that may become available after removing the debt.
The pay debt or invest calculator can help you to determine what’s your best move.
It’s important to note that this calculator is best used for decisions having to do with personal loans, credit cards, and car loans. When it comes to home loans and large investment loans, there are other factors to consider that are not calculated using this tool.
16. Cost of Living Calculator
Every location has an average cost of living associated with it. While some places, such as the rural midwest, have low costs of living, other places, such as big cities like New York or San Francisco, have very high costs of living.
If you’re considering a move, the cost of living calculator can help you determine how much more or less or income needs to be to maintain your current standard of living. It’s an especially helpful tool if you’re on the fence and need to know if moving for a new job is worthwhile.
The cost of living calculator compares everything from housing cost to food prices. You never know, it may surprise you how luxuriously you could be living if you just moved.
17. Personal Loan Calculator
If you need a personal loan, this calculator can help. It’s an easy way to answer the question: how much can I borrow? Even if you’re not looking to borrow, it’s helpful to know what level of borrowing power you have available to you.
Personal loans are versatile. They can allow you to consolidate debt, pay medical bills, pay tax debt, do home repairs, pay for wedding costs, and many other things. Some people also use personal loans to help finance their small business, although small business loans may be more appropriate.
It takes your income and expenses into account and provides an estimate of how much you may be able to borrow. It also enables you to tweak loan terms and interest rates to get a better idea of the loan you may be eligible for. On top of that, you can use it to calculate the total interest you would pay over the life of the loan.
18. Mortgage Calculator
If you’ve ever considered buying a home, you’ve likely looked at mortgages. Most homeowners required a mortgage to buy their home. The mortgage calculator will estimate your monthly payments based on the price of the home, interest rate, loan term, and down payment.
This mortgage calculator is an excellent tool to explore before you get too far into the home buying process. As anyone who’s ever bought a home will tell you, once you get the ball rolling, it moves fast. Using the mortgage calculator before you start looking at homes, even if it’s only on your own without an agent, is an excellent way to tell what you’re going to be able to afford.
Besides basic principal, interest, and down payment factors, this calculator also considers possible HOA fees, your credit score range, and the zip code where you’re interested.
19. Wedding Budget Calculator
The wedding budget calculator is the calculator you didn’t know you needed. It’s a beneficial tool when it comes to estimating the total price of your wedding. Plus, it has a feature that allows you to compare your wedding’s calculated cost with your original budget.
Weddings are expensive. The average cost of a wedding in the United States is over $30,000. Of course, everyone is different, and every family has their budget and traditions. Still, even a small wedding can get expensive fast.
The good news is that the wedding budget calculator helps you to figure out how much you’re going to spend on that day, so there are no surprises when the bills start piling up. It offers a budgeting framework that includes both the ceremony and the reception. From there, you’ll be able to tweak individual expenses to get an idea of the total cost.
Once you’ve seen how expensive your wedding might be, you can begin looking at costs and adjusting your needs. You can cut costs by shrinking the guest list, minimizing the number of flowers, catering to the event yourself, or having a family-owned business help you out.
20. Tip Calculator
Simple, but essential, the tip calculator can save you time and the embarrassment of struggling to do math in your head. What’s more, it ensures that you’re not tipping too much or too little.
Many service workers depend on tips as part of their monthly income. Because of this, it’s essential to always tip fairly. Of course, this does not mean you should reward lousy service, but it’s critical to always keep in mind that, like it or not, tipping is part of the economy that runs much of the service industry.
To use the tip calculator, simply input the bill’s total cost, the level of service, and the tip percentage. It will provide you with an exact tip amount as well as the total cost of the bill. From there, depending on what you feel is fair, you either round the tip amount up, down or pay the exact amount.
21. Emergency Fund Calculator
No matter how much money you make, no one can predict the future. An unexpected medical bill or sudden car repair can be a significant financial burden. If you’re not prepared, you may experience severe financial hardship.
For this reason, it’s recommended that everyone have an emergency fund. An emergency fund is money saved and put away in case of an emergency or unexpected bill. Then, when your car quits working, you have the money to get it repaired without affecting your normal lifestyle.
The problem is, it’s difficult to predict how much you might need. Is $500 enough? It might be for a small bill or car repair. But a sudden medical bill could be larger than that. However, that amount is enough to avoid going into debt in most cases.
Many financial experts recommend having enough money saved to cover up to six months worth of expenses. While this may sound like a lot, you’ll be happy to have it if you’re without a job and need time to get back on your feet.
The emergency fund calculator takes your monthly expenses and income into account and recommends a savings amount. It may surprise you how quickly your emergency fund grows if you stick with it.
22. Credit Card Consolidation Calculator
Sometimes people get into trouble with credit card debt. If you have debt spread out over many credit card accounts, it may be a good idea to consolidate your balances. Doing this can reduce your overall interest rate and save you money over time.
The problem is, when you have a lot of credit card debt, it’s almost impossible to keep track of all the different interest rates spread out over various accounts. In general, credit card debt has the highest interest rates of any kind of debt, and you should avoid allowing your balances to get too high.
If possible, you should consolidate all your credit card balances into a personal loan. Personal loans typically have lower interest rates and better terms. Having one loan, even if it has a large balance, is usually better than having a bunch of smaller credit card balances.
With a single loan, you should have a better interest rate and fewer fees. This loan will save you money and make it much easier to manage your debt. The credit card consolidation calculator will show you how much you can save on interest.
The credit card consolidation calculator has a line for each credit card. You input each card’s balance, interest rate, payment, and annual fees. Then, you enter the terms of the new loan, and it will provide you with a new monthly payment amount, as well as your total savings annually.
23. Name Brand vs. Generic Calculator
It might not seem like a big deal, but you can save a lot of money over time by buying generic products over name brands. While it’s true that some name brand products offer higher quality, a good majority of them do not. Most of the time, the increased cost goes into more appealing packaging and marketing costs for the company.
Sometimes, we get used to buying a particular brand and forget to consider less expensive alternatives. This can be costly, and there’s no reason for it, especially when it comes to certain items, like baking goods, seasonings, and bottled water, where there is no difference between the name brand and the generic one.
Using the name brand vs. generic calculator can show you how much, or how little, money you’ll save by purchasing generic. Plus, it will calculate potential earnings based on taking the money saved and investing it.
24. Ultimate Retirement Calculator
There are a lot of factors that go into determining whether you’re able to retire and when. So, while other calculators on this list have focused on particular parts of saving for retirement, the ultimate retirement calculator computes how much money you need to save, how long your money will last, and how soon you can retire.
The ultimate retirement calculator is a top-notch tool to determine your financial needs for retirement and take into account other factors. For example, it enables you to consider part-time business income, phased income, and real estate income.
It will also generate retirement planning reports you can use for analysis. By tweaking different factors and playing with various what-if scenarios, you’ll be able to plan for any eventuality. It’s a great way to outline possible retirement scenarios and how to achieve them.
The best thing about the ultimate retirement calculator is how comprehensive it is. If you’re unsure about anything in the calculator, there’s a helpful data entry box you can click on with further information and instructions.
25. Bi-Weekly Mortgage Calculator
One thing you can do to save for your future and save money on interest is to make bi-weekly payments on your mortgage. It’s an effective strategy that pays down your mortgage faster than you might think.
The idea is that instead of making one payment each month, you make a payment every other week. At first glance, it might not sound like there’s much difference. But, by doing this, you’ll be making 26 payments instead of twelve, which is an extra payment each year.
So, while it feels like you’re paying the same amount each month, you’re putting more into your mortgage than you think. This payment schedule can result in significant returns in years to come and pay off your mortgage much sooner than expected.
This bi-weekly mortgage calculator can show you how much interest you’ll save by making bi-weekly payments. While this amounts to one extra mortgage payment per year, the savings in interest are large.
26. Inflation Calculator
Due to inflation, your money will be worth less in the future. In the short term, inflation has little effect on your finances. But, in the long term, it can have a severe impact on your savings and investments.
Inflation is an increase in the price of products and services in the economy over time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates inflation in the United States. Purchasing power goes down as prices rise.
For example, by using the inflation calculator, we can see that $100 in 1980 has the same buying power as $264.60 in 2010. The problem with this fact is that your savings can lose value as the years go by, which can have a negative impact on your purchasing power and your ability to retire.
Knowing how inflation works, you can account for it when calculating your retirement savings. You can also help counteract its effects on your financial status by investing in real estate, stocks, and other investments that provide high returns.
27. 1040 Tax Calculator
Do you want to know your projected tax withholding for the year? The 1040 tax calculator will estimate your tax refund or the amount you owe to avoid surprises and plan your finances for the future.
For instance, if you expect a refund and would like to use it to pay off debt, make a large purchase, or invest, this calculator can help you to anticipate the size of your refund. If you’re worried about how much you might owe on your tax return, the 1040 tax calculator can give you a good idea of how much so that there are no surprises.
All in all, your taxes play a large part in your financial wellbeing. It’s nice to have a tool like the 1040 calculator in your toolbox to be able to assess the role your taxes play in your finances accurately.
28. Life Insurance Calculator
Life insurance is a financial tool that some people don’t like to talk about. For some, death is something they don’t want to think about. However, life insurance is a tool that can protect your dependents and ensure everyone you leave behind after you die has enough money to carry on without undue financial hardship.
Some view certain life insurance policies as investments. These policies accrue interest, building up a pool of capital over time. However, note that most savings-based investments will see better returns.
Consider also that you’re never too old for life insurance. While it’s generally in the best interest of companies that sell life insurance to get people to sign up while they’re younger, anyone at any age can get it. Older people looking to become insured will likely have to pay higher premiums, but don’t think you can’t get it because you’re older.
The positive thing about the life insurance calculator is that it can tell you how much life insurance you need. It analyzes your net worth, college savings, budgeting, and more to give you an idea of where life insurance can help. Also, it takes inflation rates into account.
29. Comprehensive Finance Calculator
One of the most versatile calculators on this list is the comprehensive finance calculator. This tool computes a variety of parameters, including interest rate, annuity payment, number of compounding periods, and others.
As anyone who has taken a finance course can tell you, having a way to calculate the time value of money is invaluable. Time value is the idea that a dollar in your hand today is worth more than that same dollar in the future. For this reason, money loaned or left in an investment accrues interest. The increased value of money at the end of a period of collecting interest is future value.
When you understand basic concepts such as this, you will start to see the comprehensive finance calculator’s value. In some cases, it is possible to make financial calculations by hand, but it’s also tricky and unnecessary. You may want to bookmark this one to have access to the comprehensive finance calculator from your smartphone wherever you go.
The comprehensive finance calculator is also an excellent tool to have available if you’re taking finance classes. Not only does it make smaller calculations easy, but it also includes helpful features such as an amortization schedule, pie chart breakdown of principal and interest, and an accumulation graph.
30. Time Value of Money Calculator
The time value of money or TVM calculator is the perfect tool to help you find the future value of any given amount of money. It calculates the present value of money to be received in the future.
Time value of money is the idea that money that you get now is worth more than money that you will get in the future, based on the ability to invest that money. In other words, say you have a choice between receiving $5000 now or the same amount in 6 months. If you take the money now and invest it, in six months, it could be worth $5100. That would result in a net gain of $100 if you were to take the money now.
Of course, this is a simplistic example. Still, it does serve to illustrate what time value of money is, the basic concept behind a lot of financial products, including loan payment schedules, retirement plans, and investments. Put another way, time value of money is the present value of money received in the future or the future value of current money, also called the discounted cash flow (DCF).
The time value of money calculator is a perfect way to assess your finances with this concept in mind. You can input whatever known values you have, and it will compute the value you’re looking for. Values include present value, future value, interest rate, term, and computing frequency.