CD Ladder Calculator
Plan a CD ladder: see the amount per rung, total value at maturity, and interest earned from your deposit and APY. Free and accurate.
Independently verified for accuracy
Calculator by Toolsloft ↗- Amount per rung
- 10000
- Total at maturity
- 56329.75
- Total interest
- 6329.75
This calculator models a CD ladder, where you split one deposit across several certificates that mature in consecutive years. It returns the amount per rung, the total value once every rung has matured, and the interest earned. Use it to plan a ladder that keeps part of your savings maturing each year while earning more than a single short term CD.
How this is calculated
It splits the deposit into equal rungs and assumes terms of 1, 2, up to N years, with each rung compounded annually at the same APY. Each rung's maturity value is deposit-per-rung times (1 + APY)^k for term k, and the totals sum across all rungs. This follows the standard annual compound interest formula applied to a laddered set of equal certificates.
How to use
- Enter the total amount you want to deposit.
- Enter the number of rungs (CDs) and the APY.
- Read the amount per rung, total at maturity, and total interest.
Examples
- $50,000 across 5 rungs at 4% APY:
total at maturity $56,329.75 - $10,000 across 4 rungs at 3.5% APY:
interest $906.16
FAQ
- What is a CD ladder?
- A strategy that splits one deposit into several certificates of deposit with staggered terms, so one rung matures each year. It balances access to cash with the higher rates of longer terms.
- How is each rung valued?
- Each rung is the deposit divided by the number of rungs, compounded annually at the APY for its term. The first rung runs one year, the next two years, and so on.
- Does it assume the same APY on every rung?
- Yes. For a clear comparison it applies one APY to all rungs and compounds each annually.