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Free 401(k) Calculator
See what your 401(k) could be worth at retirement — and how much free employer match you would leave behind by contributing too little.
Your projection
Figures update as you type. Everything is computed on this page.
Projected balance at retirement age 65
Where the money comes from, year by year
The split at retirement
How it works
Age, retirement age, balance and salary. Defaults are already filled in so you can see a result in seconds.
Your deferral rate and what your employer matches, dollar-for-dollar, up to a % of salary.
Your contributions, free employer match and compound growth are separated so you can see what does the work.
The math, stated plainly
Each month your balance earns 7% ÷ 12 (a 7% nominal annual return, the long-run stock-market assumption most planners use), then your contribution and your employer's match are added. That repeats until your retirement age. Turn on the inflation toggle to divide every year's balance back by 3% annual inflation, which shows the result in today's purchasing power.
Employer match is modeled as dollar-for-dollar up to the match % you enter: contribute at least that percentage of salary and you capture all of it; contribute less and you capture only what you put in. Real plans use vesting schedules and per-paycheck caps, so treat this as a close estimate, not a plan document.
Frequently asked questions
What return assumption do you use?
7% nominal per year, compounded monthly, shown on the page at all times. It is a default, not a promise — returns vary year to year. Change the result in your head by roughly $100k per percentage point over 35 years, or just re-check your plan's own projection.
How much should I contribute to get the full match?
At least the match percentage. With a 4% match, contributing 4% of salary captures every matched dollar; 3% leaves 1% of salary — about one paycheck's worth of free money each year — on the table.
What about the IRS contribution limit?
If your deferrals pass the elective deferral limit ($23,500, plus $7,500 catch-up at age 50 and over) the calculator warns you but keeps projecting the rate you entered, so you can see the what-if. In a real plan, contributions stop at the limit and the excess usually comes back to you as taxable pay.
Does this include taxes, fees or raises?
No. It is a pre-tax growth projector: no expense ratios, no advisory fees, no salary increases, no Roth comparison. Leaving those out keeps the number simple and slightly optimistic.
Is my salary or balance stored anywhere?
No. The page has no accounts, no cookies and no server calls — the math runs in your browser and disappears when you close the tab.