📈 Compound Interest

$2,000 at 10% for 20 Years

Investing $2,000 at 10% annual compound interest for 20 years grows to $13,455. That's $11,455 earned in interest on top of your original $2,000.

If you want to adjust the return assumption, extend the timeframe, or add regular contributions, use the compound interest calculator.

If you want the plain-English explanation behind the numbers, read our guide to compound interest.

Compound Interest Calculator
Australia 2026
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%
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Total value after 20 years
$13,455
Amount invested$2,000
Interest earned$11,455
Interest multiplier6.73×
Year-by-year growth
YearBalanceInterest
Yr 1$2,200+$200
Yr 2$2,420+$220
Yr 3$2,662+$242
Yr 4$2,928+$266
Yr 5$3,221+$293
Yr 6$3,543+$322
Yr 7$3,897+$354
Yr 8$4,287+$390
Yr 9$4,716+$429
Yr 10$5,187+$472
Yr 11$5,706+$519
Yr 12$6,277+$571
Yr 13$6,905+$628
Yr 14$7,595+$690
Yr 15$8,354+$759
Yr 16$9,190+$835
Yr 17$10,109+$919
Yr 18$11,120+$1,011
Yr 19$12,232+$1,112
Yr 20$13,455+$1,223
Final balance after 20 years
$13,455
Invested
$2,000
Interest earned
$11,455
Multiplier
6.73×

How $2,000 grows at 10%

Compound interest earns returns on your returns — not just your original investment. At 10% per year, your money doubles every 7.2 years (the Rule of 72). Over 20 years, that compounds to a 6.73× multiplier.

In year 1, $2,000 earns $200 in interest. By year 20, the annual interest has grown to $1,223 — because each year's interest is calculated on a larger balance.

This is why longer holding periods matter so much. The later years do more of the heavy lifting, especially once the balance is large enough to generate bigger dollar returns each year.

$2,000 for 20 years at different rates
RateFinal balanceInterest earnedMultiplier
4%$4,382$2,3822.19×
5%$5,307$3,3072.65×
6%$6,414$4,4143.21×
7%$7,739$5,7393.87×
8%$9,322$7,3224.66×
9%$11,209$9,2095.60×
10% ◀$13,455$11,4556.73×

Year-by-year projection

YearBalanceInterest this yearTotal interestGrowth
Year 1$2,200+$200$2001.10×
Year 2$2,420+$220$4201.21×
Year 3$2,662+$242$6621.33×
Year 4$2,928+$266$9281.46×
Year 5$3,221+$293$1,2211.61×
Year 6$3,543+$322$1,5431.77×
Year 7$3,897+$354$1,8971.95×
Year 8$4,287+$390$2,2872.14×
Year 9$4,716+$429$2,7162.36×
Year 10$5,187+$472$3,1872.59×
Year 11$5,706+$519$3,7062.85×
Year 12$6,277+$571$4,2773.14×
Year 13$6,905+$628$4,9053.45×
Year 14$7,595+$690$5,5953.80×
Year 15$8,354+$759$6,3544.18×
Year 16$9,190+$835$7,1904.59×
Year 17$10,109+$919$8,1095.05×
Year 18$11,120+$1,011$9,1205.56×
Year 19$12,232+$1,112$10,2326.12×
Year 20$13,455+$1,223$11,4556.73×

Growth chart

Balance growth over 20 years
$3k$7k$10k$13kYr1Yr5Yr10Yr15Yr20
Principal
Interest earned

Frequently asked questions

Related compound interest scenarios

Use these nearby examples to compare what changes when you keep the same starting balance, extend the investing period, or test a more aggressive return assumption.

Compound interest guide and tools

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