College Savings Calculator
Plan your college savings with 529 plan projections. Calculate how much to save monthly for your childs education.
💡 529 Plan Benefits
📈 Savings Projection
| year | Child's Age | Annual Contribution | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| $ | $ |
🏫 College Cost Comparison
| College Type | Current Annual Cost | Future Cost | 4-Year Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public In-State | $22,000 | $ | $ |
| Public Out-of-State | $40,000 | $ | $ |
| Private University | $55,000 | $ | $ |
| Ivy League | $80,000 | $ | $ |
About College Savings Calculator
Tuition inflation is what this college savings calculator is built around: it takes today's typical annual cost for an in-state public, out-of-state public, private or Ivy school and compounds it forward at your assumed inflation rate to the year your child starts. From there it solves the PMT formula for the monthly contribution needed to cover the full multi-year total at your expected rate of return, and lays out a year-by-year table of contributions and balance. Nothing leaves the page.
Use Cases
How to use
Enter Child's Current Age and the College Start Age you expect them to enrol at.
Choose a College Type: Public In-State, Public Out-of-State, Private University or Ivy League, then set Years of College.
Add what you have put aside in Current Savings and your Expected Return (%) on those investments.
Read Estimated Total Cost on the purple card with current annual cost, inflated future annual cost and years left to save.
Check the three plan tiles: Monthly Savings Needed, Projected Savings and Savings Gap, which turns green when you are ahead.
Scroll the Savings Projection table year by year, and use College Cost Comparison to price the four school types side by side.
Pro Tips
- Enter your values carefully — small differences in inputs can lead to large changes in the College Savings Calculator result, especially for long time periods.
- Use the College Savings Calculator to compare multiple scenarios side by side. Open the tool in several tabs to see how different assumptions impact your outcome.
- Bookmark this College Savings Calculator and return whenever your situation changes — small updates in income, rates, or expenses are easy to recompute.
- Export or copy the result before closing the tab. Since the College Savings Calculator stores no data server-side, your inputs reset when you navigate away.
- Combine this College Savings Calculator with our other financial tools (loan, tax, budget calculators) for a more complete financial picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The College Savings Calculator is 100% free, with no signup, no paywall, no limits, and no watermarks on results. You can use it as often as you need.
No. The College Savings Calculator runs entirely in your browser. Your inputs stay on your device and are never transmitted to our servers, guaranteeing privacy.
The College Savings Calculator uses industry-standard formulas and returns mathematically precise results based on the inputs you provide. Always verify with a professional advisor for major decisions.
Yes. The College Savings Calculator is fully responsive and works on iOS, Android, and all modern mobile browsers with no app install required.
After the initial page load, most calculations run offline because the logic runs in JavaScript on your device. If you lose connection mid-session, you can usually keep calculating.
While the College Savings Calculator provides accurate computations, it does not replace professional advice. For tax, legal, medical, or major investment decisions, consult a certified advisor.