Annuity calculator
Estimate periodic annuity payments for ordinary and annuity-due schedules.
What this calculator covers
Use this annuity calculator to estimate the periodic payment required to fund a present value across a fixed number of payment periods.
The walkthrough keeps the timing adjustment visible so you can compare an ordinary annuity with an annuity due using the same base inputs.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between an ordinary annuity and an annuity due?
- An ordinary annuity pays at the end of each period; an annuity due pays at the beginning. Because annuity-due payments arrive one period earlier, the required periodic payment is slightly smaller than for an ordinary annuity with the same present value and rate.
- Why does the calculator ask for a present value rather than a future value?
- The tool is structured around funding a known lump sum today — for example, drawing down a retirement account balance or pricing an insurance payout. If you are instead building toward a future lump sum, a future-value or savings calculator is a better starting point.
- What does financing cost represent in the results?
- Financing cost is the total of all payments minus the original present value. It captures the combined effect of interest over the full payment stream — how much extra you pay beyond the principal to spread repayment across the annuity term.
- Can I model weekly or biweekly payments?
- Yes. Set payments per year to 52 for weekly or 26 for biweekly. The calculator divides the annual rate by the selected frequency to derive the correct periodic rate.
Tool
Run the calculation
Result
RESULT · ANNUITY PAYMENT
â„–084
Primary result
$1,031.83
Funding $150,000.00 over 20 years at 5.5% requires $1,031.83 per period as a ordinary annuity (end of each period).
- Periodic payment
- $1,031.83
- Total of payments
- $247,639.20
- Financing cost
- $97,639.20
- Periodic rate
- 0.458300%
- Payment timing
- ordinary annuity (end of each period)
Step-by-step solution
- 1.Convert the annual rate to a periodic rate by dividing 5.5% by 12 periods per year.
- 2.Count the full payment stream: 20 × 12 = 240 payments.
- 3.Apply the annuity payment formula and adjust for annuity-due timing when payments happen at the beginning of each period.
Walkthrough
Visual walkthrough
An annuity payment is set by the present value, the periodic rate, the number of payments, and whether each payment happens at the beginning or end of the period.
01
Find the periodic rate
5.5% ÷ 12 = 0.458300%
The standard annuity formulas work with the per-period rate, not the annual nominal rate.
02
Count the payment stream
20 × 12 = 240
The number of payments sets how long the present value must be spread across the annuity schedule.
03
Read the payment
An annuity-due payment is slightly smaller than an ordinary-annuity payment because each payment arrives one period earlier.
$1,031.83 per payment