Enter a total investment and choose 2 to 5 rungs, each with its own term and rate, to see the blended maturity value and yield.

How to Use the CD Ladder Calculator

Enter the total amount to invest and choose the number of rungs, from 2 to 5. Each rung gets its own editable term (in years) and rate (%) — the defaults step up gradually to model a realistic ladder, but every field can be changed. The total splits equally across whichever rungs are active.

A CD ladder splits one lump sum across several certificates of deposit with different maturity dates instead of locking it all into a single term. Some of the money is always coming due soon, ready to reinvest at whatever rate is available then, while the rest sits in longer terms that typically pay more.

Splitting the Investment

Amount Per Rung = Total Investment ÷ Number of Rungs

Split $25,000 across 5 rungs and each one gets exactly $5,000 — the calculator recomputes this the moment the total or the rung count changes, so every rung stays equal.

Each Rung Grows on Its Own Terms

Rung's Maturity Value = Rung Amount × (1 + Rate÷100)^Term

This is ordinary annual compounding applied per rung, independently — a 1-year rung at 4.0% and a 5-year rung at 4.9% mature completely separately, at different times, at different rates. The table below the results breaks out each rung's own maturity value so it's clear which ones are actually driving the total.

Blending It Back Into One Number

Total maturity value is every active rung's maturity value added together, and total interest is that sum minus what went in. The blended yield is a little more interesting: it's the single annual rate that would have turned the total investment into the total maturity value over the average term across all active rungs.

Blended Yield = (Total Maturity Value ÷ Total Investment)^(1 ÷ Average Term) − 1

With the default 5-rung ladder (1 through 5 years, rates climbing from 4.0% to 4.9%), the blended yield lands close to the middle rung's own rate — which makes sense, since the average term of 3 years corresponds almost exactly to that rung.

Why Ladder at All

A single 5-year CD at the top rate looks better on paper than a ladder averaging something lower — right up until rates move before year five and that whole balance is locked in at the old rate. Laddering trades some of that top-rate upside for liquidity: something always matures soon enough to redeploy if better rates show up, without breaking a CD early and eating the penalty.