Build a ladder and see the blended yield live.
$10,000.00 per rung across 5 CDs
Rungs step every 1 year
Compounding frequency
Rate per rung (APY)
First cash free in 1 year
Maturity schedule
Each rung is calculated independently with A = P(1 + r/n)nt and runs entirely in your browser. Reinvestment of maturing rungs is not assumed.
Formulas and content last reviewed . Bank rates change frequently — confirm current rates directly with your institution.
The short answer
A CD ladder splits one deposit across several CDs with staggered maturity dates, so part of the money comes free at regular intervals while the rest keeps earning longer-term rates. Divide the total by the number of rungs, assign each rung a term stepping evenly up to the longest, and compute each with A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt). The ladder's blended APY is the deposit-weighted average of the rung rates, not a simple average, so an unequal ladder tilts toward whichever rungs hold the most money. The point of a ladder is that it removes the timing decision: you are neither betting that rates will fall by locking everything long, nor giving up yield by keeping everything short. As each rung matures you either take the cash or roll it into a new longest rung, which keeps the cycle going.
Formula & method
Blended APY = Σ (rateᵢ × amountᵢ) ÷ total deposited
Each rung's rate weighted by the dollars in it gives the ladder's overall yield.
Divide your total deposit by the number of rungs to size each CD.
Assign staggered terms — 5 rungs over 60 months means 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months.
Look up the bank's rate for each term and enter it per rung.
Calculate each rung independently with A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt).
Sum the maturity values for the ladder total, and weight the rates by amount for the blended APY.
Guide
The full sum you want laddered. The tool splits it evenly across the rungs you choose.
Four or five is typical. More rungs mean more frequent access to cash but smaller individual CDs.
This anchors the ladder. Terms step evenly from the shortest rung up to this maximum.
Enter your bank's actual rate for each term. Longer rungs usually pay more, and the ladder diagram redraws as you type.
Examples
Inputs
Result
You capture most of the 5-year rate while still freeing $10,000 plus interest every twelve months.
Methodology
Rungs are funded on the same day and sized equally — uneven ladders are possible but change the blended yield.
Rates shown per rung are the bank's current rates for those terms; real rates change between rungs maturing.
The model does not assume reinvestment. In practice you would roll each maturing rung into a new long-term CD.
Each rung is a separate CD with its own early withdrawal penalty.
Conventions follow Regulation DD (12 CFR 1030), which governs how US institutions disclose APY on deposit accounts. Deposits at insured institutions are FDIC-protected up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category.
Primary sources
Details
Laddering reduces interest-rate risk: if rates rise you reinvest a rung soon; if they fall your long rungs stay locked at the old higher rate.
Once a ladder is mature, rolling each maturing rung into the longest term means you eventually earn long-term rates on everything while still having annual access.
A 'barbell' variant puts money only in the shortest and longest terms; a 'bullet' targets one future date with several CDs maturing together.
FDIC insurance covers $250,000 per depositor per bank — a large ladder can be split across institutions to stay fully covered.
How it connects
Applications
You want a rung maturing every year to cover annual expenses without touching the rest.
You do not want to bet on rates going up or down, so you hedge across terms.
You want better-than-savings yield but need part of the money reachable without a penalty.
Related tools
FAQs
A CD ladder splits one deposit across several CDs with staggered maturity dates, so part of the money frees up at regular intervals while the rest keeps earning longer-term rates. Divide the total by the number of rungs and assign each rung a term stepping evenly up to the longest. Put $50,000 into five rungs of $10,000 at 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months, paying 4.30%, 4.40%, 4.50%, 4.55% and 4.60% APY respectively, and the ladder returns $57,210.61 — $7,210.61 of interest — with a money-weighted blended yield of 4.47%. As each rung matures you either take the cash or roll it into a new longest rung, which keeps the cycle running. The point is that it removes the timing decision: you are neither betting rates will fall by locking everything long, nor giving up yield by keeping everything short.
Security & privacy
Uses the same compound interest and APY conventions as banks under Regulation DD.
No signup, no email wall, no paywall. Every calculator is fully usable on first visit.
Every calculation runs client-side in JavaScript. Nothing is sent to a server or stored.
Served over HTTPS with no mixed content. Read our privacy policy or see the formulas and methodology behind every figure.
Change rungs, terms and rates and watch the maturity schedule redraw. Find the structure that matches when you actually need the money.