How does a CD ladder work?

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.

How many rungs should a CD ladder have?

Between four and six for most savers, because the useful trade-off is between how often cash becomes available and how much admin you are willing to do. More rungs means shorter gaps between maturities and a blended yield closer to the average of the curve; fewer rungs means less to track but longer stretches where nothing is accessible. A five-rung ladder over 60 months frees up a fifth of the balance every twelve months. On $50,000 split into five $10,000 rungs at 4.30% through 4.60% APY, the first rung returns $10,430.00 after a year while the 60-month rung continues to $12,521.56. The number that actually matters is the shortest rung, since that sets how soon you first get access. Pick the interval you need cash at, then work backwards to the rung count.

Is a CD ladder better than one long CD?

It depends entirely on what you believe rates will do, which is why most people should prefer the ladder. A single long CD wins if rates fall, because you locked the higher rate across the whole balance. It loses if rates rise, because every dollar is stuck. A ladder splits that bet: $50,000 in one 60-month CD at 4.50% APY returns $62,309.10, while the same $50,000 laddered across 12 to 60 months at 4.30% to 4.60% returns $57,210.61 — less in this particular rate environment, but with a fifth of the balance becoming available every year rather than none for five years. You are paying some yield for liquidity and for not having to forecast. If you genuinely have no view on rates, that is a sensible price.

CD Ladder Calculator

사다리를 짜고 가중평균 수익률을 바로 확인하십시오.

Build a CD ladder rung by rung and see maturity dates, blended yield and total interest update live.

총 이자: US$6,513.50
가중평균 APY: 4.20%

내 래더

래더 총액

US$10,000.00 per rung across 5 CDs

래더 단계 수

최장 기간

개월

Rungs step every 1 년

복리 주기

단계별 금리 (APY)

1 년4.50%

2 년4.30%

3 년4.15%

4 년4.05%

5 년4.00%

총 이자: US$6,513.50
전체 만기 시 래더 금액: US$56,513.50
가중평균 APY: 4.20%

만기 일정

#1
1 년4.50%
US$10,450.00
#2
2 년4.30%
US$10,878.49
#3
3 년4.15%
US$11,297.38
#4
4 년4.05%
US$11,721.10
#5
5 년4.00%
US$12,166.53

Splitting US$50,000.00 across 5 rungs up to 5 years earns US$6,513.50 in total interest at a blended 4.20% — with US$10,450.00 becoming available after just 1 년.

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.

무료 — 가입 불필요
입력 즉시 반영
브라우저에서 실행

공식과 내용 최종 검토일 2026년 7월 21일. 은행 금리는 자주 바뀝니다. 현재 금리는 거래 기관에 직접 확인하십시오.

짧은 답변

CD 사다리는 어떻게 작동하나요?

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.

공식과 방법

계산 방법

Blended APY = Σ (rateᵢ × amountᵢ) ÷ total deposited

Each rung's rate weighted by the dollars in it gives the ladder's overall yield.

rateᵢ: APY on rung i
amountᵢ: Dollars placed in rung i
Σ: Sum across every rung

단계별 계산

1
Divide your total deposit by the number of rungs to size each CD.
2
Assign staggered terms — 5 rungs over 60 months means 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months.
3
Look up the bank's rate for each term and enter it per rung.
4
Calculate each rung independently with A = P(1 + r/n)^(nt).
5
Sum the maturity values for the ladder total, and weight the rates by amount for the blended APY.

가이드

이 계산기 사용법

네 가지 값만 넣으면 결과가 바로 나옵니다. 제출할 것도, 가입할 것도 없습니다.

1
Enter your total amount
The full sum you want laddered. The tool splits it evenly across the rungs you choose.
2
Choose the number of rungs
Four or five is typical. More rungs mean more frequent access to cash but smaller individual CDs.
3
Set the longest term
This anchors the ladder. Terms step evenly from the shortest rung up to this maximum.
4
Tune each rung's rate
Enter your bank's actual rate for each term. Longer rungs usually pay more, and the ladder diagram redraws as you type.

예시

계산 예시

실제 숫자로 끝까지 풀어 본 예시입니다. 직접 넣으신 값과 대조해 계산기가 맞는지 확인해 보십시오.

$50,000 laddered across 5 rungs over 60 months

Total: $50,000
Rungs: 5 × $10,000
Terms: 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 months
Rates: 4.50% / 4.30% / 4.15% / 4.05% / 4.00%

Total interest: $6,513.50
Ladder value at full maturity: $56,513.50
Blended APY: 4.20%
First cash available: 12 months

You capture most of the 5-year rate while still freeing $10,000 plus interest every twelve months.

계산 방법

정확성과 가정

모든 계산기는 어떤 가정 위에서 움직입니다. 이 숫자가 무엇을 반영하고 무엇을 반영하지 않는지 그대로 밝혀 둡니다.

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.

계산 관행은 미국 금융기관이 예금 계좌의 APY를 공시하는 방식을 규정한 Regulation DD(12 CFR 1030)를 따릅니다. 예금자보호 대상 기관의 예금은 예금자별, 은행별, 소유 형태별로 $250,000까지 FDIC의 보호를 받습니다.

1차 자료

이 규칙은 어디에서 왔나

이 계산기가 따르는 관행은 저희가 아니라 규제 기관이 정합니다. 각 항목은 해당 기관으로 연결되므로 저희 말을 믿는 대신 직접 확인하실 수 있습니다.

세부 사항

핵심 내용과 규칙

CD에 가입하거나 재예치하기 전에 알아 둘 만한 사실을 한눈에 정리했습니다.

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.

서로의 관계

이 계산기가 필요한 분

Retirees building income
You want a rung maturing every year to cover annual expenses without touching the rest.
Rate-uncertain savers
You do not want to bet on rates going up or down, so you hedge across terms.
Emergency-fund holders
You want better-than-savings yield but need part of the money reachable without a penalty.

모든 CD 계산기

정기예금(CD)의 모든 측면을 다루는 아홉 개의 계산기입니다.

자주 묻는 질문