An employer match is free money. See the dollars you gain by contributing enough to get it.
A 401(k) match calculator shows how much your employer's matching contribution is worth and whether you're contributing enough to capture all of it, because an unclaimed match is money left on the table.
An employer match adds to your 401(k) based on what you contribute, up to a limit, for example, 50% of your contributions up to 6% of salary. Contributing at least enough to earn the full match is one of the best returns in finance: an instant, guaranteed gain on your money before it's even invested.
If you contribute less than the cap, you forfeit part of the match, a real, recurring loss. The calculator shows exactly how much you'd be giving up. Even when money is tight, contributing up to the match first usually beats almost any other use of the dollars, because nothing else offers a guaranteed immediate return like it.
Your employer contributes based on what you put in, up to a cap, often 50% or 100% of your contributions up to a percentage of salary.
Almost always, it's a guaranteed, immediate return on your money, hard to beat with any other use of the funds.
You forfeit part of the match. The calculator shows how much you'd be leaving on the table.
See the exact formula and a worked example on our methodology page.