Wealth Tradeoff Calculators

HYSA vs. Brokerage Calculator

Compare keeping money in a high-yield savings account with investing it in a brokerage account, including interest, expected returns, taxes, fees, market risk, liquidity, and time horizon.

A high-yield savings account can be useful for short-term goals and cash you cannot afford to lose. A brokerage account may offer more growth potential over longer periods, but market values can rise or fall. This calculator compares both paths using your savings goal, time horizon, expected return, APY, tax assumptions, and risk tolerance.

Educational estimate only. This calculator is not financial, investment, tax, legal, banking, brokerage, or professional advice.

This is an after-tax planning estimate based on your assumptions. It does not use current bank rates, predict markets, or determine investment suitability.

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Savings goal

Shorter timelines and low loss tolerance usually make cash more important. Longer timelines may allow more market risk.

Starting amount

Monthly contribution

Time horizon in years

Goal amount

Goal type

How much loss could you tolerate?

Need access within 12 months?

High-yield savings assumptions

HYSA rates can change over time. This calculator uses your entered rate assumptions, not current bank rates.

Interest taxed as ordinary income?

HYSA APY

HYSA rate change assumption

Ending HYSA APY

Estimated tax rate on interest

Monthly account fee

Brokerage assumptions

Investment returns are not guaranteed. This calculator uses a steady expected return for planning and a separate stress-test scenario.

Rebalance allocation warning?

Expected annual investment return

Investment fee or expense ratio

Tax drag estimate

Optional estimate for taxable dividends, realized gains, or other tax drag.

Brokerage account fee per month

Stock allocation percentage

Bond allocation percentage

Cash allocation percentage

Market risk stress test

A stress test is not a prediction. It helps show how a market decline could affect money needed by a specific date.

Include brokerage stress test?Show downside shortfall versus goal?

Market decline scenario percentage

Stress test timing

Recovery return after decline

Liquidity and safety assumptions

Use generic educational assumptions only. Coverage, account eligibility, liquidity, and market risk can vary.

FDIC/NCUA insurance awareness note?Brokerage risk note?

Emergency fund months already covered elsewhere

Minimum cash cushion to keep

Withdrawal flexibility

Scenario presets

Use a preset to quickly test a savings situation, then adjust any input.

Brokerage may fit

Brokerage may have about $6,345 more expected value after 5 years.

Based on your inputs. This is an after-tax estimate, not financial, investment, tax, banking, brokerage, or professional advice.

Planning notes

HYSA interest is estimated after ordinary income tax using your entered tax rate.
Brokerage returns are reduced by your entered tax drag estimate.
Cash account insurance depends on the institution, account type, limits, and eligibility.
Brokerage investments are not insured against market losses.

HYSA ending balance

$61,412

Brokerage expected balance

$67,756

Difference

$6,345

HYSA months to goal

3 years 7 months

Brokerage months to goal

3 years 2 months

Brokerage stressed balance

$54,119

HYSA path breakdown

Starting amount$25,000

Contributions$30,000

Interest earned$8,436

Taxes on interest$2,025

Fees$0

Ending balance$61,412

Goal surplus$11,412

Brokerage path breakdown

Starting amount$25,000

Contributions$30,000

Expected growth$15,445

Tax/fee drag$2,689

Account fees$0

Ending balance$67,756

Goal surplus$17,756

Stress test

Decline scenario

20%

Decline timing

At the end of the horizon

Stressed ending balance

$54,119

Goal surplus

$4,119

Decline amount

$13,488

Liquidity and safety

Need access within 12 months

Withdrawal flexibility

Can delay 1 to 2 years

Minimum cash cushion

$10,000

Liquidity risk label

Moderate

Market risk label

Higher

Goal type

General savings

Balance timeline

HYSA balance, brokerage expected balance, optional brokerage stress path, and goal line.

Top scale: $67,756

HYSABrokerage expectedBrokerage stressGoal line

What would change the result?

The brokerage path has a higher expected ending balance by about $6,345.
HYSA interest is lower risk, but taxes and rate changes can reduce growth.
Your minimum cash cushion is $10,000, so investing the full amount may reduce flexibility.
Both paths reach the goal within the modeled period.

Read the methodology

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A brokerage account may offer more growth potential, but market values can rise or fall.

Review HYSA vs. Brokerage Review mortgage payoff vs. invest

Some links may be affiliate links. Calculator results are based on your inputs, not compensation.

Frequently asked questions

Should I keep money in a HYSA or invest it?+

It depends on your time horizon, access needs, loss tolerance, taxes, fees, and goal timing. This calculator estimates the tradeoff using your assumptions.

When is a HYSA better than a brokerage account?+

A HYSA may fit short-term goals, emergency cash, or money you need to access on a specific date with less market uncertainty.

When might a brokerage account make more sense?+

A brokerage account may fit longer timelines when you can tolerate market swings and do not need the money immediately.

Does this calculator use current HYSA rates?+

No. It uses the APY and rate-change assumptions you enter. Current bank rates can change.

Are brokerage returns guaranteed?+

No. Brokerage returns are not guaranteed, and investments can lose value. The calculator uses an expected return plus a separate stress test.

How does the stress test work?+

The stress test applies a one-time market decline at the selected point in the timeline, then models the remaining months using your recovery return assumption.

Does this calculator include taxes?+

It includes a simplified tax estimate for HYSA interest and a user-entered tax drag estimate for brokerage returns. It does not calculate exact tax liability.

Is this financial or investment advice?+

No. This is an educational estimate based on user-entered assumptions and is not financial, investment, tax, legal, banking, brokerage, or professional advice.