{
  "slug": "term-vs-whole-life",
  "title": "Term vs Whole Life Calculator",
  "heading": "Term vs Whole Life Insurance Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/term-vs-whole-life",
  "summary": "Buy term and invest the difference, compared head to head.",
  "description": "Whole life bundles insurance with a low-return savings account. Buying term and investing the premium difference usually wins on pure numbers, but only if you actually invest it.",
  "formula": "Compare whole life cash value with the invested premium difference over the same period.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=term-vs-whole-life",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "termPremium",
      "label": "Annual term premium",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 620,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "wholePremium",
      "label": "Annual whole life premium",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6400,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years to compare",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 30,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 50
    },
    {
      "id": "invReturn",
      "label": "Investment return",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 15
    },
    {
      "id": "cashValueReturn",
      "label": "Whole life cash value growth",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3.5,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "cashValuePct",
      "label": "Premium credited to cash value",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 100
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "advantage",
      "label": "Term + invest advantage",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "invested",
      "label": "Value of invested difference",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "cash",
      "label": "Whole life cash value",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "diff",
      "label": "Annual premium difference",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalTerm",
      "label": "Total term premiums paid",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalWhole",
      "label": "Total whole life premiums paid",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Annual term premium: 620 $",
      "Annual whole life premium: 6400 $",
      "Years to compare: 30",
      "Investment return: 7 %",
      "Whole life cash value growth: 3.5 %",
      "Premium credited to cash value: 60 %"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Term + invest advantage: $347,752.26",
      "Value of invested difference: $545,983.34",
      "Whole life cash value: $198,231.08",
      "Annual premium difference: $5,780.00",
      "Total term premiums paid: $18,600.00",
      "Total whole life premiums paid: $192,000.00"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter annual term premium ($).",
      "Enter annual whole life premium ($).",
      "Enter years to compare.",
      "Enter investment return (%).",
      "Enter whole life cash value growth (%).",
      "Enter premium credited to cash value (%).",
      "Read your term + invest advantage on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "termPremium": 380,
        "wholePremium": 3800,
        "years": 18,
        "invReturn": 4.2,
        "cashValueReturn": 2.1,
        "cashValuePct": 35
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "termPremium": 620,
        "wholePremium": 6400,
        "years": 30,
        "invReturn": 7,
        "cashValueReturn": 3.5,
        "cashValuePct": 60
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "termPremium": 1000,
        "wholePremium": 10200,
        "years": 48,
        "invReturn": 11.200000000000001,
        "cashValueReturn": 5.6000000000000005,
        "cashValuePct": 95
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the term vs whole life insurance calculator work?",
      "a": "Whole life bundles insurance with a low-return savings account. Buying term and investing the premium difference usually wins on pure numbers, but only if you actually invest it. The underlying maths is: Compare whole life cash value with the invested premium difference over the same period."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "6 values: annual term premium, annual whole life premium, years to compare, investment return, whole life cash value growth, and premium credited to cash value. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the term + invest advantage result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/life-insurance-needs",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/emergency-fund"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Term vs Whole Life Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/term-vs-whole-life)"
}