Tribonacci Sequence Calculator

Written by:
PK

Need a specific Tribonacci number or the full sequence? This Tribonacci sequence calculator generates any Tribonacci number up to the 100,000th position and shows the full sequence up to the 2,500th term.

Tribonacci Sequence Calculator

Using the Tribonacci calculator

Enter the Position (n) of the Tribonacci number you want. The calculator instantly shows that number and (optionally) the entire sequence from 0 to n.

Indexing starts at 0: the 0th and 1st Tribonacci numbers are both 0, the 2nd is 1, and the sequence grows from there.

What is the Tribonacci sequence?

The Tribonacci sequence extends the Fibonacci idea: instead of summing the previous two numbers, each term is the sum of the previous three:

T_n = T_{n-1} + T_{n-2} + T_{n-3}

With starting values:

T_0 = 0, \quad T_1 = 0, \quad T_2 = 1

The first 20 Tribonacci numbers are:

0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 4, 7, 13, 24, 44, 81, 149, 274, 504, 927, 1705, 3136, 5768, 10609, 19513

The Tribonacci constant

Just as Fibonacci ratios converge to the golden ratio (φ ≈ 1.618), Tribonacci ratios converge to the Tribonacci constant (τ):

\tau \approx 1.83929

This is the real root of:

x^3 - x^2 - x - 1 = 0

The calculator displays the ratio of consecutive terms so you can watch it approach τ as n increases. By around n = 20, it's accurate to several decimal places.

Tribonacci vs Fibonacci growth

Tribonacci numbers grow faster than Fibonacci because each term incorporates three previous values instead of two:

  • F₂₀ = 6765 (20th Fibonacci)
  • T₂₀ = 35890 (20th Tribonacci)

By position 20, Tribonacci is already over 5× larger. The growth rate difference reflects the ratio constants: τ ≈ 1.839 vs φ ≈ 1.618.

Example: the 30th Tribonacci number

The 30th Tribonacci number is:

T_{30} = 15902591

For comparison, F₃₀ = 832,040 – Tribonacci is nearly 20× larger at this point.

Why "Tribonacci"?

The name is a portmanteau of "tri" (three) and "Fibonacci" – coined because it generalizes the Fibonacci rule to three terms. You can extend this further: Tetranacci (4 terms), Pentanacci (5 terms), and so on. These are collectively called n-nacci or higher-order Fibonacci sequences.

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PK

PK started DQYDJ in 2009 to research and discuss finance and investing and help answer financial questions. He's expanded DQYDJ to build visualizations, calculators, and interactive tools.

PK lives in New Hampshire with his wife, kids, and dog.

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