DCA / SIP Calculator
Project final portfolio value from monthly contributions at any expected return rate. DCA / SIP math with year-by-year growth table. Free.
DCA / SIP Calculator
Project the final value of a Dollar-Cost-Averaging (DCA) / Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) at any expected return rate. The math assumes monthly contributions, compounded monthly. Past performance does not guarantee future results — pick a conservative expected return.
Year-by-year growth
| Year | Cumulative contributed | Cumulative growth | Balance |
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How to Use the DCA / SIP Calculator
Set your monthly contribution
Enter what you can invest every month, in any currency; the result is in the same units. For a US 401(k) this is the payroll deduction plus any employer match, up to the 2026 employee limit of USD 24,500.
Pick an expected return rate
This is an assumption, not a forecast, so try several. For scale, the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2026 puts US equities at 9.8% a year nominal and 6.6% after inflation over 1900–2025, a long run from a market that did unusually well. Enter a real (after-inflation) rate to see the answer in today's money.
Set your investment horizon
The number of years you will keep contributing. Longer horizons put more of the final balance down to growth rather than to contributions: at 7% a year, growth is 62% of the result after 25 years and 69% after 30.
Read the year-by-year table
Each row shows what has gone in and what the balance has grown to by the end of that year. The gap widens because growth is earned on the balance: with USD 500 a month at 7%, year 25 adds about USD 25,400 of growth against about USD 10,000 in year 15.
Dollar-Cost Averaging — The Boring Strategy That Wins Most Years
A fixed sum, on a fixed day, whatever the price
Dollar-cost averaging, called a systematic investment plan (SIP) in India and a regular savings plan in Singapore, means investing the same amount at regular intervals whatever the market is doing. MAS's MoneySense describes it in those terms and notes that, over a long horizon, it gives you the best chance of paying a lower average price. The mechanism is that a fixed sum buys more units when prices are low and fewer when they are high. It does not guarantee a profit or protect against a fall.
This calculator assumes each contribution is made at the end of the month and earns a steady annual return. With USD 500 a month at 7% for 25 years, USD 150,000 goes in and the balance reaches about USD 391,500; the other USD 241,500 is growth. Five more years take it to about USD 584,700. The rate entered is compounded so that twelve months earn exactly that annual figure. Dividing it by twelve instead, as this page once did, would have shown about USD 405,000, because 7% ÷ 12 compounds to 7.23% a year.
Lump sum or instalments: what Vanguard actually measured
Vanguard's 2023 paper Cost averaging: Invest now or temporarily hold your cash? compared investing a windfall all at once with feeding it in over a few months. Using global market data from 1976 to 2022, investing at once came out ahead about two-thirds of the time, measured one year later. Over that year a 60/40 portfolio ended about 1.8% higher on average invested at once than drip-fed over three months, and the median 100% equity portfolio about 2.2% higher. The reason is simply time in the market: money waiting in cash misses the risk premium.
That question only arises when you already hold a lump sum. Money that arrives with each pay cheque is invested on a schedule because that is when it exists, and for that case this calculator is the right model. Vanguard's own conclusion was that cost averaging still beats leaving the money in cash, and may suit someone who would otherwise not invest at all for fear of buying just before a fall.
"A fixed amount buys more units when the price is low and fewer when it is high. That is the whole mechanism, and it works only if you keep paying in."
Real and nominal returns are different questions
A nominal return includes inflation; a real return removes it. In the UBS Yearbook's US series, 9.8% nominal and 6.6% real over 1900–2025 differ by roughly the 2.9% a year inflation averaged. Enter a nominal rate and the projection is in future dollars. Enter a real rate and it is in today's purchasing power, which is usually what a goal is set in. At 3% inflation, USD 1 million thirty years from now buys about what USD 412,000 buys today.
Long-run averages are a reasonable starting assumption, not a promise. Damodaran's annual S&P 500 data compound to about 10.0% a year from 1928 to 2025, but the same table runs from −43.8% in 1931 to +52.6% in 1954, and a steady-rate projection like this one shows none of that path. For a result that includes bad years, use a simulation, and treat this figure as the middle of the road.
USD 500 a month at 7% for 25 years: USD 241,500 of it is growth
USD 500 a month for 25 years at 7%, paid at month-end, grows to about USD 391,500 from USD 150,000 paid in.
Five more years take the same plan to about USD 584,700, and growth rises from 62% of the balance to 69%.
7% ÷ 12 is not 7% a year. Compounded monthly it is 7.23%, which overstates 25 years by about 3.5%.
US equities, 1900–2025: 9.8% a year nominal, 6.6% real, inflation 2.9% (UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2026).
S&P 500, 1928–2025: Damodaran's annual returns compound to about 10.0% a year, with single years from −43.8% (1931) to +52.6% (1954).
Vanguard (2023): investing a windfall at once beat a three-month drip-feed about two-thirds of the time, one year on.
In that study a 60/40 portfolio ended about 1.8% higher on average when invested at once.
MAS MoneySense describes dollar-cost averaging as a fixed sum at regular intervals, whether the market is up or down.
2026 US limits: USD 24,500 into a 401(k) and USD 7,500 into an IRA, per IRS Notice 2025-67.
At 3% inflation, USD 1 million in 30 years buys about what USD 412,000 buys today.
Frequently Asked Questions
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There is no right number, only assumptions to test. For history: the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2026 gives US equities 9.8% a year nominal and 6.6% real over 1900–2025, and Damodaran's S&P 500 data compound to about 10.0% nominal from 1928 to 2025. Both describe one market that did unusually well, so run the projection at a lower rate too, and use a real rate if you want the answer in today's money.
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Only through the rate you enter. A nominal rate gives a projection in future dollars; a real rate (roughly nominal minus inflation) gives one in today's purchasing power. In the UBS US series the gap was about 2.9 points a year. Use one or the other consistently, and compare the result with a goal stated in the same terms.
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When you already have the lump sum, usually not on average. Vanguard's 2023 study found that investing at once beat a three-month cost-averaging plan about two-thirds of the time, measured after a year, because cash waiting to be invested misses market returns. Most people do not have that choice, though: money arrives with each pay cheque, and investing it as it arrives is what this calculator models. Vanguard also found cost averaging beat staying in cash.
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For most US employees it is the first money to secure, because an employer match is money you lose by not contributing. A 50% match on the first 6% of salary is an immediate 50% on that slice. The 2026 limits are USD 24,500 of employee deferrals into a 401(k) and USD 7,500 into an IRA (IRS Notice 2025-67). The order after that depends on debt costs, tax brackets and access to the money, and a licensed adviser can weigh those for you.
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This page does not recommend funds. What the arithmetic does show is that costs compound like returns, in reverse: USD 500 a month for 25 years at 6% instead of 7%, which is what an extra 1% a year in charges does, ends about 14% lower (USD 338,100 against USD 391,500). Compare the expense ratio, what the fund holds and how broadly it is diversified, and check that your platform does not charge a fee on each monthly purchase that wipes out the advantage of small regular amounts.
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Yes, the growth arithmetic is the same. What differs is tax. A traditional 401(k) or IRA balance is pre-tax, and withdrawals are taxed as income. Qualified withdrawals from a Roth account are tax-free. The projection shows the balance, not what you keep after tax, so compare like with like.
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Not here: the calculator applies one steady rate every month. Real returns vary a great deal. Damodaran's S&P 500 table runs from −43.8% in 1931 to +52.6% in 1954. With regular contributions and no withdrawals, a fall early on can even help, because later contributions buy cheaper units. A fall shortly before you need the money is what hurts. For that question you need a simulation, not a single-rate projection.
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One you can keep up through a bad year. Consistency drives the result: at 7%, USD 500 a month for 30 years becomes about USD 584,700 and USD 1,000 a month about USD 1.17 million, an exact doubling. Start with what is sustainable and raise it when your income does.
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The mechanism is identical: a fixed sum at a fixed interval. In Singapore it is usually called a regular savings plan, and MAS's MoneySense explains it in those terms. Banks and brokers offer monthly plans into unit trusts and ETFs, and CPF members can invest some CPF savings under the CPF Investment Scheme within its rules. Check the platform's fee on each purchase: on small monthly amounts a minimum charge can be a large percentage.
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It depends mainly on where you will spend the money. Investing in the currency of your future expenses removes the exchange-rate gamble at the end. If you will retire in the US, a USD plan is the simple choice. If you expect to return home, consider building part of the savings in your home currency, and check the tax position of each account in both countries before you move, because some tax-advantaged accounts are treated differently once you are no longer resident.
Method & sources
How it computes
Monthly contributions paid at month-end plus a starting balance, compounded at m = (1 + annual)^(1/12) - 1 so twelve months earn exactly the annual rate (RecaInvest.dca, tested). The page used annual/12, i.e. 7.23% a year for a 7% input.
What this tool implements
- Compounding corrected: USD 500/month at 7% for 25 years is USD 391,521, not ~405,000; every worked figure on the page was recomputed from the kernel.
- Vanguard (Finlay and Zorn, Feb 2023): lump sum beat a three-month cost-averaging plan about two-thirds of the time, one year on, 1976-2022; 60/40 about 1.8% and median 100% equity about 2.2% higher. The page had said 65-70% of 10-year periods and 2.4 points.
- Context returns from UBS/DMS 2026 and Damodaran (S&P 500 1928-2025 compounds to ~10.0%; range -43.8% in 1931 to +52.6% in 1954). 2026 limits from IRS Notice 2025-67 ($24,500 401(k), $7,500 IRA; the page said $23,500 and $7,000). Removed: Vanguard CMA forecast, DALBAR, VTI cost, MSCI EM, fund tickers, the Fidelity 15% rule and the AHAM/FundsPedia name.
Sources
- Finlay M, Zorn J. Cost averaging: Invest now or temporarily hold your cash? Vanguard Research, February 2023. https://corporate.vanguard.com/content/dam/corp/research/pdf/cost…
- Dimson E, Marsh P, Staunton M. UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2026: public summary edition. UBS, 2026 (US equities 1900-2025: 9.8% nominal, 6.6% real, inflation 2.9%). https://www.ubs.com/content/dam/assets/wm/static/cio/documents/gi…
- Damodaran A. Historical returns on stocks, bonds and bills: 1928-2025 (S&P 500 including dividends). NYU Stern, updated January 2026. https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/hist…
- Monetary Authority of Singapore, MoneySense. Managing investment risk (dollar-cost averaging). https://www.moneysense.gov.sg/investments/investment-risk/
- Internal Revenue Service. IR-2025-111: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 (Notice 2025-67). https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-20…
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