A systematic investment plan: investing a fixed amount at a fixed interval, usually monthly, into a fund or portfolio. Outside India the same habit is commonly called automatic investing or dollar-cost averaging. The point is consistency — you buy in every month regardless of where the market sits.

What return should I assume?

Broad stock-market indexes have historically returned roughly 7–10% per year before inflation over long periods; bond-heavy portfolios earn less. None of that is guaranteed to repeat, so treat any single number as a scenario and run the calculator at, say, 6%, 8%, and 10% to see the spread.

Are contributions invested at the start or end of the month?

At the start — the formula is an annuity due, which is what the trailing × (1 + i) term encodes. Each installment earns growth in the very month it is invested. An end-of-month convention would project slightly less.

Is the result adjusted for inflation?

No — it is a nominal, future-dollar figure. To gauge real growth, subtract expected inflation from your return assumption: 10% nominal with 3% inflation is roughly a 6.8% real return. Running the calculator at that lower rate shows the outcome in today’s purchasing power.

Does it account for fees and taxes?

No. Fund expense ratios, advisory fees, and trading costs compound against you every year, and taxes depend on the account type. A 1% annual fee on a multi-decade SIP can consume a surprisingly large slice of the final value.

Is a SIP better than investing a lump sum?

If you already have the lump sum, investing it immediately has historically come out ahead more often, simply because the money spends longer in the market. A SIP shines when the money arrives monthly anyway — a salary — and it smooths your purchase price and removes the temptation to time the market.

No — the projection runs entirely in your browser and your numbers never leave your device.

SIP / Investment Calculator

Project the future value of regular monthly investments at an expected annual return.

Runs in your browser — files never leave your device

Monthly investment$Expected return%Years

Future value

$1,161,695

Invested

$600,000

Returns

$561,695

How it works

A SIP (systematic investment plan) is simply investing a fixed amount at a fixed interval — most often monthly — into a fund or portfolio; outside India the same habit is usually called automatic investing or dollar-cost averaging. This calculator projects what a steady monthly investment could be worth after a chosen number of years at an assumed annual return.

The annual return is converted to a monthly rate, i = annual rate ÷ 12 (10% becomes about 0.8333% per month), and the duration to n = years × 12 months. The projection uses FV = M × ((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i × (1 + i), where M is the monthly amount. The trailing × (1 + i) makes this an annuity due: each installment is treated as invested at the start of its month, so it compounds through that month as well. Total invested is simply M × n, and returns are the future value minus that.

Worked example: $500 per month at a 10% annual return for 20 years — 240 deposits in all. Total invested is $120,000. The projected future value is $382,848, of which $262,848 is investment return (the tool displays whole dollars). Over two-thirds of the ending value comes from compounding rather than from the money you put in.

That lopsided split is the argument for starting early. The first installment compounds for 240 months while the final one compounds for barely one, so early money does far more work than late money. Extending the timeline usually moves the result more than raising the monthly amount by a similar proportion.

Treat the projection as a scenario, not a promise. The formula assumes the same return every single month, while real markets deliver volatility and occasional losses — actual results can land well above or below the projection. The figure is also nominal: inflation erodes what it will buy, and fund fees and taxes, which are not modeled here, reduce it further.

Frequently asked questions

What is a SIP?: A systematic investment plan: investing a fixed amount at a fixed interval, usually monthly, into a fund or portfolio. Outside India the same habit is commonly called automatic investing or dollar-cost averaging. The point is consistency — you buy in every month regardless of where the market sits.
What return should I assume?: Broad stock-market indexes have historically returned roughly 7–10% per year before inflation over long periods; bond-heavy portfolios earn less. None of that is guaranteed to repeat, so treat any single number as a scenario and run the calculator at, say, 6%, 8%, and 10% to see the spread.
Are contributions invested at the start or end of the month?: At the start — the formula is an annuity due, which is what the trailing × (1 + i) term encodes. Each installment earns growth in the very month it is invested. An end-of-month convention would project slightly less.
Is the result adjusted for inflation?: No — it is a nominal, future-dollar figure. To gauge real growth, subtract expected inflation from your return assumption: 10% nominal with 3% inflation is roughly a 6.8% real return. Running the calculator at that lower rate shows the outcome in today’s purchasing power.
Does it account for fees and taxes?: No. Fund expense ratios, advisory fees, and trading costs compound against you every year, and taxes depend on the account type. A 1% annual fee on a multi-decade SIP can consume a surprisingly large slice of the final value.
Is a SIP better than investing a lump sum?: If you already have the lump sum, investing it immediately has historically come out ahead more often, simply because the money spends longer in the market. A SIP shines when the money arrives monthly anyway — a salary — and it smooths your purchase price and removes the temptation to time the market.
Is my data uploaded?: No — the projection runs entirely in your browser and your numbers never leave your device.

SIP / Investment Calculator

How it works

Frequently asked questions

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