DCA Calculator
See what investing a fixed amount every week, month or quarter could come to
Your investing plan
Free · No sign-up · Updates as you type
$
e.g. 500.
yrs
e.g. 10.
e.g. 7 for 7% a year, before inflation.
The price ends in the same place in all three. Only the path in between changes, and so the prices you buy at.
What you would end up with
$287,403
after 20 years
$120,000 of that is money you put in yourself. The other $167,403 is growth.
The numbers behind that
Money you put in
$500 every month for 20 years: 240 buys.
$120,000
Growth on top of that
58.2% of what you would end up with. Each buy only grows from the day it is made, so the first buys grow for the whole 20 years and the last ones hardly at all.
$167,403
What would change the result
Click an option to jump to the field you would change.
These are amounts on the statement after 20 years, not at today's prices.
Prices rise in the meantime, so the same amount will buy less than it does today. To see it at today's prices, take the inflation you expect off the yearly return: with a return of 8% and inflation of 3%, type 5.
Spread it out, or invest it all at once?
This part only matters if you already have the whole $120,000 today. Then you can invest it all on day one, or feed it in $500 at a time. If you invest from your pay as it comes in, you have no such choice, and the figure at the top is your answer.
Fed in bit by bit over 20 years
$287,403
All $120,000 invested on day one
The whole amount is invested for the full 20 years.
$559,315
Investing it all on day one came out ahead by $271,912 in this scenario. All the money was invested from day one, so all of it had the whole 20 years to grow. Fed in bit by bit, each part started later and bought at the price of its day: on average you paid 94.6% more per share than the price on day one.
What the research says about the two ways
A 2012 Vanguard study of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia found that investing everything at once beat spreading it over 12 months in about two thirds of past periods, and a 2023 Vanguard update found the same in more markets. Spreading your money out does better when prices fall after you start, because you buy the later parts cheaper.
What it is worth along the way
Fed in bit by bit
All invested on day one
Year-by-Year Projection
| Year | Money you put in | What it is worth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6,000 | $6,375 |
| 2 | $12,000 | $12,665 |
| 3 | $18,000 | $21,531 |
| 4 | $24,000 | $25,716 |
| 5 | $30,000 | $32,773 |
| ... | ||
| 16 | $96,000 | $174,356 |
| 17 | $102,000 | $217,023 |
| 18 | $108,000 | $225,236 |
| 19 | $114,000 | $258,839 |
| 20 | $120,000 | $287,403 |
This calculator follows a share price over the years you choose. The price starts at 100 and ends at what 100 becomes after growing by your yearly return every year, so the whole period earns exactly the return you typed. The market you pick only changes the path in between: a steady rise, normal ups and downs, or a crash then a recovery. Each time you invest, your money buys shares at that day's price, so a low price buys more shares. What you would end up with is all the shares you bought times the price at the end. For the comparison, the same total buys shares at the starting price of 100 on day one.
End value = (amount ÷ price at buy 1 + ... + amount ÷ price at the last buy) × price at the end
Step 1: Type the money you invest each time and choose how often: every week, every month or every quarter.
Step 2: Type how many years you keep going and the yearly return you expect, then pick how the market behaves along the way.
Step 3: The result updates as you type: what you would end up with, how much of it is your own money, what would change it, and how feeding the money in compares with investing it all on day one.
What Is Dollar Cost Averaging and Why It Works
Dollar cost averaging (DCA) means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, for example every month, regardless of market conditions. When prices fall you buy more shares for the same amount. When prices rise you buy fewer. Your average cost per share therefore ends up below the average of the prices you bought at. That is arithmetic, not a promise of profit: what you gain or lose depends on where the price ends.
Nobody can reliably tell in advance when the market is at its lowest. DCA removes the temptation to wait for the perfect entry point, a temptation that can lead to buying after prices have risen and selling after they have fallen. All the method asks of you is to keep to the plan.
DCA vs. Lump Sum: Which Strategy Is Better?
A 2012 Vanguard study, "Dollar-cost averaging just means taking risk later", found that investing everything at once (lump sum) beat spreading it over 12 months (DCA) in about two thirds of past periods. DCA does better when prices fall after you start, because you buy the later parts cheaper. The comparison only matters if you already hold the whole sum. If you invest from regular income as it comes in, investing bit by bit is simply how you invest.
The real strength of DCA is not beating the market. It is removing emotion from the decision. An automated DCA plan keeps you investing during downturns, when instinct says to stop.
The Compounding Effect of Consistency
In this calculator, $500 a month for 30 years at an 8% yearly return comes to about $708,000, against $180,000 of money you put in. About three quarters of the final amount is growth, not the money you put in.
In this calculator, $200 a month for 40 years at an 8% yearly return ($96,000 put in) ends higher than $500 a month for 25 years ($150,000 put in). At a 4% yearly return it is the other way round. So how much an early start helps depends on the return you actually get, and nobody knows that in advance.
Related Tools
To model dividend reinvestment on top of regular contributions, pair this calculator with this tool: Compound Interest Calculator. To model a fixed recurring investment plan popular in South Asian markets, use this tool: SIP Calculator. As your portfolio grows, this tool helps keep your allocation in line with your targets: Portfolio Rebalancing Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dollar cost averaging is an investment strategy of investing fixed amounts at regular intervals regardless of market price. When prices drop you buy more shares; when prices rise you buy fewer. Over time this lowers your average purchase cost and reduces the impact of market volatility.
Monthly suits most people who invest from a salary, because the money goes in when the pay arrives. Keeping the plan going matters more than how often you invest: a monthly plan you keep up for years puts in far more money than a weekly plan abandoned after six months.
DCA can work in a bear market, but only if prices recover afterwards. When prices fall, the same money buys more shares, so your average cost per share comes down. That helps you only if the price later rises again. Broad share markets have recovered from past falls, but some took many years: according to the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2025, after the fall of 1973 and 1974 US shares took over ten years to recover once inflation is counted. The share of a single company may never recover.
Nobody knows what the S&P 500 will return in the years ahead. As a guide to the past, the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2025 puts US shares at 9.7% a year from 1900 to 2024, with inflation of 2.9% a year, which leaves roughly 6.6% a year after inflation. Single periods were far from that average: after the fall of 1973 and 1974, US shares took over ten years to recover once inflation is counted. Try several returns in the calculator, some of them below the historical average.
For a deeper look at investor psychology and why a fixed plan helps people keep investing, read our article: Investor Psychology: How Emotions Destroy Returns
Track Your DCA Portfolio with Worthmap
A projection is a plan, not a record. To follow your real money, try the net worth tracker. It is open and free: it records your stocks, crypto and dividends, each in its own currency, and shows your net worth over time. The free plan is in beta, so you may meet the occasional error.
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Educational use only. This tool provides estimates for informational purposes and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are based on inputs you provide and mathematical models, they do not guarantee future performance. Always consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.