Dividend Calculator
Project your dividend income, yield, and yield on cost over time
Your dividend stock
Free · No sign-up · Updates as you type
What you own
$
Current market price per share.
$
That is a yield of 4.0%: $400 a year on your shares.
What you expect
How fast the dividend grows, e.g. 6 for 6% a year.
What to type, and what a rising price does
Expected price appreciation, e.g. 4 for 4%. Reinvested dividends buy at the rising price.
Your plan
Years to project, 1 to 50.
$
What counts as new money, and what 0 means
New money you add each year to buy more shares. 0 for none.
What your shares would pay you in year 20
$2,935
Today they pay you $400 a year. By year 20 the dividend is $12.10 a share and you hold 243 shares.
The numbers behind that
What they pay you today, per year
100 shares at $4.00 each. That is 4.0% of the $10,000 they are worth today (the dividend yield).
$400
What they would pay you in year 20
243 shares at $12.10 each. That is 29.3% of the $10,000 you put in (the yield on cost).
$2,935
All the dividends paid over that time
Each one reinvested in more shares, at the share price of that year.
$25,269
What the holding would be worth after 20 years
256 shares at $219.11 each. You put in $10,000.
$56,188
You typed a dividend that grows faster than the share price, so the yield climbs from 4.0% today to 5.7% in year 20. Check that this is what you expect.
What would change the result
Click a line to jump to the field it talks about.
- Hold them 5 more years, 25 years in all, and they would pay you about $5,248 in year 25.
- Every extra $1,000 you add each year raises what they pay you in year 20 by about $2,810. Over the 20 years that is $20,000 more of your own money.
- The dividend growth is a guess. At 5.0% a year they would pay you $2,276 in year 20; at 7.0% a year, $3,808.
Every figure is before tax and in the money of the year it is paid, not today's prices. Tax on dividends depends on where you live and is not taken off here. The dividend is counted once a year, on the shares you hold at the start of that year.
Reinvest the dividends, or take the cash?
Dividends reinvested
Paid to you in year 20
$2,935
All dividends paid
$25,269
Shares at the end
256
Worth at the end
$56,188
Dividends taken as cash
Paid to you in year 20
$1,210
All dividends paid
$14,714
Shares at the end
100
Worth at the end
$36,625
Reinvesting leaves you $19,563 better off after 20 years than taking the cash. Reinvested, your shares would pay you $2,935 in year 20 instead of $1,210.
What the holding is worth along the way
Dividends reinvested
Dividends taken as cash
Year by year, dividends reinvested
| Year | Shares | Dividends | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 104 | $400 | $10,816 |
| 2 | 108 | $441 | $11,707 |
| 3 | 113 | $486 | $12,681 |
| 4 | 118 | $537 | $13,747 |
| 5 | 123 | $593 | $14,914 |
| ... | |||
| 16 | 206 | $1,878 | $38,647 |
| 17 | 218 | $2,097 | $42,374 |
| 18 | 230 | $2,343 | $46,506 |
| 19 | 243 | $2,621 | $51,092 |
| 20 | 256 | $2,935 | $56,188 |
This calculator projects dividend income using three formulas. Current yield = (Annual dividend per share ÷ Share price) × 100. Annual income = Annual dividend per share × Number of shares. Dividend in year N = Initial dividend × (1 + growth rate)^N. Yield on cost = (Dividend in year N ÷ Original share price) × 100.
Yield = (Annual Div ÷ Price) × 100
Step 1: Enter the current share price and the annual dividend per share. For quarterly dividends, multiply by 4.
Step 2: Enter the number of shares you hold and how fast you expect the dividend to grow each year. S&P Dow Jones Indices reports that dividend aristocrats raised their dividends by about 8.1% a year on average from 2005 to 2025.
Step 3: Set how many years you hold, from 1 to 50. The result updates as you type, and the table shows what the shares pay you year by year.
Step 4: Note the yield on cost, this shows how powerful dividend growth becomes relative to your purchase price over time.
What Is Dividend Yield and Why Does It Matter?
Dividend yield is the annual dividend income a stock pays relative to its current market price, expressed as a percentage. It is the foundational metric for income investors, it tells you how much cash return you receive per dollar invested, independent of any price appreciation. A stock trading at $50 with a $2 annual dividend pays a 4% yield.
Yield alone does not tell the full story. A 10% yield on a company with declining earnings is a warning sign, often called a yield trap. A 2% yield growing at 10% annually will surpass a static 6% yield within eight years on a yield-on-cost basis, while also appreciating in price. Quality of the dividend, supported by free cash flow, a sustainable payout ratio, and a growing business, matters more than the headline number.
Yield on Cost: The Most Underrated Dividend Metric
Yield on cost (YOC) measures your dividend income relative to the original price you paid, not the current market price. It reveals the true power of dividend growth investing over time. A share bought at 60 that now pays 4.84 a year yields over 8% on cost, even if a buyer today gets under 3%.
This is why long-term dividend investors focus on dividend growth rate rather than starting yield. A company that grows its dividend at 8% per year doubles the payout roughly every 9 years (the Rule of 72). Over a 30-year holding period, a modest starting yield of 2% at 8% growth becomes an effective yield on cost of over 20%. This calculator shows you exactly how that progression unfolds for any stock you input.
Dividend Aristocrats and Sustainable Payout Ratios
Dividend Aristocrats are S&P 500 companies that have raised their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. This includes names like Coca-Cola (62+ years), Procter & Gamble (67+ years), and Johnson & Johnson. The discipline required to maintain this record acts as a quality filter, companies that consistently grow dividends tend to have durable competitive advantages, disciplined capital allocation, and strong free cash flow generation.
The payout ratio, dividends paid divided by net income, tells you how much of earnings are returned as dividends. A ratio below 60% for most industries suggests the dividend is sustainable with room to grow. REITs and utilities can sustain higher ratios (70 to 90%) due to their stable, regulated cash flows. A payout ratio above 100% means the company is paying out more than it earns, unsustainable without earnings growth or asset sales.
Using the Dividend Calculator Alongside Other Tools
The dividend calculator works best as part of a broader valuation workflow. Before buying a dividend stock, verify the price is reasonable using our Graham Number calculator and confirm the margin of safety with our Margin of Safety calculator. An attractive dividend yield on an overvalued stock may still deliver poor total returns if the price mean-reverts.
This calculator models DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan) directly: toggle "Reinvest dividends" to compound each payout into more shares, and compare it against taking the cash. To explore pure compounding mechanics in more depth, see our Compound Interest Calculator . Also check our Portfolio Rebalancing Calculator to keep your dividend portfolio aligned with your target allocation as individual positions grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dividend yield = (Annual dividend per share ÷ Current share price) × 100. A stock paying $2 per share trading at $40 has a 5% yield. This calculator computes yield automatically from your inputs.
Yield on cost is the dividend yield based on your original purchase price, not the current market price. If you bought a stock at $20 and it now pays $2 per share annually, your yield on cost is 10%, regardless of where the stock trades today. Yield on cost grows every time the company raises its dividend.
Dividend aristocrats are S&P 500 companies that have raised their dividend every year for at least 25 years in a row. S&P Dow Jones Indices reports that, as a group, they raised their dividends by about 8.1% a year on average from 2005 to 2025. That is an average for the whole group, so single companies and single years can be well above or below it. A dividend can only keep growing if the company's profits grow too. A company that raises its dividend faster than its profits for years ends up paying out more and more of what it earns, and that cannot last, so be careful with any rate far above the long run average.
DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan) automatically reinvests each dividend into more shares instead of paying cash, so your share count and income compound over time. This calculator models DRIP directly: switch on "Reinvest dividends" to project with reinvestment, and it shows the result side by side against taking the dividends as cash.
For a deeper dive into dividend investing strategy, read our article: Investor Psychology: How Emotions Destroy Returns
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Create free accountBuilt & maintained by Worthmap · Last updated September 29, 2026
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.