Calculator Tools

Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator

Simulate a dollar-cost averaging plan and compare it with a lump-sum investment. Final value, total invested, average cost per unit, and gain.

Investment cadence

Contributions happen at the start of each month. The duration field below sets how many periods the plan runs for.

Currency

Plan inputs

What you invest, how often, and for how long.

Contribution per month

The dollar amount that lands in the market every month.

Duration (years)

Extra months

Total periods = years times 12 (Monthly cadence) plus any extra months. Cap is 5000 periods.

Market assumptions

Use a long-run expected return and a starting price. The price grows at the expected rate each period; the result reflects that assumption.

Expected annual return (%)

Common benchmarks: roughly 7 to 10 percent for a long-run global equity index, 4 to 6 percent for a balanced portfolio, 2 to 4 percent for bonds. Use a negative number to model a declining asset.

Starting price per unit

The price of one share, unit, or coin at the start of the plan. The exact value does not change percent gains; it only rescales the unit count.

Result

DCA final value

$90,641.60

From $60,000.00 invested over 120 months. Total gain $30,641.60 (+51.07%).

Lump sum final value

$129,535.50

Same $60,000.00 invested as a single lump sum at the start, grown at 8.00% per year. Total gain $69,535.50 (+115.89%).

Lump sum vs DCA

+$38,893.90

Lump sum beats DCA by 42.91 percent. Every dollar invested at the start gets the full horizon to compound.

Total invested
$60,000.00
Sum of every contribution across the plan.
Units accumulated
419.845985
Total shares, units, or coins held at the end of the plan.
Average cost per unit
$142.9095
Total invested divided by units held. Below the ending price means the plan is profitable.
Ending price per unit
$215.8925
Simulated price one period after the final contribution at the chosen return rate.
Total gain (DCA)
$30,641.60 (+51.07%)
Final value minus total invested.
Total gain (lump sum)
$69,535.50 (+115.89%)
Same dollars invested all at once at the starting price.

All math runs in your browser. Contributions, rates, and prices never leave your device. This tool is a planning aid, not financial advice. Real markets do not deliver a constant return.

Schedule

Period-by-period view of contributions, simulated price, units bought, and running portfolio value.

#	Date	Contribution	Price	Units	Cumulative units	Portfolio value
1	Jun 22, 2026	$500.00	$100.0000	5	5	$500.00
2	Jul 22, 2026	$500.00	$100.6434	4.968036	9.968036	$1,003.22
3	Aug 22, 2026	$500.00	$101.2909	4.936275	14.904311	$1,509.67
4	Sep 21, 2026	$500.00	$101.9427	4.904718	19.809029	$2,019.39
5	Oct 22, 2026	$500.00	$102.5986	4.873363	24.682392	$2,532.38
6	Nov 21, 2026	$500.00	$103.2587	4.842208	29.5246	$3,048.67
7	Dec 21, 2026	$500.00	$103.9230	4.811252	34.335852	$3,568.29
8	Jan 21, 2027	$500.00	$104.5917	4.780494	39.116347	$4,091.24
9	Feb 20, 2027	$500.00	$105.2646	4.749933	43.86628	$4,617.57
10	Mar 23, 2027	$500.00	$105.9419	4.719567	48.585847	$5,147.28
11	Apr 22, 2027	$500.00	$106.6235	4.689396	53.275243	$5,680.40
12	May 23, 2027	$500.00	$107.3096	4.659417	57.93466	$6,216.94
13	Jun 22, 2027	$500.00	$108.0000	4.62963	62.564289	$6,756.94
14	Jul 23, 2027	$500.00	$108.6949	4.600033	67.164322	$7,300.42
15	Aug 22, 2027	$500.00	$109.3942	4.570625	71.734947	$7,847.39
16	Sep 21, 2027	$500.00	$110.0981	4.541406	76.276353	$8,397.88
17	Oct 22, 2027	$500.00	$110.8064	4.512373	80.788726	$8,951.91
18	Nov 21, 2027	$500.00	$111.5194	4.483526	85.272252	$9,509.51
19	Dec 22, 2027	$500.00	$112.2369	4.454863	89.727115	$10,070.69
20	Jan 21, 2028	$500.00	$112.9590	4.426384	94.153499	$10,635.49
21	Feb 21, 2028	$500.00	$113.6858	4.398086	98.551585	$11,203.92
22	Mar 22, 2028	$500.00	$114.4173	4.36997	102.921555	$11,776.00
23	Apr 21, 2028	$500.00	$115.1534	4.342033	107.263588	$12,351.77
24	May 22, 2028	$500.00	$115.8943	4.314275	111.577863	$12,931.24

Showing the first 24 of 120 periods. Use the button above to expand the full schedule.

Worked examples

Tap any preset to load a realistic DCA scenario and see the math instantly.

How the math works

Per-period growth: the annual return is converted to a per-period factor with g = (1 + R)^(1/m), where m is the number of periods per year (52, 26, 12, or 4).
Simulated price: the unit price at period k is p0 * g^k. Each contribution buys P / p_k units.
DCA totals: the schedule sums contributions, units, and value period by period. Total invested is the contribution times the number of periods.
Lump sum compare: the same total dollars buy P*n / p0 units at the start, which grow to (P*n / p0) * p_n = P*n * g^n. The difference is what the DCA vs lump sum card shows.
Average cost: total invested divided by total units. Below the ending price means the plan is in profit.

What this tool does not model

Real market volatility. The simulation uses a single constant return; actual prices wander. For volatile assets, DCA reduces regret on the way down and gives up upside on the way up.
Taxes, brokerage fees, bid-ask spreads, ETF expense ratios, dividend reinvestment, or currency conversion. Apply your own haircut to the expected return if those costs matter.
Inflation. The numbers are nominal. Subtract your local inflation rate from the expected return to estimate real purchasing power.
Income tax on contributions or capital gains. Account types like 401(k), IRA, ISA, and TFSA change the after-tax outcome.
Financial advice. This tool is a planning aid; it does not recommend a particular asset, allocation, or strategy.

How to use

Pick the cadence (weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly) and a currency.
Enter the contribution per period, the duration in years, and any extra periods to fine-tune the schedule.
Enter the expected annual return (use a negative number to model a declining market) and the starting price per unit.
Read the DCA outcome, the lump-sum comparison, and the difference between the two strategies.
Use Copy summary for notes, Copy schedule CSV for a spreadsheet, or tap a preset to load a realistic scenario.

About this tool

Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator simulates a DCA plan period by period and compares it against investing the same total dollars as a single lump sum at the start. Enter a contribution amount, a cadence (weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly), the duration in years, an expected annual return, and a starting price per unit. The simulator builds a full schedule: each period shows the contribution, the simulated unit price, the units bought, the cumulative units, the cumulative invested, and the running portfolio value. The result panel reports the DCA total invested, total units accumulated, weighted average cost per unit, ending portfolio value, and gain in both dollars and percent. Side by side, it shows what the same total dollars would have become if invested all at once at the starting price and held for the same horizon at the same return. Under a strictly positive expected return, lump sum tends to win because every dollar gets the full horizon to compound. Under a flat or negative path, DCA can lower the average cost and beat lump sum. Copy the summary for notes, or export the full schedule as CSV to drop into a spreadsheet. Eight currencies are supported plus a generic decimal mode. All math runs in your browser; contributions, rates, and prices stay on your device. This tool is a planning aid built on standard compound growth math; it is not financial advice, and real markets do not deliver a constant return.

Free to use. Works in your browser. No signup, no login.

Related tools

Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator

How to use

About this tool

You may also like

SIP Calculator

CAGR Calculator

Compound Interest Calculator

Stock Average Calculator

Savings Goal Calculator

Investment Fee Calculator