Investment calculator
What a monthly amount turns into
The simplest question in investing and the one most worth asking early: put this much away every month, and what is it worth at the end.
An assumption you can change, not a forecast. Equity funds have historically averaged near this over long periods, with very large swings along the way.
What it grows to
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Indicative only, based on the assumptions below. Not an offer or a guarantee.
What this assumes
- Contributions at the start of each month, which is how a SIP mandate actually debits.
- A constant annual return, compounded monthly. Real markets do not deliver a constant return — this is an average, applied evenly.
- No allowance for exit load or capital gains tax at redemption.
The boring bit
Why the second half grows faster than the first
Split any long SIP down the middle and the back half is worth far more than the front half, even though the same amount went in. That is not a quirk of the formula — it is the whole reason for starting early. Every rupee from year one has been compounding for the entire term; a rupee from the final year has been working for a month.
It also explains why missing three years in the middle costs more than three years at the end. What you lose is not the contribution, it is everything that contribution would have earned for the remaining fifteen years.
The other number worth watching is the crossover — the point where growth added overtakes what you put in. On these assumptions it usually falls somewhere between years eleven and fourteen. Before it, the discipline is doing the work. After it, the market is.
FV = P × [((1+i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1+i), where i = annual rate ÷ 12 and n = months
FAQ
Questions about this calculator
Is this what I will actually get?
No, and no calculator can tell you that. It shows what a constant return would produce. Real returns arrive unevenly — some years far above the assumption, some well below, and the order they arrive in changes the answer. Treat it as the shape of the thing, not a promise.
Why does growth overtake what I put in?
Because returns compound on returns. Early contributions have the longest to work, which is why the same total invested produces a very different result depending on when it went in. Lengthen the period on this page and watch the two rows cross.
Should I invest monthly or all at once?
If you already hold the money, a lump sum has historically done better more often, simply because it is invested for longer. Monthly investing is what most people can actually do out of a salary, and it removes the decision about when to start.
Turn the number into a plan
A calculator gets you to a figure. Getting there needs a product, and that is the part we do.