Estimate how regular monthly contributions can grow over time, including SIP-style investing, dollar-cost averaging, inflation-adjusted value, and long-term goal planning for targets like retirement, education costs, or a home deposit.
In India this is often called SIP. In the US and UK, the same regular-investing idea is usually called recurring investing, automatic investing, regular contributions, or dollar-cost averaging.
Monthly investing SIP-style investing Dollar-cost averaging ISA / 401(k)-style contributions Inflation-adjusted value Goal planning
Returns are assumptions, not guarantees — full formula shown.
Calculator
Educational projection only — not investment, tax, or financial advice. Returns are assumptions, not guarantees, and real results vary with markets, fees, taxes, inflation, and timing.
Your regular investment$500 monthly
The core of the projection: how much you invest, for how long, and the return you assume. In India this is the SIP amount; elsewhere it is your monthly contribution or dollar-cost-averaging amount.
$
The amount you invest each period.
15 years
Staying invested longer gives earlier contributions more time to compound.
7.0%
Use a cautious long-term assumption. This is not guaranteed. Higher returns usually involve higher risk.
%
Shows what the future amount may be worth in today's purchasing power.
Want a starting balance, fees, taxes, weekly/quarterly contributions, step-ups, or a target goal? Switch to or mode above.
Formula-backed projectionInflation-adjusted resultsFee & tax impact shownScenario comparisonUpdated June 2026Educational estimate — not investment advice
What your regular investment result means
Moderate assumptionDescribes the 7.0% return you entered, not the safety of an investment. Higher assumed returns carry more risk and are not guaranteed.
About 43% of your projected value comes from growth and 57% from your own contributions. Growth becomes a bigger share the longer you stay invested.
Inflation meaningfully erodes buying power: at 3.0% inflation, $158,481 is worth about $101,723 in today's money — roughly 36% less. Judge progress against the inflation-adjusted value, not the headline figure.
Over this horizon, extra time has a slightly larger effect than extra contributions: one more year adds about $17,653, a little more than a 10% larger contribution would ($15,848).
These notes are generated from your inputs to help you read the result. They are not financial advice.
Visual breakdown
Projected growth over time
Your contributions and estimated growth, stacked to the projected value each year.
Projected growth over time
Year
Contributions
Growth
Value
1
$6,000
$196
$6,196
2
$12,000
$841
$12,841
3
$18,000
$1,965
$19,965
4
$24,000
$3,605
$27,605
5
$30,000
$5,796
$35,796
6
$36,000
$8,580
$44,580
7
$42,000
$11,999
$53,999
8
$48,000
$16,099
$64,099
9
$54,000
$20,929
$74,929
10
$60,000
$26,542
$86,542
11
$66,000
$32,995
$98,995
12
$72,000
$40,347
$112,347
13
$78,000
$48,665
$126,665
14
$84,000
$58,018
$142,018
15
$90,000
$68,481
$158,481
Show data as a table
Projected growth over time
Year
Contributions
Growth
Value
1
$6,000
$196
$6,196
2
$12,000
$841
$12,841
3
$18,000
$1,965
$19,965
4
$24,000
$3,605
$27,605
5
$30,000
$5,796
$35,796
6
$36,000
$8,580
$44,580
7
$42,000
$11,999
$53,999
8
$48,000
$16,099
$64,099
9
$54,000
$20,929
$74,929
10
$60,000
$26,542
$86,542
11
$66,000
$32,995
$98,995
12
$72,000
$40,347
$112,347
13
$78,000
$48,665
$126,665
14
$84,000
$58,018
$142,018
15
$90,000
$68,481
$158,481
More charts — contributions vs growth, inflation, scenarios & sensitivity
Your contributions vs estimated growth
How much of the projected value you put in versus what growth added.
Your contributions vs estimated growth
Part
Amount
Total contributions
$90,000
Estimated growth
$68,481
Show data as a table
Your contributions vs estimated growth
Part
Amount
Total contributions
$90,000
Estimated growth
$68,481
Nominal vs inflation-adjusted value
The real line shows today's purchasing power after inflation.
Nominal vs inflation-adjusted value
Year
Nominal
Real
Y1
$6,196
$6,016
Y2
$12,841
$12,103
Y3
$19,965
$18,271
Y4
$27,605
$24,526
Y5
$35,796
$30,878
Y6
$44,580
$37,335
Y7
$53,999
$43,907
Y8
$64,099
$50,601
Y9
$74,929
$57,427
Y10
$86,542
$64,396
Y11
$98,995
$71,516
Y12
$112,347
$78,798
Y13
$126,665
$86,253
Y14
$142,018
$93,891
Y15
$158,481
$101,723
Show data as a table
Nominal vs inflation-adjusted value
Year
Nominal
Real
Y1
$6,196
$6,016
Y2
$12,841
$12,103
Y3
$19,965
$18,271
Y4
$27,605
$24,526
Y5
$35,796
$30,878
Y6
$44,580
$37,335
Y7
$53,999
$43,907
Y8
$64,099
$50,601
Y9
$74,929
$57,427
Y10
$86,542
$64,396
Y11
$98,995
$71,516
Y12
$112,347
$78,798
Y13
$126,665
$86,253
Y14
$142,018
$93,891
Y15
$158,481
$101,723
Conservative, base, and optimistic assumptions
Same plan, different return assumptions. These are not predictions — they show how sensitive the result is.
Conservative, base, and optimistic assumptions
Scenario
Projected value
Lower return (4.0%)
$123,045
Base case (7.0%)
$158,481
Higher return (10.0%)
$207,235
Show data as a table
Conservative, base, and optimistic assumptions
Scenario
Projected value
Lower return (4.0%)
$123,045
Base case (7.0%)
$158,481
Higher return (10.0%)
$207,235
Contribution sensitivity
Projected value if you changed your contribution amount, all else equal.
Contribution sensitivity
Contribution
Projected value
50% ($250)
$79,241
75% ($375)
$118,861
Current ($500)
$158,481
125% ($625)
$198,101
150% ($750)
$237,722
200% ($1,000)
$316,962
Show data as a table
Contribution sensitivity
Contribution
Projected value
50% ($250)
$79,241
75% ($375)
$118,861
Current ($500)
$158,481
125% ($625)
$198,101
150% ($750)
$237,722
200% ($1,000)
$316,962
Compare return scenarios
A single return assumption can be misleading, because small differences compound into large gaps over many years. As rough context, an assumption under 5% a year is usually called conservative, 5–8% moderate, and above 8% aggressive — these describe the assumption, not the safety of any investment. The lower and higher cases below sit an equal distance either side of your base return so you can see how sensitive the result is.
± 3.0%
How far the lower and higher scenarios sit from your base return.
Return scenario comparison for regular investing
Scenario
Return assumption
Projected value
Estimated growth
Inflation-adjusted
Difference vs base
Conservative
4.0%
$123,045
$33,045
$78,978
-$35,436
Base case
7.0%
$158,481
$68,481
$101,723
—
Optimistic
10.0%
$207,235
$117,235
$133,016
+$48,754
These scenarios describe assumptions, not predictions, and none is labelled good, safe, or bad. They show how sensitive the result is to the return you assume.
Step-up contribution comparison
Raising your contribution a little each year (a step-up) can lift the final value when your income is expected to grow. The base contribution and every other setting are held the same.
Step-up contribution comparison
Plan
Projected value
Total invested
Growth
Extra vs fixed
Fixed contribution
$158,481
$90,000
$68,481
—
5% step-up
$214,053
$129,471
$84,582
+$55,572
10% step-up
$297,025
$190,635
$106,390
+$138,544
Step-up contributions can help when income is expected to grow, but the step-up assumption should be realistic.
The cost of delaying
Starting later gives early contributions fewer years to compound. This compares starting today with delaying, and the higher contribution that would catch up to today’s projected value over the shorter remaining period.
Cost of delaying regular investing
Start
Projected value
Cost of delay
Catch-up contribution
Start today
$158,481
—
—
Delay 1y
$142,018
−$16,463
$558
Delay 3y
$112,347
−$46,134
$705
Delay 5y
$86,542
−$71,939
$916
Educational estimate. Catch-up is the regular contribution that would reach today’s projected value over the shorter remaining period at the same return.
Contribution pause impact
Life happens — sometimes contributions pause. This models pausing for a window (growth continues, contributions stop) and then resuming, plus the higher contribution that would recover the no-pause result.
yr
yrs
No pause
$158,481
With pause
$136,038
Loss from pause
$22,443
Catch-up contribution
$675
Pausing contributions reduces total invested and may reduce compounding time. Catch-up is the contribution after the pause that recovers the no-pause final value. Educational estimate.
Lump sum vs recurring
Compare investing a one-off lump sum, recurring contributions, or both — at the same return, period, and costs. This is educational, not market-timing advice.
$
Compared against your regular contribution above.
Lump sum vs recurring investment comparison
Plan
Projected value
Total invested
Growth
Real value
vs recurring
Recurring only
$158,481
$90,000
$68,481
$101,723
—
Lump sum only
$28,489
$10,000
$18,489
$18,286
-$129,992
Lump sum + recurring
$186,971
$100,000
$86,971
$120,009
+$28,489
Investing a lump sum earlier gives it more time to compound, but needs the money upfront and carries timing risk. Recurring investing spreads the entry point. Educational, not market-timing advice.
Risk & volatility range
An educational range around your base case — not a Monte Carlo simulation or a forecast.
%
%
%
%
Conservative
$123,045
Base case
$158,481
Optimistic
$207,235
Bad-year path
$140,424
Projection range over time
Low, base, high, and a bad-year sequence-risk path
Projection range over time
Year
Low
Base
High
Bad year
1
$6,111
$6,196
$6,283
$6,000
2
$12,471
$12,841
$13,223
$12,420
3
$19,091
$19,965
$20,891
$14,694
4
$25,980
$27,605
$29,361
$21,723
5
$33,149
$35,796
$38,719
$29,243
6
$40,611
$44,580
$49,056
$37,290
7
$48,377
$53,999
$60,475
$45,900
8
$56,459
$64,099
$73,091
$55,114
9
$64,871
$74,929
$87,027
$64,971
10
$73,625
$86,542
$102,422
$75,519
11
$82,736
$98,995
$119,430
$86,806
12
$92,218
$112,347
$138,219
$98,882
13
$102,086
$126,665
$158,975
$111,804
14
$112,356
$142,018
$181,905
$125,630
15
$123,045
$158,481
$207,235
$140,424
Show data as a table
Projection range over time
Year
Low
Base
High
Bad year
1
$6,111
$6,196
$6,283
$6,000
2
$12,471
$12,841
$13,223
$12,420
3
$19,091
$19,965
$20,891
$14,694
4
$25,980
$27,605
$29,361
$21,723
5
$33,149
$35,796
$38,719
$29,243
6
$40,611
$44,580
$49,056
$37,290
7
$48,377
$53,999
$60,475
$45,900
8
$56,459
$64,099
$73,091
$55,114
9
$64,871
$74,929
$87,027
$64,971
10
$73,625
$86,542
$102,422
$75,519
11
$82,736
$98,995
$119,430
$86,806
12
$92,218
$112,347
$138,219
$98,882
13
$102,086
$126,665
$158,975
$111,804
14
$112,356
$142,018
$181,905
$125,630
15
$123,045
$158,481
$207,235
$140,424
An illustrative spread, not a Monte Carlo simulation, forecast, or guarantee. The bad-year path models one adverse year followed by a recovery, showing how return sequencing (sequence-of-returns risk) can shift the outcome.
Year-by-year projection
Preview of the first 5 years — expand for the full 15-year schedule, or download it from the results panel.
The future value splits into two parts: what you actually contributed and what growth added on top. Over long horizons, growth can become the larger share, because the earliest contributions compound the longest — which is why starting sooner usually matters more than investing a bit more later. Check the inflation-adjusted (real) value alongside the nominal figure, since a large future balance buys less than it looks like once you account for rising prices over a multi-decade horizon. The scenario comparison and contribution-sensitivity chart let you see how much the outcome swings with a different return assumption or a different monthly amount, which matters more than the single headline number since returns are never actually constant.
Formula used for regular investment growth
The projection is built from the standard future-value-of-contributions formulas below. When inflation, fees, taxes, changing contributions, or contribution pauses are enabled, the calculator applies the projection step-by-step across the yearly schedule rather than relying on a single closed-form equation.
Future value of contributions
FV = PMT × [ ((1 + i)ⁿ − 1) / i ]
Each contribution PMT compounds for the periods that remain. For beginning-of-period contributions, multiply the result by (1 + i) — every contribution then gets one extra period of growth.
Including a starting balance
FV = P × (1 + i)ⁿ + contribution future value
A one-off amount already invested grows on its own and is added to the future value of the contributions.
Inflation adjustment
Real value = FV / (1 + inflation)ⁿ
Converts the nominal projection into today’s purchasing power, so a big future number is judged in real terms.
Worked example
Suppose you invest $500 a month for 20 years at an expected 7% annual return, starting from $0, contributing at the end of each month, with 3% inflation. Over 240 months you contribute $120,000, and the projected future value comes to about $260,000 — roughly $140,000 of growth. After 3% inflation, that headline figure is worth only about $144,000 in today's money, which is the number to judge a goal against, not the nominal $260,000. The return assumption matters more than almost anything else over 20 years: keeping everything else the same, a 5% return projects to about $206,000, while a 9% return projects to about $334,000 — a spread from one assumption alone, which is why comparing a conservative, base, and optimistic case beats trusting a single number.
Assumptions
Contributions compound at a constant assumed rate; when inflation, fees, taxes, changing contributions, or pauses are enabled, the projection runs step-by-step across a yearly schedule rather than a single closed-form equation.
Beginning-of-period contributions earn one extra period of growth compared with end-of-period contributions — the calculator applies the correct form based on your setting.
Inflation-adjusted (real) value divides the nominal projection by (1 + inflation)ⁿ to restate it in today’s purchasing power.
SIP, dollar-cost averaging, and regular contributions are treated as the same compounding math — no country-specific tax or account rule is applied unless you enter it.
Limitations
This tool estimates the compounding math of regular investing. It does not model:
Country-specific tax rules on investment gains, dividends, or withdrawals
Employer match calculations, contribution limits, and account-specific rules (401(k), IRA, pension, ISA)
Highly volatile investments, where year-to-year swings dominate the outcome
Active trading strategies and market timing
Expense ratios and taxes that change over time
Frequently asked questions
What is a regular investment calculator?
It estimates how a fixed amount invested at regular intervals — usually monthly — could grow over time at an assumed rate of return. It shows the projected future value, your total contributions, the estimated growth, and an inflation-adjusted value. The output is an educational projection based on the figures you enter, not a forecast or a guarantee.
Is this the same as a SIP calculator?
Yes. SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) is the term used in India for investing a fixed amount on a schedule, and the underlying compounding math is identical to a monthly-investment or dollar-cost-averaging calculator used elsewhere. You can use this page as a SIP calculator and as a global regular-investment calculator.
Does this calculator include inflation?
Yes. With inflation adjustment switched on, it shows the inflation-adjusted (real) value next to the nominal projection, so you can see roughly what the future balance is worth in today’s purchasing power. Real value is usually the better measure when planning against future costs.
Does this calculator include taxes and fees?
Optionally, in advanced mode. You can add an annual platform or fund fee, which reduces the effective growth rate, and a simplified tax on growth. These are deliberately simplified estimates — real tax rules and investment costs vary by country, account type, and over time, so confirm specifics with an official source or a qualified professional.
Are the returns guaranteed?
No. Investment returns are not guaranteed and can be negative. The smooth growth shown here assumes a constant return, which real markets do not deliver — actual results vary with market performance, fees, taxes, inflation, and timing. Use the figures as an illustration of how regular investing works, not as a promise of any outcome.
Returns are assumptions, not guarantees. Actual results may vary because of market performance, taxes, fees, inflation, and timing. This is an educational projection, not investment advice, and it does not recommend any fund, product, or strategy.