SIP Calculator
Systematic investment plan: what a fixed recurring contribution grows to, with an optional annual step-up — future value, total invested and gains, year by year.
SIP Calculator: with the default inputs, value at the end is $116,169.54.
The amount debited every period. Dollars here, but the arithmetic is currency-agnostic.
Indian equity SIP illustrations conventionally use 12%. Long-run US stocks are about 10% nominal, nearer 7% after inflation.
Raise the contribution by this much on each anniversary. 10% roughly tracks a normal pay rise.
- Total invested
- $60,000
- Estimated gains
- $56,170
- Total return on what you put in
- 93.6%
- Multiple of what you put in
- 1.94
- Contribution in the final year
- $500.00Equal to the first year's unless you set a step-up.
- Number of contributions
- 120
- Ending value in today's money
- —Shown once you set an inflation rate.
- Value without the step-up
- $116,170The same plan with the contribution held flat, for comparison.
Assumptions
- The return is constant and compounds at the contribution frequency; real returns vary and the order they arrive in changes the result.
- Contributions arrive at the start of each period by default (annuity due), which is how a SIP mandate debits.
- A step-up applies once a year, on the anniversary; the contribution is level within each year.
- Figures are gross: no expense ratio, exit load, brokerage or tax is deducted.
| Year | Per month | Invested that year | Invested to date | Gains to date | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $6,000 | $405 | $6,405 |
| 2 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $12,000 | $1,622 | $13,622 |
| 3 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $18,000 | $3,754 | $21,754 |
| 4 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $24,000 | $6,917 | $30,917 |
| 5 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $30,000 | $11,243 | $41,243 |
| 6 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $36,000 | $16,879 | $52,879 |
| 7 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $42,000 | $23,989 | $65,989 |
| 8 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $48,000 | $32,763 | $80,763 |
| 9 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $54,000 | $43,411 | $97,411 |
| 10 | $500.00 | $6,000 | $60,000 | $56,170 | $116,170 |
Balances assume the return arrives smoothly at 12% a year. Real markets do not, and the order in which good and bad years arrive changes the ending figure.
How this is worked out
The formula
i = annual return ÷ periods per year n = years × periods per year Future value (contribution at the start of each period, the standard SIP form): FV = P × [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1 + i) Contribution at the end of each period drops the final × (1 + i). With a step-up the contribution is level within a year and multiplied by (1 + s) at each anniversary, so each year is run separately and carried forward. gains = FV − total invested
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Investment each period
- The amount debited every period. Dollars here, but the arithmetic is currency-agnostic.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 500
- Expected annual return
- Indian equity SIP illustrations conventionally use 12%. Long-run US stocks are about 10% nominal, nearer 7% after inflation.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 12
- Years invested
- A number.from 0 to 60 · whole numbers only · defaults to 10
- Contribution frequency
- Choose one of 3 options.Monthly (12 a year) · Quarterly (4 a year) · Annually (1 a year)
- Annual step-up
- Raise the contribution by this much on each anniversary. 10% roughly tracks a normal pay rise.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 0
- Lump sum to start(under More options)
- An amount already invested on day one.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 0
- Contributions arrive(under More options)
- A start-of-period contribution earns one extra period of growth, which is the standard SIP formula.Start of the period (how a SIP debit works) · End of the period (ordinary annuity)
- Inflation(under More options)
- Set above 0 to see the ending value in today's money.a percentage · from 0 to 50 · defaults to 0
What you get back
- Value at the endmain answer
- Total invested
- Estimated gains
- Total return on what you put in
- Multiple of what you put in
- Contribution in the final year
- Equal to the first year's unless you set a step-up.
- Number of contributions
- Ending value in today's money
- Shown once you set an inflation rate.
- Value without the step-up
- The same plan with the contribution held flat, for comparison.
What this assumes
- The return is constant and compounds at the contribution frequency; real returns vary and the order they arrive in changes the result.
- Contributions arrive at the start of each period by default (annuity due), which is how a SIP mandate debits.
- A step-up applies once a year, on the anniversary; the contribution is level within each year.
- Figures are gross: no expense ratio, exit load, brokerage or tax is deducted.
About this calculator
A SIP — systematic investment plan — is a fixed amount invested on a fixed schedule, usually monthly into a mutual fund. This calculator gives what that schedule grows to at an assumed rate of return, how much of the ending figure is your own money, and how much is growth.
On the name: "SIP" is used almost exclusively in India, where fund houses sell the monthly debit as a product. The mathematics has nothing Indian about it. This is the future value of an annuity, the same formula behind a 401(k) deferral, a monthly index-fund purchase, a recurring deposit or a UK direct debit into a stocks-and-shares ISA. Amounts here are shown in dollars; read them as rupees, pounds or euros and every result stays correct, because the formula has no currency in it.
Step-up, which is the part that matters
A plain SIP assumes you invest the same amount for twenty years. Almost nobody does — pay rises, and the contribution usually rises with it. The annual step-up raises the contribution by a set percentage on each anniversary, and it moves the answer more than most people expect: over 20 years at 12%, a 10% annual step-up roughly doubles the ending value against a flat contribution, because each raise compounds for the rest of the term.
Set the step-up to 0 for the classic SIP figure most fund websites quote.
How to read the results
Total invested is the sum of every contribution plus any starting lump sum. Gains is the rest of the ending value — and it is an estimate, not a return you are owed. The multiple is the ending value divided by what you put in, which is the fairest single summary of a plan: 10 years at 12% monthly returns roughly 1.9×, 20 years roughly 4.2×.
Contributions default to the start of each period, because that is how a SIP debit actually works and it is the form of the formula fund houses publish. Switching to end-of-period reduces the answer by one period of growth, about 1% at a 12% annual rate.
Caveats worth taking seriously
The return is assumed smooth and constant. Markets are neither, and for a plan with contributions the sequence of returns matters: a bad stretch late, when the balance is largest, hurts far more than the same stretch at the start. Nothing here deducts expense ratios, exit loads, brokerage, or capital-gains tax — subtract the fund's expense ratio from the return you enter to approximate the first of those. Set an inflation rate under More options to see the ending figure in today's money, which for any horizon beyond about a decade is the only version worth planning around.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the SIP formula?
FV = P × [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1 + i), where P is the contribution, i is the annual return divided by the number of contributions a year, and n is the total number of contributions. The trailing (1 + i) is there because a SIP debits at the start of each period.
▸What is a step-up or top-up SIP?
One where the contribution rises by a fixed percentage each year, usually to track pay rises. Because each increase compounds for the remaining term, a 10% step-up over 20 years is worth far more than 10% extra.
▸Is a SIP calculator only for Indian mutual funds?
No. The term is Indian, the arithmetic is the future value of an annuity, and it applies unchanged to any recurring investment in any currency.
▸What return should I assume?
Nothing you cannot defend. Indian equity SIP illustrations conventionally use 12%; long-run US stocks are about 10% nominal and 7% real. Subtract the fund's expense ratio from whichever figure you use.
▸Does this include tax and fund charges?
No. It is a gross projection. Expense ratios, exit loads and capital-gains tax all reduce the real outcome, and the first of those is best handled by lowering the return you enter.
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The questions people ask next to a sip.
Project investment growth with monthly contributions, annual raises, fund expense ratios and inflation — with a yearly split of what you invested vs. earned.
See how a lump sum plus regular deposits grows with daily, monthly, quarterly or annual compounding — with a year-by-year table, chart and inflation adjustment.
What a lump sum plus regular contributions grows to at a given rate — split into the part that came from you and the part that came from compounding.
Find the monthly deposit that hits your savings target on time given what you have and the interest you'll earn — and how long a different amount would take.
Solve the present value, future value or payment of a level annuity — ordinary or due — from rate and periods, with the time-value-of-money formulas shown.
Compound annual growth rate from a start value, end value and years — or the end value from a rate — with total growth and a year-by-year table.