The market rewards
those who stay.
Dollar-cost averaging turns ordinary monthly savings into extraordinary wealth. No market timing. No guesswork. Just the unstoppable power of compounding over time.
S&P 500 DCA annual return
13.9%
$500/mo × 20 yrs
$576K+
vs. Cash savings
4.8× more
DCA Calculator
Adjust the sliders to model your own scenario using actual monthly prices — real crashes, real recoveries, real results.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)?
Dollar-cost averaging is the practice of investing a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals — typically monthly — regardless of the asset's price. When prices are low, your fixed amount buys more shares. When prices are high, it buys fewer. Over time this averages out your cost basis and removes the emotional burden of trying to time the market.
Is DCA better than lump-sum investing?
Research shows lump-sum investing outperforms DCA about two-thirds of the time in rising markets, because money invested earlier benefits from more compounding. However, DCA is the superior practical strategy for most investors — few people have a large lump sum available, and DCA builds discipline while protecting against the catastrophic risk of investing all capital at a market peak.
How accurate is this calculator?
The calculator loads actual monthly closing prices from Yahoo Finance for the S&P 500 (via the SPY ETF) and every other asset. If live data is unavailable, the S&P 500 falls back to built-in sample data, and the calculator says so. The example figures at the top of this page are calculated from live data each time the site is updated (or from the sample data if that fails). It is intended for educational purposes only and should not be used to make investment decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results. See our Methodology page for full details.
Does this include dividends?
Yes, by default. The calculator uses dividend-adjusted monthly prices, so results assume every dividend is reinvested (total return). Untick "Reinvest dividends" to see price-only returns; for the S&P 500, total return has historically been roughly 2 percentage points a year higher than price return alone. The built-in sample data used when live data is unavailable is price only.
How much should I invest each month?
A common rule of thumb is to invest 15–20% of your monthly income. But even starting with $100/month makes a meaningful difference over decades. The key is consistency — missing months compounds negatively just as investing consistently compounds positively. Start with what you can and increase over time.