SIP Calculator

A SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) invests a fixed amount in a mutual fund at regular intervals — usually every month. A SIP calculator projects what those regular investments grow into by compounding them at an assumed annual return. It uses the future-value-of-an-annuity formula, FV = P × [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1 + i), where P is your monthly amount, i is the monthly return (annual ÷ 12), and n is the number of months. The result is your maturity value: everything you invested plus the returns it earned. This calculator also shows the returns separately, your wealth multiple, and — unlike most — what the corpus is worth after inflation.

It uses the annuity-due future value formula: FV = P × [((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1 + i). The "× (1 + i)" reflects that each monthly contribution is invested at the start of the month, which is the convention major platforms like Groww and Zerodha use. For example, ₹1,000 a month at 12% for one year gives ₹12,809. We compute it month by month so the same engine also handles annual step-ups and a 0% return exactly, and we cross-check it against the closed-form formula in our tests.

A step-up SIP automatically raises your monthly investment by a fixed percentage every year — typically to keep pace with salary growth. Because the higher contributions also get more years to compound, even a modest 10% annual step-up can add a large amount to your final corpus for a small increase in monthly outflow. This calculator computes the full step-up maturity value and shows the exact "step-up bonus" — how much extra you end up with compared with a flat SIP of the same starting amount.

Because a big future number can be misleading. A ₹1 crore corpus in 20 years sounds like a lot, but at 6% inflation it has the purchasing power of roughly ₹31 lakh today. We deflate your maturity value to today's money using Real Value = Maturity ÷ (1 + inflation)^years, so you plan around what the corpus can actually buy. When setting a goal — retirement, a child's education — inflate the goal's cost to its future price and aim for that inflation-adjusted target.

Use a grounded, long-run figure. Indian large-cap equity (e.g. the Nifty 50) has compounded at about 12% a year over multi-decade periods; hybrid funds 8–11%; debt funds 6–8%. A realistic planning rate for an equity SIP is 10–12%. Avoid building a plan on 15–20% — markets don't sustain that, and an optimistic assumption makes you save too little. This calculator flags any return above roughly 15% as aggressive and above 20% as unrealistic.

No. SIPs invest in mutual funds whose returns depend on the market and are not guaranteed — the actual outcome can be higher or lower than the rate you enter, and equity returns are volatile from year to year. A SIP calculator shows a projection based on a constant assumed return, not a promise. The value of staying invested comes from rupee-cost averaging and long-term compounding, which smooth out volatility over 7+ year horizons; over short periods, returns can even be negative.

It depends on what you have and the market. A SIP spreads your investment over time (rupee-cost averaging), which reduces the risk of investing everything at a market peak and suits people investing out of monthly income. A lump sum puts the full amount to work immediately, which wins when markets rise steadily but hurts if you invest right before a fall. If you already have a large amount, many investors split the difference with an STP (systematic transfer plan). Our SIP vs Lumpsum calculator compares the two side by side.

It's the year your cumulative returns become larger than the total money you've contributed — the moment compounding takes over as the bigger driver of your corpus. Early on, most of your balance is just the money you put in; later, the growth on past growth dominates. For a typical 12% equity SIP this crossover happens well into the second decade, which is exactly why long horizons matter so much. If it says "beyond this term," extending your investment period is the single biggest lever.

Most fund houses allow SIPs starting from as little as 500 per month, and some offer 100 or 250 SIPs. There's no upper limit. Because compounding rewards time more than size, starting a small SIP early often beats waiting until you can afford a larger one — this calculator's "cost of delaying a year" figure shows what waiting actually costs you.

Yes. It is fully global and currency-agnostic — you enter your monthly amount in your own currency and every result is shown in it, with no exchange rates or conversion because the math is universal. While SIPs are most common in India for mutual funds, the same idea (a regular fixed investment into a fund or index) applies anywhere, and the benchmarks here reference long-run equity returns that hold broadly in local-currency terms.

Work backwards from the goal. First, inflate the goal's cost to its future value (today's price grown at inflation). Then try different monthly amounts and time periods in this calculator until the inflation-adjusted maturity value matches that target. A longer horizon and an annual step-up usually get you there with a smaller starting SIP than a short, flat plan. Our dedicated Goal SIP calculator solves directly for the monthly amount needed.

No — it projects the pre-tax, pre-cost maturity value, which is the standard way SIP calculators work. Real returns are reduced by capital gains tax (in India, equity funds are taxed at 12.5% on long-term gains above the annual exemption, and 20% on short-term gains), any exit load for early redemption, and the fund's expense ratio (already reflected in a fund's reported returns). Treat the maturity value as a gross projection and apply your local tax rules to the gains for a net figure.