A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) lets you invest a fixed amount every month into mutual funds or other market-linked products, turning small regular contributions into serious wealth through compounding and rupee-cost averaging. It is one of the most popular ways for salaried investors to build long-term savings without timing the market.
Our free SIP calculator projects exactly where your monthly investing could take you. Enter your monthly amount, expected annual return and time horizon, and it instantly shows the future value of your SIP, how much you will have invested in total, and how much of the final corpus is pure growth. A year-by-year table with invested-vs-value bars makes the wealth-building journey visual.
Projections assume steady returns — real markets fluctuate — but as a planning tool it is unmatched for setting goals and comparing scenarios, all without signing up or sharing any data.
How to use the SIP calculator
- Enter your monthly investment. The fixed amount you plan to invest each month, e.g. 10,000.
- Set the expected annual return. Use a realistic long-term figure for your fund type — 10–12% is common for equity SIP illustrations.
- Choose the time period. Longer horizons dramatically increase the result thanks to compounding.
- Read the headline numbers. Future value, total invested and estimated gains appear immediately.
- Check the gains share. This shows what percentage of your final corpus came from growth rather than your own contributions.
- Scroll the yearly table. Gray bars are your invested money, green bars are growth — watch green take over in later years.
Key features & benefits
- Standard SIP formula. Uses FV = M × ((1+i)n − 1) / i × (1+i), the same math behind every bank’s SIP projector.
- Invested vs. gains split. Most calculators stop at future value; this one separates your contributions from the wealth compounding created.
- Year-by-year visualization. Dual-color bars show exactly when growth starts outpacing your contributions.
- Step-up friendly testing. Quickly re-run with a higher monthly amount to model annual SIP step-ups.
- Realistic disclaimers. The tool reminds you that returns vary — projections are planning guides, not promises.
- Private and free. Everything computes in your browser; no account, no tracking, unlimited runs.
- Goal planning ready. Work backwards: adjust the monthly amount until the future value hits your target corpus.
The power of starting early
Time beats amount in SIP investing. Investing 10,000 a month for 20 years at 12% grows to roughly 9.9 million, but starting 10 years earlier — 30 years total — reaches about 35 million, more than triple, from only 50% more contributions. The yearly table above demonstrates this vividly: in the final years, annual gains can exceed an entire year’s contributions.
Setting a realistic return
Equity funds have historically delivered 10–14% over long periods, but past performance never guarantees future results. Run three scenarios — conservative (8%), moderate (12%) and optimistic (15%) — and plan around the conservative one. For lump-sum growth instead of monthly investing, see the compound interest calculator; to compare against loan costs, try the loan EMI calculator.
For quick one-off percent math while planning, the percentage calculator is handy, and our general EMI calculator gives fast loan estimates when you are weighing investing against borrowing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a SIP?
A Systematic Investment Plan is a disciplined way to invest a fixed sum at regular intervals — usually monthly — into mutual funds. Because you buy more units when markets are low and fewer when they are high, SIPs smooth out volatility through rupee-cost averaging, and long holding periods let compounding do the heavy lifting.
How is SIP future value calculated?
The calculator uses the future value of an annuity formula: FV = M × ((1+i)^n − 1) / i × (1+i), where M is the monthly investment, i is the monthly return rate, and n is the total number of months. Contributions are assumed at the start of each month, matching how most SIPs actually debit.
Are the projected returns guaranteed?
No. Market-linked SIP returns fluctuate, and the calculator assumes a constant average return for illustration. Actual results will differ — sometimes significantly in the short term. Use the projection for goal planning, choose conservative return assumptions, and review real fund performance separately.
Should I increase my SIP every year?
A yearly step-up — raising your SIP by 10% annually as your income grows — can dramatically increase your final corpus with money you barely miss. To model it here, run the calculator with your average expected monthly amount over the period, or split the horizon into chunks with increasing amounts and add the results.
What is a good monthly SIP amount to start?
Start with whatever you can sustain every single month without fail — consistency matters more than size. Many investors begin with 5,000–10,000 monthly and step up yearly. The calculator lets you test any amount instantly, so find the figure that fits your budget and still reaches your goal.
Is my investment data saved anywhere?
No. All math runs locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded or stored. Your financial figures stay completely private.
How It Works: Under the Hood
A Systematic Investment Plan invests a fixed amount monthly, so the calculator uses the future value of an annuity: FV = P × [((1+r)^n − 1) / r] × (1+r), where P is the monthly investment, r the monthly rate (annual ÷ 12), n the number of months. The power comes from rupee-cost averaging: fixed monthly buys purchase more units when markets dip and fewer at peaks, lowering average cost automatically. Returns compound monthly, and the calculator typically shows three figures — invested amount, est. gains, and total value — so you see exactly how much is your money vs growth. For irregular investments, professionals use XIRR (annualized return accounting for timing), which this annuity formula approximates for regular SIPs.
Real-World Use Cases
- Retirement corpus: a 30-year-old investing ₹10,000/month at 12% reaches ~₹3.5 crore by 60 — the calculator makes the monthly-number-to-corpus connection concrete.
- Child’s education: working backward from a ₹50 lakh target in 15 years to find the required monthly SIP today.
- Home down payment: 5-year SIP horizon for a down payment, with a lower return assumption since the timeline is short.
- SIP vs lump sum: comparing monthly investing against deploying a bonus all at once under different market scenarios.
- Step-up planning: modeling a 10% annual increase in SIP as salary grows — the realistic version of a flat SIP.
Advanced Tips
- Step-up beats flat. A ₹10,000 SIP stepped up 10% yearly for 20 years at 12% yields ~₹1.9 cr vs ~₹1 cr flat — salary growth should flow into investments, not lifestyle.
- Duration matters more than timing. Starting 5 years earlier beats picking the “perfect” fund — run both scenarios and watch compounding dominate fund selection.
- Subtract the expense ratio. A fund returning 12% gross with 1.5% expense ratio nets 10.5% — over 20 years that 1.5% costs roughly a fifth of your corpus. Enter net rates.
- Review yearly, not daily. Check allocation and step-up once a year; daily NAV-watching causes panic exits that destroy the math the calculator shows.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming fixed returns. 12% is a long-term average, not a yearly promise — real sequences include −20% years. Use 10–11% for conservatism.
- Ignoring inflation. ₹1 crore in 25 years at 6% inflation buys what ~₹23 lakh buys today. Either inflate the target or deflate the return.
- Stopping SIPs in downturns. Pausing when markets fall skips the cheapest units — the exact purchases that drive long-term returns. Downturns are the sale, not the signal to exit.
- Treating projections as guarantees. The calculator shows a scenario, not a promise — keep 6 months’ expenses in safe assets regardless of what the projection says.
SIP vs Lump Sum: When Each One Wins
A SIP shines when markets swing — regular investing buys more units when prices dip (rupee-cost averaging) and removes the impossible job of timing the market. A lump sum wins when markets rise steadily, since the full amount compounds from day one. For most salaried investors the honest answer is both: SIP what you earn monthly, and invest windfalls as lump sums. Run both scenarios — this calculator against the compound interest calculator — and compare the projected corpus before deciding.
Reading the Gains-Share Number
The most revealing figure isn’t the final corpus — it’s what percentage of it is growth versus your own contributions. Early on, nearly 100% is your money; after 15+ years of compounding, growth often overtakes contributions. That crossover is the whole argument for starting early: time does more work than a higher monthly amount. If the gains share looks small, extend the horizon before increasing the amount. For the borrowing side of your finances, the EMI calculator shows what loans really cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I model a yearly step-up in my SIP?
The calculator uses a fixed monthly amount. To approximate a step-up, run separate calculations for each phase and add the projected values together.
Does it account for taxes or exit loads?
No — projections are pre-tax and ignore fees. Real returns will be lower after capital-gains tax, fund expenses, and any exit loads.
What return should I assume for equity funds?
Illustrations commonly use 10–12% for long horizons, but that’s an assumption, not a promise. Try 8% too, so your plan survives a pessimistic decade.