SIP Calculator
Enter your monthly investment, expected return and time period to instantly see how much wealth your SIP could build.
What is a SIP?
A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a way of investing a fixed amount in a mutual fund at regular intervals — usually every month — and is one of the most popular ways to build long-term wealth in India. Instead of timing the market with one big lump sum, you invest steadily, which spreads your purchase cost across market highs and lows. This is known as rupee-cost averaging. If you have a large amount ready to invest at once, compare the outcome with our Lumpsum Calculator.
How the SIP calculation works
This calculator uses the standard future-value formula for a monthly investment made at the start of each period:
FV = P × ( ((1 + i)^n − 1) ÷ i ) × (1 + i)
- P — your monthly investment amount
- i — monthly rate of return = expected annual return ÷ 12 ÷ 100
- n — total number of contributions = years × 12
How much can a monthly SIP grow to?
The table below shows the approximate maturity value of a monthly SIP at an assumed 12% annual return over different horizons. It assumes each instalment is invested at the start of the month, exactly as this calculator does. Notice how the corpus grows far faster in the later years — that is compounding doing the heavy lifting.
| Monthly SIP | 10 years | 15 years | 20 years | 25 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹5,000 | ₹11.6 lakh | ₹25.2 lakh | ₹49.9 lakh | ₹94.9 lakh |
| ₹10,000 | ₹23.2 lakh | ₹50.5 lakh | ₹99.9 lakh | ₹1.90 crore |
| ₹25,000 | ₹58.1 lakh | ₹1.26 crore | ₹2.50 crore | ₹4.74 crore |
These figures assume a steady 12% return; real equity returns swing year to year. A corpus 20–25 years away will also buy less because of rising prices — use the Inflation Calculator to see what it is worth in today's money.
The cost of starting late
Delaying a SIP is one of the most expensive money mistakes, because you forfeit the years when compounding is most powerful. Compare two investors who each put in ₹10,000 a month at 12%:
- Investor A stays invested for 25 years and ends with roughly ₹1.90 crore (₹30 lakh invested).
- Investor B starts five years later and invests for 20 years, ending with about ₹99.9 lakh (₹24 lakh invested).
Step-up SIP: grow your investment with your income
A step-up (or top-up) SIP raises your monthly contribution by a fixed percentage every year — say 10% — so your investing keeps pace with salary hikes. The effect is dramatic. A flat ₹10,000 SIP at 12% for 20 years grows to about ₹1 crore, but the same SIP stepped up 10% each year reaches nearly ₹2 crore over the same period. Because the larger instalments land in the later years, a step-up front-loads far more money into your corpus than a flat SIP ever could — a simple way to invest more without feeling the pinch upfront.
Direct vs regular plans and the expense ratio
Every mutual fund comes in two variants. A regular plan pays a commission to the distributor who sold it, and that cost is baked into the fund's annual expense ratio. A direct plan cuts out the middleman, so its expense ratio is lower — often by around 0.5% to 1% a year. That gap sounds trivial, but over 20–25 years a 1% annual drag can quietly shave several lakh rupees off your final corpus. If you are comfortable selecting funds yourself, the direct plan of the same scheme leaves more money compounding for you.
How SIP returns are taxed
Each SIP instalment is treated as a separate purchase, and its holding period is counted from its own date on a first-in, first-out basis. For equity-oriented funds:
- Long-term gains (units held more than 12 months) are taxed at 12.5%, and the first ₹1.25 lakh of long-term gains in a financial year is exempt.
- Short-term gains (units held 12 months or less) are taxed at 20%.
Debt-oriented funds are generally taxed at your income-tax slab rate. Tax provisions change from time to time, so confirm the current rules before you redeem.
Why the power of compounding matters
The longer you stay invested, the more your returns earn returns of their own. A small increase in tenure often adds far more to your final corpus than a similar increase in the monthly amount, because compounding has more time to work — the same engine behind our Compound Interest Calculator. And once your corpus is built, you can plan steady monthly withdrawals from it using the SWP Calculator.
How to use this calculator
- Set your Monthly Investment — the amount you can commit every month.
- Enter an Expected Return that is realistic for your fund category.
- Choose the Time Period you plan to stay invested.
- Instantly see your invested amount, estimated returns and total maturity value.
Tips to get the most from your SIP
- Start early — even a few extra years dramatically boost the final corpus.
- Step up over time — raise your SIP amount as your income grows.
- Stay invested — avoid stopping SIPs during market dips; that's when you buy more units cheaply.
- Be realistic on returns — equity funds are volatile; use conservative estimates for planning. You can check a fund's actual historical annualised return with the CAGR Calculator.