DCA calculator
S&P 500 DCA calculator
Backtest a recurring S&P 500 buy against the real price index.
The S&P 500 tracks 500 of the largest US-listed companies and is the most widely used benchmark for the US stock market as a whole.
This asset is the price index — it excludes dividends, so it understates the real total return a fund tracking the S&P 500 would have delivered. For dividends reinvested, see the S&P 500 (Total Return) calculator instead.
Dollar cost averaging
$145,591.50
$113,491.50 · +353.56%- Invested
- $32,100.00
- Annualised (XIRR)
- +9.86%
- Avg cost / unit
- $1,688.21
- Units held
- 19.0142
- Max drawdown
- -48.72%
Lump sum on day one
$171,146.80
$139,046.80 · +433.17%- Invested
- $32,100.00
- Annualised (XIRR)
- +6.46%
- Avg cost / unit
- $1,436.13
- Units held
- 22.3517
- Max drawdown
- -56.78%
Perfect timing
HindsightYour whole $32,100.00 put in on the single cheapest day of the period.
$363,308.44
+$217,716.94 vs your DCA- Bought everything on
- 2009-03-09
- At a price of
- $676.53
- Return
- +1031.80%
Nobody can pick the exact bottom — this is the best case, not a plan you could follow.
Value over time · 392 daily points
| Date | Invested | Units | Value | P/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-12-22 | $100.00 | 0.0696316 | $100.00 | $0.00 |
| 2001-02-19 | $1,400.00 | 0.991148 | $1,290.01 | -$109.99 |
| 2002-04-20 | $2,800.00 | 2.20602 | $2,482.15 | -$317.85 |
| 2003-06-19 | $4,200.00 | 3.72546 | $3,705.71 | -$494.29 |
| 2004-08-17 | $5,600.00 | 5.03531 | $5,446.74 | -$153.26 |
| 2005-10-16 | $7,000.00 | 6.22896 | $7,391.09 | $391.09 |
| 2006-12-15 | $8,400.00 | 7.31878 | $10,444.55 | $2,044.55 |
| 2008-02-13 | $9,800.00 | 8.27751 | $11,317.10 | $1,517.10 |
| 2009-04-13 | $11,200.00 | 9.6175 | $8,258.84 | -$2,941.16 |
| 2010-06-12 | $12,600.00 | 10.9712 | $11,976.18 | -$623.82 |
| 2011-08-11 | $14,000.00 | 12.1159 | $14,207.61 | $207.61 |
| 2012-10-09 | $15,400.00 | 13.1956 | $19,021.20 | $3,621.20 |
| 2013-12-08 | $16,800.00 | 14.0818 | $25,418.89 | $8,618.89 |
| 2015-02-06 | $18,200.00 | 14.8038 | $30,428.76 | $12,228.76 |
| 2016-04-06 | $19,600.00 | 15.488 | $32,008.37 | $12,408.37 |
| 2017-06-05 | $21,000.00 | 16.1198 | $39,269.41 | $18,269.41 |
| 2018-08-04 | $22,400.00 | 16.6529 | $47,300.07 | $24,900.07 |
| 2019-10-03 | $23,800.00 | 17.1513 | $49,921.09 | $26,121.09 |
| 2020-12-01 | $25,200.00 | 17.6001 | $64,459.65 | $39,259.65 |
| 2022-01-30 | $26,600.00 | 17.9318 | $79,471.11 | $52,871.11 |
| 2023-03-31 | $28,000.00 | 18.2823 | $75,127.56 | $47,127.56 |
| 2024-05-29 | $29,400.00 | 18.586 | $97,891.33 | $68,491.33 |
| 2025-07-28 | $30,800.00 | 18.8278 | $120,305.07 | $89,505.07 |
| 2026-09-13 | $32,100.00 | 19.0142 | $145,591.50 | $113,491.50 |
Why DCA into S&P 500?
The S&P 500's volatility is far lower than crypto's, but it has still had real multi-month drawdowns of 20–50% (2000–02, 2008–09, 2020, 2022) — a recurring buy schedule through those periods bought more shares while prices were down, rather than only at the schedule's starting price.
Frequently asked questions
- What is dollar-cost averaging into the S&P 500?
- Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) means investing a fixed amount into the S&P 500 on a regular schedule — weekly, biweekly, monthly — regardless of the price that day, rather than trying to time a single entry point. Some buys land at a local high, some at a local low, and the average cost per unit smooths out over the whole period.
- Does this include dividends?
- No — this is the price index only. Run the S&P 500 (Total Return) calculator for the dividends-reinvested version of the same index.
- Does this include exchange fees?
- By default no — it's a 0% baseline so you can see the raw price effect first. Use the Exchange fee dropdown to add a percentage (a few common presets, or your own) and/or a flat fee per buy under Advanced options, and the DCA total updates to include them.