Savings Calculator
Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator
See how investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule, regardless of price, affects your average cost per share.
This is an illustration for education, not investment advice. It does not predict future prices or returns, and past patterns do not repeat. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How this is calculated
Investing the same dollar amount every period buys more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high. That mechanically pulls your average cost per share below the simple average of the prices, whenever the price moves up and down. This calculator divides your fixed amount by each period's price to get shares bought, adds them up, and compares your true average cost per share (total invested divided by total shares) with the plain average of the prices you entered.
Frequently asked questions
Does dollar-cost averaging beat investing a lump sum?
Not necessarily. If prices trend upward the whole time, investing a lump sum immediately usually does better, since more money is invested earlier. DCA mainly reduces the risk and regret of investing a lump sum right before a drop.
Does the average cost effect always help?
It helps most when prices swing up and down. If the price only ever rises or only ever falls, DCA has little to no advantage over the simple average.
Related: the savings calculator, the FIRE calculator and the retirement tools (401k and IRA contributions are a form of DCA).