SIP Calculator

What is a SIP calculator?

A SIP calculator (systematic investment plan calculator) estimates what a fixed monthly mutual fund investment grows to over a set period at an assumed annual return. Enter ₹5,000 a month at 12% for 20 years and you'll see a SIP maturity amount of roughly ₹49.9 lakh: ₹12 lakh invested, ₹37.9 lakh in returns. That figure assumes a 1% monthly rate (12% ÷ 12). Calculators that use the effective monthly rate show about ₹46 lakh for the same inputs. Both are estimates, neither is a promise, and the difference is explained further down.

How to Use the SIP Calculator

Our SIP return calculator is designed to provide quick investment estimates with minimal effort. Enter your investment details, select the appropriate calculation mode, and the calculator instantly projects your estimated future investment value.

Calculate Monthly SIP Returns

Step 1: Enter your Monthly Investment 

Enter the fixed amount you plan to invest every month through a SIP.

Step 2: Enter the Expected Annual Return (%)

Choose the annual rate of return you expect your mutual fund investment to generate. This percentage is used only for estimation.

Step 3: Select the Investment Period (Years)

Choose how many years you plan to continue your investment.

Step 4: Enter the Annual Step-Up (%) (Optional)

If you expect to increase your SIP every year as your income grows, enter the annual increase percentage.

Step 5: Click Calculate

The calculator instantly displays:

• Total amount invested

• Estimated returns

• Projected maturity value

Calculate Lumpsum Investment Returns

If you want to estimate the future value of a one-time investment:

1. Select the Lumpsum tab.

2. Enter the investment amount.

3. Enter the expected annual return.

4. Choose the investment period.

5. Click Calculate to view the estimated future value.

Why two SIP return calculators give different answers for the same inputs

Try ₹5,000 a month, 12%, 20 years on three different mutual fund SIP calculators and you'll get two different numbers. Not because anyone's wrong. Because "12% a year" can be turned into a monthly rate two ways:

That's a ₹4 lakh gap on the same inputs. Simple division compounds 1% twelve times, which is actually 12.68% a year, so it flatters the result. The effective rate compounds to exactly 12%.

We use simple division, same as Zerodha and Angel One, because that's what most Indian investors have seen and expect to be able to cross-check. Groww uses the effective rate. If a fund's factsheet quotes a 12% CAGR, the effective-rate number is the more honest one. Either way, treat the result as a range, not a target.

SIP calculator formula: how SIP returns are calculated

The SIP calculator formula for the future value of a monthly SIP is:

$FV = P \times \left[ \frac{(1+r)^n-1}{r} \right] \times (1+r)$

The trailing (1 + r) is there because each instalment is invested at the start of the month, so it earns that month's return too.

The lumpsum calculator uses plain compound interest: $FV = P \times (1 + R)^Y$, with R as the annual rate in decimal form and Y in years. ₹5 lakh at 12% for 10 years becomes about ₹15.5 lakh.

Worked example: ₹5,000 a month for 20 years at 12%

1. Monthly rate: 12 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.01

2. Instalments: 20 × 12 = 240

3. $FV = 5{,}000 \times \left[ \frac{(1.01)^{240}-1}{0.01} \right] \times 1.01 \approx \text{₹}49{,}95{,}740$

Three-quarters of the final corpus is return, not contribution. That ratio flips the other way if you stop at 10 years, which is the whole argument for staying invested.

What changes the result most

Play with the SIP investment calculator and you'll notice the period matters more than the amount:

Five extra years (20 → 25) nearly double the corpus for ₹3 lakh more invested. Doubling the SIP does the same thing for ₹12 lakh more. Two percentage points of return either way swings the result by ₹11–16 lakh, which is why the return you type in deserves more thought than any other field.

What return should you enter?

Not 15%. Any mutual fund return calculator is only as good as this one field. Use category-level long-term averages and shade them down:

Ranges reflect 10-year-plus rolling returns across categories; check AMFI's fund performance data for current category averages, and the Nifty 50 factsheet for the index's since-inception CAGR (12.38% as of August 2026, price return). The point of shading down is that a calculator run at 12% that lands at 10% in real life leaves a ₹11 lakh hole in a 20-year plan. Plan at 11%, be pleased at 13%.

Step-up SIP calculator: how a 10% annual increase changes the maths

Most people's income goes up. Most people's SIP doesn't. A step-up SIP fixes that by raising the instalment once a year by a set percentage, and the step-up SIP calculator shows what that does over the full tenure.

Start at ₹5,000 with a 10% annual step-up, 12% return, 20 years:

Same starting SIP, same return, same period as the flat example. Corpus doubles from ₹50 lakh to ₹99 lakh. You do invest ₹22 lakh more over the 20 years, but you never feel it, because the increase tracks your raise. By year 20 the instalment is ₹30,580, which sounds like a lot until you compare it with what a ₹5,000 SIP was worth against your salary two decades ago.

The SIP calculator with step-up applies the increase once every 12 months, at the start of each new year. Some AMCs let you step up every six months; if yours does, run the tool with half the percentage and treat the result as slightly conservative.

Goal SIP calculator: working backwards from a target

Sometimes the question isn't "what will ₹5,000 become" but "what do I need to invest for ₹1 crore." Switch to the Goal SIP tab, enter the target and period, and the goal SIP calculator solves for the monthly amount.

At 12%, ₹1 crore needs:

Read that bottom row twice. Starting at 30 instead of 40 is the difference between ₹5,000 a month and ₹20,000 a month for the same outcome.

Nominal vs real: what ₹50 lakh buys in 2046

The ₹49.9 lakh from the first example is a 2046 number. At 6% inflation (roughly India's long-run CPI average; the current CPI series from MoSPI has been running well below that in 2026, but 20-year plans should use the long-run figure), it's worth about ₹15.6 lakh in today's rupees.

That isn't a reason to skip investing. It's a reason to size the goal correctly. If a child's engineering degree costs ₹25 lakh today, the 2046 bill is closer to ₹80 lakh, and the SIP that gets there is ₹8,000 a month, not ₹2,500. Flip the "Adjust for inflation" toggle and the SIP calculator with inflation shows both numbers side by side.

How SIP returns are taxed

The mutual fund SIP calculator shows pre-tax growth. What you keep depends on the fund type and how long each instalment has been held, because every SIP instalment is a separate purchase with its own date, redeemed first-in-first-out.

Equity funds (65%+ in Indian equities):

• Units held 12 months or less: short-term capital gains at 20% (Section 111A)

• Units held over 12 months: long-term capital gains at 12.5% on gains above ₹1.25 lakh per financial year (Section 112A)

Debt funds bought on or after 1 April 2023: gains are added to your income and taxed at slab rate, whatever the holding period. No indexation.

ELSS: equity taxation as above, plus a Section 80C deduction of up to ₹1.5 lakh under the old regime, with a 3-year lock-in per instalment.

Worked example: you redeem an equity SIP after 5 years and the gain is ₹5 lakh, all long-term. Taxable gain is ₹5,00,000 − ₹1,25,000 = ₹3,75,000. Tax at 12.5% is ₹46,875. Spreading redemptions across two financial years would use the ₹1.25 lakh exemption twice.

Rates as of the Finance Act 2024; check the Income Tax Department portal for current rules before redeeming.

Why the SIP return calculator's number won't match your statement

Three reasons, in order of size:

1. Returns aren't flat: A fund that averages 12% might do +28%, −8%, +15%, +3%. Same average, different path, and with SIPs the path matters because your later (larger) contributions ride the later years. The measure on your actual statement is XIRR, which accounts for the timing of every instalment. The calculator assumes one steady rate, so its output is closer to a CAGR.

2. Expense ratio: A direct plan at 0.5% vs a regular plan at 1.5% is a 1-point gap, and one point over 20 years on ₹5,000 a month is roughly ₹6 lakh. You can look up any scheme's TER on AMFI's expense ratio tool. The return you enter should be net of expenses; category averages usually already are.

3. Missed months: Skipping instalments in a down year, which is exactly when they buy the most units, quietly erodes the plan. The tool assumes you never miss.

SIP vs Lumpsum Calculator: Which Mode to Use

The honest answer to "which is better" is that it's rarely a real choice. If you have ₹12 lakh sitting idle, a lumpsum at 12% for 20 years is ₹1.16 crore, far more than a ₹5,000 SIP produces, because the whole amount compounds from day one. If you don't have ₹12 lakh, the SIP is the only option, and that's fine. What you should avoid is holding a lumpsum in a savings account while you SIP it in over three years "to be safe"; the drag from cash usually costs more than the timing risk saves.

Six Mistakes No online SIP Calculator Can Protect You From

Entering 15% because a fund did 15% last year

Three-year trailing returns after a bull run are the worst possible input. Use 10-year rolling averages.

Stopping the SIP in a correction

In a 20% drawdown, your ₹5,000 buys 25% more units than it did at the top. Pausing then is the one move that reliably lowers your XIRR.

Ignoring the step-up

A flat ₹5,000 SIP for 20 years is a ₹5,000 SIP that's worth ₹1,550 in real terms by the end. Step up, even 5%.

Planning in nominal rupees

See the inflation section. ₹1 crore in 2046 is about ₹31 lakh today.

Picking funds by past return only

Look at expense ratio, rolling-return consistency, fund manager tenure and how it behaved in 2020 and 2022.

Never reviewing 

Once a year, check whether the SIP still matches the goal, the goal still matches your life, and the fund still matches its category.

SIP vs Lumpsum Investment

Both SIP and lumpsum investments help you invest in mutual funds, but they serve different needs. A SIP is suitable for regular monthly investing, while a lumpsum investment is often preferred when you already have a large amount available to invest.

Choose SIP if:

• You earn a regular monthly income.

• You prefer investing gradually.

• You want to reduce market timing risk.

• You're planning long-term financial goals.

Choose Lumpsum if:

• You have surplus money available.

• You're comfortable with market fluctuations.

• Your investment horizon is long.

• You want to invest a one-time amount.