SIP Calculator

How a SIP builds wealth

A Systematic Investment Plan invests a fixed amount into a mutual fund at regular intervals, usually on a set date each month. Instead of trying to guess the perfect entry point, you commit to investing steadily. Over time this does two powerful things: it averages your purchase cost across market highs and lows, and it lets your returns compound on an ever-growing base.

The calculator uses the standard SIP formula, treating each instalment as a separate investment that compounds monthly until maturity. Earlier instalments compound for longer, so they contribute a disproportionately large share of the final corpus.

Why compounding rewards patience

In the first few years, most of your corpus is simply the money you put in. But as the years pass, the returns themselves start earning returns. A ₹10,000 monthly SIP at 12% grows to about ₹23 lakh in 10 years, but to roughly ₹1 crore in 20 years — the extra decade more than quadruples the outcome even though you only doubled the contributions. This is why starting early matters far more than investing large amounts later.

What affects your final corpus

Three levers drive the result:

• Monthly amount — the base you contribute; a step-up SIP raises this each year.
• Expected return — equity funds have historically delivered around 11–13% over long periods, but this varies by fund and market cycle.
• Time horizon — the single most powerful factor, because compounding is exponential.

Inflation quietly erodes the real value of your corpus, which is why the calculator also shows the maturity amount in today's money. A ₹1 crore corpus 20 years out may buy what ₹30–40 lakh buys today.

Common mistakes to avoid

Many investors stop their SIP when markets fall, precisely when averaging works best. Others chase last year's top-performing fund and switch frequently, incurring exit loads and taxes. A few keep a flat SIP for decades while their income triples, letting inflation quietly shrink their real savings rate. The disciplined path — a steady, stepped-up SIP in a low-cost direct plan held through cycles — is what turns modest monthly sums into a substantial corpus.