What is the SIP Calculator?
A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) lets you invest a fixed amount into mutual funds every month. The FinanceDeck SIP Calculator projects the future value of that habit — showing how a small monthly contribution grows into a large corpus over time because of compounding.
This tool is built for anyone who wants to plan a long-term goal: retirement, a child's education, a house down payment, or simply financial independence. Enter your monthly contribution, an expected annual return and duration, and see exactly how much you'll have at the end and how much of it is pure market growth.
How does it work?
The calculator uses the standard SIP future-value formula for an annuity-due (contributions at the start of every month). It converts annual return to a monthly rate, compounds each contribution for the remaining months, and sums them.
Because SIP returns depend on markets, always run three scenarios — a pessimistic 8%, a realistic 12% and an optimistic 15%. The gap between the three is dramatic over 20+ years and helps you set expectations you won't panic away from.
FV = M × ((1 + i)^n − 1) / i × (1 + i)Example
Invest ₹10,000 every month for 15 years at an expected 12% annual return. The monthly rate is 1% and the number of months is 180.
The corpus grows to roughly ₹50.5 lakh, of which ₹18 lakh is your contribution and ₹32.5 lakh is compounded gains. Extend the SIP by just five more years and the corpus jumps to over ₹99 lakh — proof that time matters more than the amount.
Benefits
- ✓Plan long-term goals with realistic numbers
- ✓See the compounding effect over 10, 15 and 20 years
- ✓Compare aggressive vs. conservative return assumptions
- ✓Turn abstract 'invest more' advice into a concrete monthly number
- ✓Understand how starting early beats investing more later
Frequently Asked Questions
What return should I assume?
For diversified equity mutual funds, 10–12% long-term CAGR is realistic. Debt funds average 6–7%. Never assume the last 3-year return continues forever.
Is SIP better than lump-sum investing?
SIP averages your entry price and reduces timing risk. If you have a lump sum, staggering it via STP over 6–12 months is a good middle path.
Are SIP returns guaranteed?
No. SIP is a way of investing, not an asset class. Returns depend on the underlying mutual fund's performance.
Can I stop a SIP anytime?
Yes. SIPs have no lock-in unless you're investing in ELSS funds, which have a 3-year lock-in per instalment.
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Plan every goal in one place
Combine your loans, SIPs and savings inside the free FinanceDeck Planner.
Learn more in the Learning Center
Deep-dive guides that explain the concepts behind the SIP Calculator.