SIP calculator

How the SIP calculator works

A SIP calculator is a tool that projects the future value of a fixed monthly mutual fund investment. You give it three things: the amount you invest each month, the return you expect a year, and how long you keep going. It returns the total value, how much of that is your own money, and how much is growth. A ₹5,000 monthly SIP at 12 percent for 10 years reaches about ₹11.62 lakh, of which ₹6 lakh is invested and ₹5.62 lakh is growth.

The engine here goes further than the usual three boxes. Switch on a yearly step-up, adjust for inflation to see the value in today money, add a starting lumpsum, and read the year-by-year table that most calculators hide.

The formula, in plain terms

A SIP grows by the future-value formula for a monthly annuity: FV = P x [((1 + i)^n - 1) / i] x (1 + i). P is the monthly amount, i is the monthly rate (your annual return divided by 12), and n is the number of months. Each instalment compounds for the months that remain after it, so the earliest rupees do the heaviest lifting. That is why a 20-year SIP runs closer to four times a 10-year one, well beyond double.

How much a monthly SIP grows

The table below runs the formula at 12 percent a year across common amounts and horizons, so you can read your rough number without typing.

A ₹10,000 SIP crossing ₹1 crore in 20 years is the headline most people are chasing, and the table shows the two levers that get there: a bigger amount, or more time.

Working backwards from a target

Run the annuity formula in reverse and it tells you the monthly amount a goal requires: P = FV x i / [((1 + i)^n - 1) x (1 + i)]. Seven of the ten calculators checked for this page on 11 September 2026 offer this as a mode, AMFI's own education site among them, because most people arrive with a number in mind rather than a monthly amount.

At 12 percent a year, this is what common targets cost a month:

Read the ₹1 crore row slowly. Thirty years asks ₹2,833 a month. Ten years asks ₹43,041. Same target, fifteen times the monthly cost, and the only variable is when you start. The ₹10,009 figure at 20 years is the same arithmetic as the ₹10,000 row in the table above reaching ₹99.92 lakh, just read from the other end.

One caution the goal-mode calculators mostly skip: if your target is priced in today's rupees, inflate it before you solve. A ₹1 crore house in twenty years at 6 percent inflation is a ₹3.21 crore house by the time you get there.

Step up as your income grows

A step-up SIP raises the monthly amount by a fixed percentage every year. The idea tracks a rising salary, so the investment climbs each year from the modest level you could afford on day one. The effect compounds hard. Add a 10 percent annual step-up to that ₹5,000 SIP at 12 percent for 10 years and the corpus climbs from about ₹11.62 lakh to roughly ₹16.9 lakh, a gain of more than ₹5 lakh for money you would likely have earned anyway. For the full picture, with your corpus set beside a flat SIP and the final-year instalment spelled out, the step-up SIP calculator is the dedicated tool.

What inflation does to the number

Inflation-adjusted value is your corpus divided by (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years. A future ₹11.62 lakh sounds like a lot, and it buys less than it seems. At 6 percent inflation, that 10-year corpus is worth about ₹6.5 lakh in today spending power. Turn the inflation switch on and the calculator shows this real value beside the nominal one, so your goal is set in money you actually recognise. Most SIP calculators skip this step, which quietly overstates how far the number will stretch.

The cost of starting late

The cost of waiting is the corpus you give up by starting a SIP later. Compounding pays for time more than for size, so a delay is expensive in a way that is easy to underrate. On a ₹5,000 SIP at 12 percent aimed at a 20-year horizon, starting five years later, and so investing for 15 years, leaves you with about ₹25.23 lakh against ₹49.96 lakh. Five years of waiting costs nearly ₹25 lakh, almost half the outcome. The calculator surfaces this gap for your own inputs.

Where the estimate can mislead

A SIP calculator assumes a single, steady return, and real markets do not deliver one. Returns arrive in a lumpy order, and a bad stretch near the end hurts more than the same stretch early on, something a flat rate cannot show. The 12 percent default is a long-run equity average that no single year is obliged to hit, so it is worth rerunning at 10 percent to see the softer case.

Three costs sit between this projection and the money you keep, and the number above ignores all of them.

Tax comes first. Angel One names the current rates on its own calculator page: short-term capital gains on equity funds at 20 percent, long-term at 12.5 percent, with ELSS funds carrying a three-year lock-in in exchange for their deduction. Every figure here is pre-tax.

Then the expense ratio, an annual percentage of your balance the fund takes before the NAV you see. One percent against a 12 percent gross return leaves 11 percent, and across twenty years that single point compounds into a gap worth several lakh.

Exit load is the third, a charge many funds apply for redeeming inside a year. Groww states the omission plainly on its own tool, which "does not provide clarification for the exit load and expense ratio".

Treat the output as a planning estimate. In the phrasing Standard Chartered uses on its SIP calculator, a simulation like this "does not represent actual, past or predicted performance", and AMFI's standing line is that past performance may or may not be sustained in future. Mutual fund returns are market-linked, so for money decisions talk to a SEBI-registered adviser. To see how a one-time investment compares, the India finance tools cover lumpsum and more.

Frequently asked questions

What is a SIP calculator? A SIP calculator estimates the future value of a systematic investment plan from three inputs: the monthly amount, the expected annual return, and the number of years. It uses the future-value formula for a monthly annuity, so it shows what steady investing plus compounding could grow to.

How is SIP return calculated? The formula is FV = P x [((1 + i)^n - 1) / i] x (1 + i), where P is the monthly amount, i is the monthly rate (annual return divided by 12), and n is the number of months. A ₹5,000 monthly SIP at 12 percent for 10 years reaches about ₹11.62 lakh on ₹6 lakh invested.

What return rate should I assume? Most calculators default to 12 percent, a long-run average often quoted for equity mutual funds in India. Actual returns are not fixed and vary year to year, so it helps to also check the result at a lower rate like 10 percent.

What is a step-up SIP? A step-up SIP raises the monthly amount by a set percentage every year, usually to track a rising salary. Turning on a 10 percent step-up on a ₹5,000 SIP at 12 percent for 10 years lifts the corpus from about ₹11.6 lakh to roughly ₹16.9 lakh.

Does this show inflation-adjusted returns? Yes. Switch inflation on and the calculator also shows the value in today money, found by dividing the future value by (1 + inflation) raised to the number of years. At 6 percent inflation, a ₹11.62 lakh corpus in 10 years is worth about ₹6.5 lakh in today spending power.

Can I add a one-time lumpsum with the SIP? Yes. Enter an initial lumpsum and it grows at the same expected return alongside the monthly SIP. A ₹1 lakh lumpsum at 12 percent for 10 years adds a little over ₹3 lakh to the total.

What is the cost of starting later? Because compounding rewards time, delaying a SIP is expensive. The calculator shows the gap between starting now and starting five years later on the same plan, which is often several lakh on a long horizon.

How much do I need to invest each month to reach a target? Run the formula in reverse: P = FV x i / [((1 + i)^n - 1) x (1 + i)]. At 12 percent a year, ₹1 crore needs about ₹10,009 a month over 20 years, ₹19,819 over 15 years, or ₹43,041 over 10. If your target is priced in today's rupees, inflate it first, because ₹1 crore twenty years out at 6 percent inflation is ₹3.21 crore of future money.

Are SIP returns taxed? Yes, and the figures here are pre-tax. Angel One names the current rates on its own calculator: short-term capital gains on equity funds at 20 percent and long-term at 12.5 percent, with ELSS funds carrying a three-year lock-in. The calculator deducts none of it.

What does the calculator leave out besides tax? Expense ratio and exit load. The fund takes an annual percentage of your balance before the NAV you see, so a 1 percent expense ratio against a 12 percent gross return leaves 11 percent, and many funds charge an exit load for redeeming inside a year. Groww states the same omission on its own tool.

Is the projected amount guaranteed? No. Mutual fund returns are market-linked and change with the market, so the calculator gives an estimate based on the rate you assume, not a promise. It is a planning tool, not investment advice.

How often should I review my SIP? A yearly check is common, to see whether the projected corpus still matches your goal and whether a step-up would close a gap. The year-by-year table here shows how far along the plan you are at each point.

Sources

Fetched 11 September 2026.

• AMFI Goal SIP Calculator, the industry body's own goal-based tool
• Angel One SIP calculator, for the capital gains rates and the goal-amount mode
• Groww SIP calculator, which states the exit load and expense ratio omission
• HDFC Sky SIP calculator, for the published formula and year-wise table
• EduFund target amount SIP calculator, which publishes the reverse formula
• Aditya Birla target amount SIP calculator, for the goal-mode input range
• Standard Chartered SIP calculator, for the simulation disclaimer wording
• PrimeInvestor SIP value calculator, on the limits of assumed-return projections

Carried over from the 9 July 2026 teardown and not re-fetched for this pass:

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), investor education on mutual funds