What is SIP Calculator?
A SIP calculator projects what a systematic investment plan is worth at the end of its term. You enter the monthly instalment, the return you expect, and how long you plan to invest; it compounds each contribution forward and shows the maturity value split into what you put in and what the growth added. It also handles one-time lumpsum investments and step-up SIPs where the instalment rises each year.
The arithmetic matters more than most people expect, because compounding is not intuitive. ₹10,000 a month for 10 years at 12% is ₹12 lakh invested and roughly ₹23.2 lakh at maturity — the returns nearly equal the principal. Extend the same SIP to 20 years and the invested amount doubles to ₹24 lakh while the maturity value reaches about ₹1 crore. Time, not instalment size, does most of the work, and seeing that side by side changes how people plan.
Contributions are compounded from the start of each month, which is how Indian asset management companies quote SIP returns, so the numbers here line up with the illustrations fund houses publish. The year-by-year table shows invested, returns, and value at each anniversary, which is the view you need to sanity-check a long-horizon plan rather than just reading a single final figure.
Use Cases
Here are the most common ways people use SIP Calculator every day.
Planning a Retirement Corpus
Work backwards from a target. If you want ₹5 crore at 60 and you are 30 now, try monthly amounts until the 30-year projection reaches that figure — at a 12% assumption it is roughly ₹14,000 a month. The same target starting at 40 needs about ₹50,000 a month. Nothing else demonstrates the cost of delay so plainly, and the year-by-year table shows exactly when the growth starts outpacing the contributions.
Comparing SIP Against Lumpsum
If you have a bonus or a maturity payout, is it better invested at once or spread out? Run both modes with the same total capital. Lumpsum usually wins on paper because the money is invested longer, but SIP averages your entry price across market cycles and removes the risk of investing everything the day before a correction. The calculator gives you the arithmetic; your risk tolerance decides the rest.
Modelling a Step-Up SIP
Most people's income rises annually, but their SIP does not. A 10% annual step-up on a ₹10,000 SIP over 20 years at 12% produces dramatically more than a flat ₹10,000 — because each year's increase compounds for the remaining term. Set the step-up field to your expected annual raise and compare against zero to see what committing your increments is actually worth.
Setting a Child's Education Fund
Education costs inflate faster than general inflation, often 8–10% a year. Estimate the cost at the time your child will need it, then use the calculator to find the monthly SIP that reaches that number over the years available. Fixing the horizon first and solving for the instalment is far more reliable than starting with an arbitrary amount and hoping.
Sanity-Checking an Advisor's Projection
If a distributor shows you a maturity figure, reproduce it here with the same inputs. If the numbers do not match, the assumed rate of return is usually the reason — projections quoted at 15% or 18% are marketing, not planning. Equity mutual funds in India have historically returned about 11–13% over long periods, and using a higher figure quietly shifts risk onto you.
Understanding the Effect of Rate Assumptions
Move the return slider and watch the maturity value swing. Over 20 years, the gap between a 10% and a 14% assumption is enormous — often more than double. That sensitivity is the single most important thing to understand about any long-range projection: the further out you model, the more the result depends on an assumption nobody can guarantee.
Examples
A Standard 10-Year SIP
A ₹10,000 monthly SIP at an assumed 12% annual return over 10 years.
₹10,000/month · 12% · 10 years Invested ₹12,00,000 · Returns ₹11,23,391 · Maturity ₹23,23,391 The Same Money as a Lumpsum
Investing ₹12,00,000 at once for 10 years at the same 12%.
₹12,00,000 lumpsum · 12% · 10 years Maturity ₹37,27,029 — more, because every rupee compounds for the full ten years A 10% Annual Step-Up
The same ₹10,000 SIP, but increased by 10% every year for 20 years.
₹10,000/month · 12% · 20 years · 10% step-up Roughly ₹1.9 crore, against about ₹1 crore for a flat SIP SIP Calculator vs a spreadsheet
You can model a SIP in Excel or Google Sheets with the FV function. Here is where each approach fits.
| Feature | Toolorah | a spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | None — enter three numbers | Build the formula and table yourself |
| Step-up SIP | Built in | Needs a custom row-by-row model |
| Year-by-year breakdown | One click | You build it |
| Scenario comparison | Move the slider and watch | Easier — full what-if tooling |
| Saving your working | Result history on Pro | Yes — it is a file |
| Risk of formula error | None | The most common source of wrong answers |
| Works on a phone | Yes | Painfully |
Tips for Using SIP Calculator
- Use 11–13% for equity funds and 6–8% for debt funds. Anything above 15% over a long horizon is optimistic to the point of being misleading.
- The maturity figure is nominal. At 6% inflation, ₹1 crore in 20 years buys roughly what ₹31 lakh buys today — plan against real purchasing power.
- Step-up is the highest-leverage field on this page. Raising your instalment with your salary costs you nothing in lifestyle terms and changes the outcome enormously.
- Equity mutual fund gains above ₹1.25 lakh a year are taxed at 12.5% LTCG if held over a year, so your post-tax maturity value is lower than the figure shown.
- Open the year-by-year table and find the year where returns first exceed the amount invested — that crossover is when compounding starts doing the heavy lifting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What return rate should I assume?
For diversified Indian equity mutual funds, 11–13% is a defensible long-term assumption based on historical Nifty and Sensex total returns over 15+ year periods. Large-cap funds sit at the lower end, mid and small-cap funds have delivered more historically but with far greater volatility. For debt funds, use 6–8%. For hybrid or balanced funds, 9–11%. Whatever you choose, run the projection again with a rate two or three points lower to see how much your plan depends on the assumption holding.
How is the SIP maturity value calculated?
Each monthly instalment is compounded forward for the number of months remaining until maturity, using the monthly equivalent of your annual rate (annual rate ÷ 12). The standard formula is FV = P × [((1+i)^n − 1) ÷ i] × (1+i), where P is the instalment, i is the monthly rate, and n is the number of months. The trailing (1+i) reflects contributions made at the start of each month, which is the convention Indian AMCs use.
Is the projected amount guaranteed?
No. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risk, and the calculator assumes a constant rate of return that no real fund delivers. Actual returns vary year to year and can be negative for extended periods — Indian equity markets have had multi-year stretches of flat or falling returns. Treat the output as a planning estimate under a stated assumption, not a promise. This tool does not provide investment advice; consult a SEBI-registered advisor for decisions about your money.
What is a step-up SIP and is it worth it?
A step-up (or top-up) SIP increases your monthly instalment by a fixed percentage each year, usually aligned with expected salary growth. It is worth a great deal: because each year's increase still has the remaining term to compound, a 10% annual step-up on a 20-year SIP can nearly double the maturity value compared with a flat instalment. Most fund platforms let you configure this when you set up the mandate. Set the step-up field here to model it before you commit.
SIP or lumpsum — which is better?
Mathematically, lumpsum wins whenever markets rise over the period, because the full amount compounds for the entire term. Practically, SIP is better for most people: it matches how income arrives, it averages your purchase price across market cycles (rupee-cost averaging), and it removes the risk of committing everything at a market peak. If you have a large sum and want to reduce timing risk, a systematic transfer plan moving money gradually from a liquid fund into equity is the usual compromise.
Does this account for tax?
No — the maturity value shown is before tax. In India, long-term capital gains on equity mutual funds above ₹1.25 lakh in a financial year are taxed at 12.5% when units are held for more than 12 months; short-term gains are taxed at 20%. Debt fund taxation differs and has changed recently. Your actual post-tax proceeds also depend on how and when you redeem, so treat the figure here as pre-tax.
Does it account for inflation?
No. The projection is in nominal rupees. To think in today's purchasing power, divide the maturity value by (1 + inflation)^years — at 6% inflation over 20 years, that is a factor of about 3.2. A simpler approach some planners use is to enter a "real" return (your expected return minus inflation, so 12% − 6% = 6%), which makes the output directly comparable to today's money.
Can I use this for non-Indian currencies?
Yes. The currency selector covers USD, EUR, GBP, NPR, and AED alongside INR, and the mathematics is identical for any monthly investment plan — a 401(k) contribution, a UK stocks and shares ISA, or a regular savings plan. Only the tax and inflation notes above are India-specific.