What is the SIP Calculator?
A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) calculator estimates the future value of investing a fixed amount in a mutual fund every month. It's the single most useful tool for anyone planning long-term goals like retirement, a child's education or buying a house.
SIPs work because of two compounding effects: your returns earn returns, and rupee-cost averaging means you buy more units when markets fall and fewer when they rise. Over 10–15 years, these forces routinely turn modest monthly amounts into multi-crore corpuses.
Plug in your monthly investment, expected annual return and tenure to see invested amount, projected corpus and total gain side by side. Everything is computed in your browser using the standard SIP future-value formula.
Formula
- P — Monthly SIP amount
- i — Monthly rate of return (annual return ÷ 12 ÷ 100)
- n — Total number of monthly installments
The (1+i) factor assumes investments are made at the start of each month.
Step-by-step example
Setup: ₹10,000 monthly SIP for 15 years at an expected 12% p.a.
- i = 12 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.01
- n = 15 × 12 = 180 months
- (1+i)ⁿ = 1.01¹⁸⁰ ≈ 5.996
- FV ≈ 10,000 × (5.996 − 1) ÷ 0.01 × 1.01 ≈ ₹50,45,760
Answer: Invested ₹18,00,000 · Future value ≈ ₹50,45,760 · Gain ≈ ₹32,45,760
Pro tips
- Increasing your SIP by just 10% every year (a step-up SIP) can boost the final corpus by 50% or more over 20 years.
- Equity mutual fund SIPs work best over 7+ year horizons; for shorter goals use debt or hybrid funds.
- Pause-and-resume features mean you can keep the SIP alive even if income is irregular.
Frequently asked questions
Is 12% return guaranteed?
No. 12% is a long-term historical average for diversified Indian equity funds. Actual returns vary year to year and can be negative in some years.
What's the minimum SIP amount?
Most fund houses allow SIPs starting from ₹100–₹500 per month.
Are SIP returns taxed?
Yes. Equity fund gains held over 12 months are taxed at 12.5% LTCG above ₹1.25 lakh per year (FY 2024-25 rules). Debt funds are taxed at your slab rate.
Can I stop a SIP anytime?
Yes, you can pause or stop a SIP online without any penalty.
SIP vs lump sum — which is better?
Lump sum can do better in steadily rising markets; SIP is safer in volatile markets because it averages your entry price. For most retail investors, SIP wins on discipline.