DCA calculator

Reference block: the method, a worked example and answers to common questions. It does not affect the calculation above.

How it is calculated

1. Dollar-cost averaging is buying an asset for a fixed sum at regular intervals. The calculator models a price growing at a set annual pace: month price = start * (1 + return / 100) ^ ((month - 1) / 12), and each monthly price is quoted to the kopeck — like a real trade.
2. A fixed contribution buys a different number of units each month: units = contribution / month price. An expensive month buys fewer, a cheap one more; a unit count is not money, so it accumulates unrounded and is only displayed to six decimals.
3. The average purchase price is everything invested over all units: average = invested / units. Because cheap months contribute more units, it lands below the simple average of prices — which is the whole point of averaging.
4. The final portfolio value is the units times the last price; the profit is the value minus the money invested, also shown as a percent of it.

Worked example

The figures the page opens with: 12 000 ₽ a month for two years into an asset growing 12% a year from 1 000 ₽ a unit. Invested: 288 000 ₽; bought: 258.912269 units; the average purchase price is 1 112.35 ₽ against a final price of 1 242.61 ₽.

The portfolio ends worth 321 726.97 ₽ — a profit of 33 726.97 ₽, or 11.71% on the money invested. Note it is below the 12% annual price growth, because most contributions worked for less than the full two years.

Frequently asked questions