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SIP Delay Cost Calculator

What starting your SIP late costs, and the extra monthly SIP needed to catch up

ā‚¹10 thousand
ā‚¹
%
years
The goal date stays the same; a delay only shortens the time your money is invested.
Delay in
years
Cost of the delay
ā‚¹23,37,087
Twenty Three Lakh Thirty Seven Thousand Eighty Seven Rupees
less money at your goal
Start now: corpus
ā‚¹99,91,479
ā‚¹24,00,000 invested
Start later: corpus
ā‚¹76,54,392
ā‚¹21,60,000 invested
SIP needed to catch up
ā‚¹13,053/ month
Extra every month
ā‚¹3,053
Waiting 2 yr saves you from investing ā‚¹2,40,000, but leaves you ā‚¹23,37,087 poorer at the goal (23.4% less).
To still reach ā‚¹99,91,479, you would need ā‚¹13,053 a month from the day you start. That is ā‚¹3,053 more every month.
Mutual fund returns are not guaranteed. This assumes the same return every year.
Your money: starting now vs after the delay
Start afterCorpus at goalLoss vs starting nowSIP needed to catch up
No delayā‚¹99,91,479ā‚¹0ā‚¹10,000
6 moā‚¹93,53,891ā‚¹6,37,588ā‚¹10,682
1 yrā‚¹87,53,254ā‚¹12,38,225ā‚¹11,415
2 yrā‚¹76,54,392ā‚¹23,37,087ā‚¹13,053
3 yrā‚¹66,79,208ā‚¹33,12,271ā‚¹14,959
5 yrā‚¹50,45,760ā‚¹49,45,719ā‚¹19,802
10 yrā‚¹23,23,391ā‚¹76,68,088ā‚¹43,004

Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type or upload is sent to us or stored.

Results are estimates, not financial advice. Rates, charges and rules change, so confirm with your bank, post office or a financial adviser before you decide. Terms of use

How to Use

  1. Enter the monthly SIP you plan to invest and the expected yearly return.
  2. Enter the years from today to your goal. The goal date stays the same whether you start now or later.
  3. Choose the delay in years or months, for example "I'll start after 2 years".
  4. The cost of the delay, both corpus values and the extra monthly SIP needed to catch up change as you type.
  5. Scroll down for the growth chart and a table of what delays of 6 months to 10 years would cost.

What does it cost to start a SIP late?

"I'll start investing after my next increment" is one of the most expensive sentences in personal finance. A SIP (systematic investment plan) grows through compounding, where returns earn returns. Your first instalments stay invested the longest, so they grow the most. When you delay, you don't lose the last few years of growth. You lose the first few instalments, the ones that would have compounded for the whole period. This SIP delay cost calculator puts a rupee figure on that loss and shows how much more you'd have to invest each month to make up for it.

How it's calculated

Corpus = P Ɨ [(1 + i)n āˆ’ 1] Ć· i Ɨ (1 + i)
i = yearly return Ć· 12 Ć· 100, n = months invested
Cost of delay = corpus(n months) āˆ’ corpus(n āˆ’ delay months)

It's the same formula our SIP calculator uses: monthly compounding, with each instalment invested at the start of the month. Starting now, your SIP runs for all the months until the goal. Starting after the delay, it runs for fewer months but ends on the same date. The catch-up SIP is the monthly amount that, invested for the shorter period, still reaches the "start now" corpus.

Worked example

Say you can invest ā‚¹10,000 a month, you expect 12% a year, and your goal is 20 years away.

  • Start now (240 months): about ā‚¹99.91 lakh from ā‚¹24 lakh invested.
  • Start after 2 years (216 months): about ā‚¹76.54 lakh from ā‚¹21.6 lakh invested.
  • The 2-year delay means you invest ā‚¹2.4 lakh less, but you end up about ā‚¹23.37 lakh short at the goal.
  • To still reach ā‚¹99.91 lakh, you'd need about ā‚¹13,053 a month once you start. That's ā‚¹3,053 more every month for 18 years.

How the cost grows with the delay

Same example: ā‚¹10,000 a month at 12% for a goal 20 years away.

Start afterCorpus at goalLossSIP needed to catch up
No delayā‚¹99.91 lakhNilā‚¹10,000
1 yearā‚¹87.53 lakhā‚¹12.38 lakhā‚¹11,415
3 yearsā‚¹66.79 lakhā‚¹33.12 lakhā‚¹14,959
5 yearsā‚¹50.46 lakhā‚¹49.46 lakhā‚¹19,802
10 yearsā‚¹23.23 lakhā‚¹76.68 lakhā‚¹43,004

A 5-year delay, a quarter of the time, cuts the final corpus roughly in half. Waiting 10 years means investing over four times as much every month to reach the same goal.

Practical tips

  • Start small rather than late. A ā‚¹2,000 SIP today, raised every year as your salary goes up, often beats a bigger SIP started years later.
  • Don't wait for the "right" market level. A SIP already buys more units when prices fall. Trying to time the start usually just delays it.
  • Returns aren't guaranteed. Equity mutual funds can give much less (or more) than the rate you assume, especially over short periods. Use a cautious return for important goals.
  • Inflation still applies. A crore in 20 years will buy far less than a crore today. Our goal SIP calculator adjusts the target for inflation.

Frequently Asked Questions

About ā‚¹12.4 lakh, if you invest ā‚¹10,000 a month at 12% for a goal 20 years away. You'd have invested only ā‚¹1.2 lakh less. The exact figure depends on your amount, return and time to the goal.

Because the instalments you skip are the earliest ones, and those would have compounded for the longest. Most of a long SIP's final value comes from returns on returns, which build up in the later years on money invested early.

Yes, but it needs more than the amount you skipped. In the 20-year example, a 2-year delay means investing about ā‚¹13,053 a month instead of ā‚¹10,000 for the remaining 18 years to reach the same corpus.

Many planners use 10ā€“12% a year for diversified equity funds over long periods, and less for short goals or debt funds. Returns aren't guaranteed and vary by fund and period, so also try a lower rate to see a cautious figure.

Usually not. Nobody can reliably predict market falls, and every month of waiting has a cost, as this calculator shows. A SIP already buys more units when prices are low, so starting now and continuing through ups and downs is usually the simpler approach.