Mutual Fund Returns Calculator

What does a mutual fund returns calculator do?

A mutual fund pools money from many investors and invests it in shares, bonds or both. What you end up with depends on how much you invest, for how long, and the return the fund earns. This calculator projects that outcome for the two ways people invest — a monthly SIP (systematic investment plan) or a one-time lumpsum — and shows the invested amount, estimated gain, CAGR and a year-by-year growth chart.

It is useful for setting realistic expectations, comparing SIP and lumpsum, testing the effect of a yearly step-up, and working out whether your current investments are on track for a goal.

How this calculator works

Money goes into a mutual fund one of two ways, and this calculator covers both. A SIP puts a fixed amount to work every month; a lumpsum invests once and leaves it. Switch between them with the SIP / Lumpsum toggle — the inputs and the projection change with it.

In SIP mode each instalment compounds for a different length of time — the first for the entire period, the last for barely a month — so the maturity value is the sum of many small compounding streams rather than one. Instalments are compounded from the start of every month, which is the SIP convention. The step-up option raises your instalment once a year, usually the easiest way to reach a larger corpus without feeling the pinch.

In lumpsum mode the amount compounds on itself: this year’s return earns next year’s return. That second-order effect is why the value curve bends upward instead of rising in a straight line, and why the CAGR — not the total percentage gain — is the figure to compare against other options.

In both modes the gap between “invested amount” and “value” widens slowly at first and then very quickly. That crossover, where returns overtake contributions, is what long-horizon investing is really about.

Formula

SIP                      (1 + i)ⁿ − 1
        FV = P × ───────────────────── × (1 + i)
                            i

        P = monthly investment   i = annual return ÷ 12   n = months

Lumpsum FV   = P × (1 + r)ᵗ
        CAGR = (FV ÷ P)^(1/t) − 1

        P = amount invested   r = annual return   t = years

Worked example

1. SIP: ₹25,000 a month for 10 years at 12% a year. Total invested is ₹30,00,000 across 120 instalments, and the maturity value is roughly ₹58 lakh — close to half of it return rather than contribution.
2. Lumpsum: ₹5,00,000 for 10 years at 12% a year. FV = 5,00,000 × 1.12¹⁰ ≈ ₹15,52,900. The absolute return is about 210%, but the CAGR is 12%.

What different SIP amounts can grow to

What a lumpsum can grow to

At 12% a year, money roughly doubles every six years. The same logic works in reverse for costs — a 1% higher expense ratio compounds against you for just as long, which is why direct plans with lower costs matter over long horizons.

Assumptions & important notes

Frequently asked questions