Dollar-Cost Averaging Calculator
Compare investing a lump sum against steady monthly buying.
Lump sum ends at
$53,271
vs. $51,033 for DCA
Expected DCA cost
$2,238
Monthly DCA amount
$2,000
With positive expected returns, lump-sum wins on average; DCA trades some expected return for lower regret if markets fall early.
The honest trade-off
Markets rise most of the time, so investing everything immediately beats spreading it out about two-thirds of history (Vanguard's classic finding). DCA's value is behavioral: it caps the pain of investing right before a drop, which keeps people invested at all.
When DCA is simply right
Investing from each paycheck is DCA by necessity, not choice — and it's optimal, since the money arrives over time anyway. The lump-vs-DCA question only applies to windfalls: inheritances, bonuses, and sales proceeds.
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