Lump Sum vs DCA

Tested against every historical starting month since 1926.

Tests your strategy against every historical starting month since 1926 (1,207 months), using S&P 500 monthly total returns.

Your Numbers

$
The total amount you're deciding how to invest.
months
How long the money stays invested, in months (120 = 10 years). Max 240 months.
months
How many months you'd spread the lump sum over, equal amounts monthly (up to 60, and no longer than your investing timeframe). Use 1 to see DCA vs. itself as a lump-sum sanity check.

Results Across Every Historical Starting Month

Lump Sum Wins
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Rolling Periods Tested—
Lump Sum Wins—
Average Lump Sum Ending Value—
Average DCA Ending Value—
Average Lump Sum AdvantagePositive = lump sum wins on average. Negative = DCA wins on average.—
Average Ending Value Across All Historical Starting Months
Every Historical Starting Month

Each row is one starting month: what the lump sum and DCA were worth at the end of your investing timeframe.

Start MonthEnd MonthLump SumDCAWinner

Assumptions

Uses S&P 500 monthly total returns (dividends reinvested), nominal — not adjusted for inflation — based on monthly average prices, Jan 1926-Jul 2026, 1,207 months. Source: officialdata.org. DCA tranches invested at the start of each month, equal amounts, held for the remainder of the investing timeframe; money waiting to be invested earns nothing. Vanguard's well-known 2012 study found lump sum beat 12-month DCA in 67% of historical 10-year periods — use that as a sanity check against your own results here.

Estimates for illustration only.

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