SIP Calculator with step-up.

How this SIP calculator works

The calculator uses the compound interest formula, applied month-by-month: each monthly SIP contribution is invested and compounds at the annual return rate (expressed monthly), until the end of the period. The step-up option increases your monthly contribution by the chosen percentage at the start of each year — a habit that dramatically improves the final corpus without requiring any extra effort in the initial years.

What return rate should you assume?

There's no single right answer, but here's a sensible framework:

• 8–10% — conservative, closer to a hybrid or debt-heavy portfolio.
• 10–12% — a balanced equity-oriented portfolio over long horizons, net of costs.
• 12–14% — an aggressive equity portfolio. Realistic over 15+ years, but don't plan on it.
• 15%+ — possible in specific funds over specific periods, but do not plan your retirement on this.

The honest habit is to plan using a lower rate (say 10%) and treat anything above it as a bonus, rather than building your plan around the highest historical return you can find.

Why the step-up matters so much

A 10% annual step-up on a ₹10,000 SIP means ₹11,000 in year 2, ₹12,100 in year 3, and so on. By year 20, you're investing about ₹67,000 per month. You barely feel it year by year because your salary is rising faster than the step-up — but the cumulative impact on the corpus is transformational.

In most long-term scenarios, a flat SIP with step-up beats a higher flat SIP without step-up. The discipline of incrementing automatically wins.

What to do with this number

Don't treat the final number as a promise. Treat it as a planning tool:

• Work backwards from a goal (retirement, education, house) to size the SIP.
• Test how much longer horizons or step-up improves the outcome — often surprising.
• Check whether your current SIP is on track for your actual goals.
• Come in for a 20-minute conversation if the answer surprises you — we'll tighten it.