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Cost of Delay Calculator

Cost of Delay Calculator

What does "I'll start investing next year" actually cost?

₹
%
Years Months Days
yrs
Start today
₹0
Start 5 years late
₹0
Cost of the delay
₹0
Start now vs delayed

Both paths run to the same end date — the delayed start simply invests for fewer years. The gap isn't the skipped instalments (those are small); it's the compounding those instalments never get to do. SEBI's investor site has a version of this calculator; this one adds what it leaves out: the delayed investor would need a visibly larger SIP to catch up, shown in the banner.

Tax: both corpuses are shown pre-tax and are taxed identically on redemption (equity funds: 12.5% LTCG beyond ₹1.25L of gains a financial year), so tax doesn't change the comparison — but note the delayed corpus has a *higher share of principal*, so the gap after tax is slightly smaller than the headline. The lesson survives any tax regime: time in the market is the one input you can't buy back.

What to work out next

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Frequently asked questions

What is CAGR and how is it different from average return?

CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the single steady annual rate that would take your starting value to your ending value over the period, accounting for compounding. A simple average of yearly returns can be misleading -- a 50% gain followed by a 50% loss averages to 0%, but you'd actually be down 25%. CAGR reflects what actually happened to your money.Read more: Your Trading App Wants You to Trade. Your Returns Want You to Stop.

Is SIP better than a lump sum investment?

Neither is universally better -- a SIP (spreading investment across regular installments) reduces the risk of investing everything right before a downturn and suits regular income, while a lump sum captures more time in the market if invested when prices are relatively low. For most people investing from salary, SIP is the practical default; a lump sum windfall is often still better invested promptly rather than staggered indefinitely.Read more: Your Retirement Number Ignores the One Cost Growing Twice as Fast

How does compounding actually grow money over time?

Compounding means your returns start earning their own returns, not just your original investment. The effect is small in early years and accelerates sharply later -- which is why starting early matters more than almost any other single investing decision, even more than the exact return rate.Read more: Your “Financial Advisor” Is Probably Just a Salesperson on Commission

What's a realistic long-term return to assume for equity investments?

Long-term equity returns vary a great deal by market and period, and past performance never guarantees future results. Most long-term financial plans use a conservative, inflation-aware assumption rather than recent bull-market numbers -- this calculator lets you test your own assumption and see how sensitive the outcome is to it.Read more: SEBI’s SCORES Portal Promises a 21-Day Fix — Here’s What That Timeline Doesn’t Tell You

Estimates only, not financial advice. See our Disclaimer.