SIP Delay Cost Calculator

Q: How much do I lose by delaying my SIP?

At 12% a year, {cur}10,000 a month towards a goal 20 years away grows to about {cur}99,91,479 if you start now and {cur}76,54,392 if you start two years later: a loss of {cur}23,37,087 for {cur}2,40,000 of skipped instalments.

What waiting costs: the corpus a monthly SIP could reach by your goal date if you start now, against the same SIP started after a delay, and the bigger SIP you would need to catch up.

Last updated 24 Sep 2026

Cost of delaying your SIP

CurrencySIP + delay → corpus lost

Monthly SIP ($)

Expected return (% per year)An assumption, not a promise. Try a lower figure as well.

Years from today until you need the moneyThe goal date stays fixed; a later start just leaves fewer months to invest.

Delay before you start

Delay counted in

Inflation (% a year)Defaults to your currency’s central-bank target (India 4%, US/UK/Euro/Canada 2%). Actual inflation often runs higher — try 5–6% for a cautious plan. For AED, SAR, PKR, BDT and MYR there is no official target: enter your own estimate.

$23,37,087Example

$10,000 a month at 12% a year, goal in 20 years, starting 2 years late

Two SIPs to the same date

Loss = P × A(n) − P × A(n − d); A(k) = [(1 + i)^k − 1] ÷ i × (1 + i); catch-up SIP = P × A(n) ÷ A(n − d)

P: the monthly SIP
i: the monthly rate: annual return ÷ 12 ÷ 100
n: months from today to the goal date
d: the delay in months

Worked example

$10,000 a month at 12% a year, goal in 20 years, starting 2 years late
Start now: 240 instalments; A(240) = (1.01²⁴⁰ − 1) ÷ 0.01 × 1.01 = 999.15, corpus $99,91,479
Start late: 216 instalments; A(216) = 765.44, corpus $76,54,392
Loss = 99,91,479 − 76,54,392 = $23,37,087
Only $2,40,000 of that is the 24 skipped instalments; $20,97,087 is growth they would have earned
To catch up: 99,91,479 ÷ 765.44 = $13,053 a month from the late start

10,000 a month at 12%, goal in 20 years: the cost of each delay

Every row reaches the same goal date. The catch-up SIP restores the on-time corpus.
Delay	Corpus if late	Lost	Share lost	SIP to catch up
6 months	$93,53,891	$6,37,588	6.4%	$10,682
1 year	$87,53,254	$12,38,225	12.4%	$11,415
2 years	$76,54,392	$23,37,087	23.4%	$13,053
3 years	$66,79,208	$33,12,271	33.2%	$14,959
5 years	$50,45,760	$49,45,719	49.5%	$19,802

Why the first instalments are the most valuable

The SIP calculator answers “what will this SIP grow to?” and the SIP goal calculator answers “how much must I invest for this goal?”. This page answers a third question: what does it cost to start later towards the same date? Both SIPs are the same size and earn the same assumed return, and both end on your goal date. The late one simply has fewer instalments, and the ones it misses are the earliest, which would have compounded for the longest.

That is why the loss is far bigger than the money you did not put in. In the example a two-year delay skips 24 instalments worth $2,40,000, yet the corpus falls by $23,37,087. The other $20,97,087 is growth: each of those first instalments would have had about 18 to 20 years to compound. The chart shows the gap widening every year, slowly at first and then quickly, because it is the on-time SIP’s early money growing on itself. After 10 years the gap is $7,08,125; by year 20 it is the full loss.

Catching up costs more each month than it seems. To reach the on-time corpus from a two-year-late start you would need about $13,053 a month instead of $10,000, 31% more, for the rest of the period. A delay near the start of a long plan costs more than the same delay near the end. A step-up SIP, raised each year with your income, is another way to close the gap; the step-up SIP calculator shows how.

Keep the arithmetic in proportion. The return is an assumption, and market-linked funds do not rise steadily, so the true cost of a delay could be larger or smaller, and money kept aside while you wait still earns something if it sits in a deposit. What the calculation does show reliably is the shape: time in the plan is worth more than a slightly larger instalment later. The loss in today’s money divides by inflation over the whole period. This is arithmetic on the figures you enter, not financial advice.

Frequently asked questions

How much do I lose by delaying my SIP?

At 12% a year, $10,000 a month towards a goal 20 years away grows to about $99,91,479 if you start now and $76,54,392 if you start two years later: a loss of $23,37,087 for $2,40,000 of skipped instalments.

Why is the loss bigger than the instalments I skipped?

Because the skipped instalments are the earliest ones, which would have compounded for the longest. Most of the loss is the growth they would have earned.

How much more SIP do I need if I start late?

Divide the on-time corpus by the value of 1 a month over the shorter period. In the example it is $13,053 a month instead of $10,000 to reach the same amount on the same date.

Does this assume the goal date moves?

No. The goal date is fixed. If you can push the goal back instead, starting late costs much less; that is a different comparison.

Related calculators

References

Brealey RA, Myers SC, Allen F. Principles of Corporate Finance. McGraw-Hill. The future value of an annuity due, from which the SIP value follows.
SEBI / AMFI mandatory risk statement: “Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.”
Central-bank inflation targets used as default inflation by currency: Reserve Bank of India (4% CPI, flexible inflation targeting framework); U.S. Federal Reserve (2% PCE); European Central Bank (2%); Bank of England (2% CPI); Bank of Canada (2%); Reserve Bank of Australia (2–3%); Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (3% ± 1). Actual inflation often runs above target.