SIP Delay Calculator: See What Waiting Costs You
Move the sliders to see exactly what a delay does to your final corpus, and what it takes to catch up.
Adjust Your SIP Parameters
Move the sliders to see exactly what a delay does to your final corpus, and what it takes to catch up.
Cost of Delay
₹89.85 L
Figures shown are illustrative projections based on historical data and assumed rates of return. They are not a guarantee, promise, or assurance of future performance. Actual returns will vary. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing.
What This Calculator Shows You
The "cost of delay" is the difference between the corpus you would build by starting your SIP today and the corpus you would build starting the same monthly amount a few years later, assuming the same rate of return. It is not just the missed instalments during the delay. It is the compounding time those instalments would have had.
Read the four figures together: the corpus if you start now, the corpus if you delay, the rupee gap between them (Cost of Delay), and the higher monthly SIP you would need to run over the shorter remaining period to close that gap. The chart plots both paths across your full timeline so you can see the gap widen year by year, rather than just at the end.
Why the Cost of Delay Matters More Than It Looks
Most people underestimate delay because they think of it in terms of instalments missed, not years of compounding lost. A SIP instalment made in year one has decades to compound. The same instalment made five years later has fewer years left to grow, no matter how disciplined you are afterward. That is why waiting even a short while has an outsized effect on the final number.
This is a case for starting small today over waiting to start bigger later, particularly for long-term goals like retirement or a child's education where the timeline is fixed and cannot be extended on demand. It is not a promise that any specific return rate will hold every year. It is a way to see, in rupee terms, what your own timeline and assumptions imply, so you can make a deliberate decision rather than an accidental one.
How the Cost of Delay Is Calculated
The calculator projects the future value of your monthly SIP twice, using the standard monthly-compounding SIP formula: once for your full total duration starting today, and once for a shorter duration equal to your total duration minus the delay period. The difference between the two results is the Cost of Delay. The "monthly SIP needed to catch up" figure works the calculation backward: it finds the higher monthly instalment that, invested only over the shorter remaining period, would still reach the same final corpus as starting today.
Using This Result Responsibly
This is a planning aid, not a guarantee. Actual mutual fund returns vary year to year and are never assured, so treat the assumed return rate as an illustration, not a forecast. Don't assume it will hold steady every single year of your timeline.
Also be careful with the "catch-up" figure. It exists to show you the cost of waiting, not to talk you into a monthly commitment beyond what you can sustain. If the catch-up number feels out of reach, the more realistic response is usually to start now at a comfortable amount rather than wait and stretch later. Revisit these numbers whenever your income, return assumption, or goal timeline changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to the questions we hear most often. No hedging, no ambiguity.
Contact for specific questionsIt is the difference between the corpus you would build by starting your SIP today versus starting the same monthly amount a few years later, assuming the same rate of return. It captures the compounding time you lose, not just the missed instalments.
The instalments you skip in the delay period are the ones that would have compounded for the longest. A rupee invested in year 1 compounds for the full duration; a rupee invested in year 6 compounds for 5 fewer years. That lost compounding time is what drives the gap.
Yes, partially. The calculator shows the higher monthly SIP you would need over the remaining shorter period to reach the same final corpus. It is usually a meaningfully larger amount than the original monthly figure.
Yes. A higher assumed return increases both corpuses, and typically widens the rupee gap between starting now and starting late, because more of the growth is driven by compounding over time rather than by the contributions themselves.
No. It is an illustrative projection based on the return rate you enter, not a guarantee of what any mutual fund will actually deliver. Use it to understand the shape of the problem, then talk to our team about a realistic plan for your goals.
Our Team's Credentials
AMFI MF Distributor (2823) & MF/SIF Distributor (300788)
CFP Certification, FPSB India
MDRT (6x): Rekha Guliani
LUTCF, The American College of Insurance
Chairman Club, ICICI Prudential MF
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