Mutual Fund Returns Calculator
Most calculators show lumpsum or SIP. Real portfolios are both — an initial investment plus monthly additions. This calculator projects the combination, then shows you something most calculators hide: what the fund's expense ratio quietly costs you.
A 1% expense ratio sounds trivial. On ₹10,000/month at 12% for 20 years, it shrinks your corpus from ~₹99.9 lakh to ~₹89.9 lakh — a ₹10 lakh haircut for one small percent. That's why direct plans exist.
Four steps, thirty seconds.
Enter your one-time investment (if any). Put 0 if you're starting purely with a SIP.
Enter your monthly SIP. Your ongoing contribution.
Set expected return and expense ratio. Check your fund's actual expense ratio in its factsheet — regular plans often charge ~1% more than direct plans.
Compare the two corpus figures. The gap is the lifetime price of the expense ratio. Then ask yourself if your fund earns its fee.
The method: project the lumpsum with FV = P(1+r)n and the SIP with the standard SIP formula, add them — once at the gross return, once at (return − expense ratio). The difference is the expense drag.
Worked example: ₹1 lakh lumpsum + ₹10,000/month SIP, 12% gross return, 1% expense ratio, 10 years. Without expenses: ≈ ₹26.0 lakh. With expenses: ≈ ₹24.7 lakh. The 1% fee costs ≈ ₹1.3 lakh — and the gap widens every decade.
Combines AMFI-standard SIP and lumpsum formulas; expense-ratio drag modelled as a return reduction, per SEBI-mandated total-expense-ratio disclosure practice.
For actively managed equity funds in India, 1–1.75% (regular) is common; direct plans of the same funds charge roughly 0.5–1% less. Index funds go as low as 0.1–0.3%. Lower isn't automatically better — but you should know what you're paying.
Same fund, same portfolio, different fee. Over 20 years, a 1% fee gap can cost 15–20% of your final corpus. If you invest without an agent's help, there's rarely a reason to pick regular.
No consistent link. Some expensive funds outperform, many don't — but the fee is certain while outperformance isn't. That's the core argument for watching costs.
Not in this calculator — but you can approximate by raising the monthly SIP to your expected average. For precise step-up math, use our Step-Up SIP Calculator.
Disclaimer: Educational illustration only — not financial advice. Expense ratio modelled as a simple return reduction; actual NAV impact follows the fund's daily accrual. Past performance does not guarantee future returns.