Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in DRI means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of share price. This strategy reduces timing risk and builds wealth steadily through market ups and downs.
How This Calculator Works
Our DCA calculator simulates real market conditions using historical price data. It accounts for dividend reinvestment (DRIP), where each dividend payment automatically purchases additional shares. You can adjust the investment amount, frequency, time period, and compare against benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.
Same amount invested each month — only the day of purchase changes. How much does intra-month timing actually matter?
Best Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly low
Total Return+80.9%
Final Value$86.8K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+70.3%
Final Value$81.7K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+61.1%
Final Value$77.3K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap19.8 pp
Your timing vs best-10.6%
Your timing vs worst+9.2%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 8.8%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$20K~1.1x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$37K~1.2x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$94K~1.6x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$311K~2.6x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.1x your money
5 Years~1.2x your money
10 Years~1.6x your money
20 Years~2.6x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$480 est. gain
$7K+$1K est. gain
$19K+$7K est. gain
$62K+$38K est. gain
$250/mo
$10K+$1K est. gain
$19K+$4K est. gain
$47K+$17K est. gain
$155K+$95K est. gain
$500/mo
$20K+$2K est. gain
$37K+$7K est. gain
$94K+$34K est. gain
$311K+$191K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$41K+$5K est. gain
$74K+$14K est. gain
$187K+$67K est. gain
$621K+$381K est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 8.8% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$112.26
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$114.92
$10,500
$10,816
+3.01%
$316
Mar 2, 2020
$98.80
$11,000
$9,799
-10.92%
$-1,201
Apr 2, 2020
$44.31
$11,500
$4,894
-57.44%
$-6,606
May 4, 2020
$70.62
$12,000
$8,301
-30.83%
$-3,699
Jun 2, 2020
$78.12
$12,500
$9,682
-22.54%
$-2,818
Jul 2, 2020
$74.78
$13,000
$9,768
-24.86%
$-3,232
Aug 3, 2020
$74.49
$13,500
$10,230
-24.22%
$-3,270
Sep 2, 2020
$90.31
$14,000
$12,903
-7.84%
$-1,097
Oct 2, 2020
$104.21
$14,500
$15,389
+6.13%
$889
Nov 2, 2020
$91.84
$15,000
$14,102
-5.99%
$-898
Dec 2, 2020
$109.63
$15,500
$17,333
+11.83%
$1,833
Jan 4, 2021
$116.24
$16,000
$18,878
+17.99%
$2,878
Feb 2, 2021
$122.82
$16,500
$20,507
+24.28%
$4,007
Mar 2, 2021
$138.96
$17,000
$23,701
+39.42%
$6,701
Apr 5, 2021
$144.11
$17,500
$25,080
+43.31%
$7,580
May 3, 2021
$144.61
$18,000
$25,819
+43.44%
$7,819
Jun 2, 2021
$136.57
$18,500
$24,883
+34.50%
$6,383
Jul 2, 2021
$148.13
$19,000
$27,490
+44.68%
$8,490
Aug 2, 2021
$147.71
$19,500
$28,121
+44.21%
$8,621
Sep 2, 2021
$150.56
$20,000
$29,164
+45.82%
$9,164
Oct 4, 2021
$155.52
$20,500
$30,624
+49.39%
$10,124
Nov 2, 2021
$143.65
$21,000
$28,987
+38.03%
$7,987
Dec 2, 2021
$143.05
$21,500
$29,366
+36.58%
$7,866
Jan 3, 2022
$148.78
$22,000
$31,042
+41.10%
$9,042
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in DRI
Investing $500 per month in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $82K today. That's +70.3% total return on $48K invested, with a +8.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $8K from reinvested dividends.