Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in UPST 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-7.8%
Final Value$39.2K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return-19.5%
Final Value$33.8K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return-28.9%
Final Value$30.2K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap21.2 pp
Your timing vs best-11.8%
Your timing vs worst+9.4%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of -4.0%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$18K~1.0x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$30K~1.0x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$60K~1.0x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$120K~1.0x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.0x your money
5 Years~1.0x your money
10 Years~1.0x your money
20 Years~1.0x your money
$100/mo
$4K+$0 est. gain
$6K+$0 est. gain
$12K+$0 est. gain
$24K+$0 est. gain
$250/mo
$9K+$0 est. gain
$15K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$500/mo
$18K+$0 est. gain
$30K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$1,000/mo
$36K+$0 est. gain
$60K+$0 est. gain
$120K+$0 est. gain
$240K+$0 est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of -4.0% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
65 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Dec 16, 2020
$29.47
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Jan 19, 2021
$54.28
$10,500
$18,919
+80.18%
$8,419
Feb 16, 2021
$92.28
$11,000
$32,663
+196.94%
$21,663
Mar 16, 2021
$60.05
$11,500
$21,755
+89.18%
$10,255
Apr 16, 2021
$104.65
$12,000
$38,413
+220.11%
$26,413
May 17, 2021
$115.00
$12,500
$42,712
+241.70%
$30,212
Jun 16, 2021
$119.01
$13,000
$44,702
+243.86%
$31,702
Jul 16, 2021
$113.79
$13,500
$43,241
+220.30%
$29,741
Aug 16, 2021
$200.89
$14,000
$76,839
+448.85%
$62,839
Sep 16, 2021
$293.26
$14,500
$112,670
+677.04%
$98,170
Oct 18, 2021
$383.21
$15,000
$147,729
+884.86%
$132,729
Nov 16, 2021
$236.01
$15,500
$91,483
+490.21%
$75,983
Dec 16, 2021
$140.64
$16,000
$55,015
+243.85%
$39,015
Jan 18, 2022
$109.91
$16,500
$43,494
+163.60%
$26,994
Feb 16, 2022
$148.01
$17,000
$59,072
+247.48%
$42,072
Mar 16, 2022
$106.95
$17,500
$43,184
+146.77%
$25,684
Apr 18, 2022
$81.72
$18,000
$33,497
+86.09%
$15,497
May 16, 2022
$37.79
$18,500
$15,990
-13.57%
$-2,510
Jun 16, 2022
$32.08
$19,000
$14,074
-25.93%
$-4,926
Jul 18, 2022
$26.10
$19,500
$11,950
-38.72%
$-7,550
Aug 16, 2022
$36.28
$20,000
$17,112
-14.44%
$-2,888
Sep 16, 2022
$24.47
$20,500
$12,041
-41.26%
$-8,459
Oct 17, 2022
$23.15
$21,000
$11,892
-43.37%
$-9,108
Nov 16, 2022
$20.20
$21,500
$10,876
-49.41%
$-10,624
Dec 16, 2022
$15.34
$22,000
$8,760
-60.18%
$-13,240
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in UPST
Investing $500 per month in Upstart Holdings, Inc. (UPST) over the past 5 years would be worth approximately $34K today. That's -19.5% total return on $42K invested, with a -4.0% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).