Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in VST 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+540.2%
Final Value$307.3K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+512.0%
Final Value$293.8K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+479.7%
Final Value$278.3K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap60.5 pp
Your timing vs best-28.2%
Your timing vs worst+32.3%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 33.1%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$28K~1.6x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$66K~2.2x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$341K~5.7x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$6.3M~52.4x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.6x your money
5 Years~2.2x your money
10 Years~5.7x your money
20 Years~52.4x your money
$100/mo
$6K+$2K est. gain
$13K+$7K est. gain
$68K+$56K est. gain
$1.3M+$1.2M est. gain
$250/mo
$14K+$5K est. gain
$33K+$18K est. gain
$170K+$140K est. gain
$3.1M+$3.1M est. gain
$500/mo
$28K+$10K est. gain
$66K+$36K est. gain
$341K+$281K est. gain
$6.3M+$6.2M est. gain
$1,000/mo
$56K+$20K est. gain
$132K+$72K est. gain
$682K+$562K est. gain
$12.6M+$12.3M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 33.1% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$22.84
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$22.57
$10,500
$10,382
-1.13%
$-118
Mar 2, 2020
$20.14
$11,000
$9,764
-11.24%
$-1,236
Apr 2, 2020
$15.98
$11,500
$8,324
-27.62%
$-3,176
May 4, 2020
$18.97
$12,000
$10,381
-13.49%
$-1,619
Jun 2, 2020
$20.63
$12,500
$11,789
-5.68%
$-711
Jul 2, 2020
$19.04
$13,000
$11,455
-11.89%
$-1,545
Aug 3, 2020
$18.76
$13,500
$11,786
-12.69%
$-1,714
Sep 2, 2020
$19.29
$14,000
$12,619
-9.86%
$-1,381
Oct 2, 2020
$17.99
$14,500
$12,355
-14.79%
$-2,145
Nov 2, 2020
$17.74
$15,000
$12,683
-15.44%
$-2,317
Dec 2, 2020
$18.87
$15,500
$13,991
-9.73%
$-1,509
Jan 4, 2021
$19.18
$16,000
$14,825
-7.34%
$-1,175
Feb 2, 2021
$20.82
$16,500
$16,593
+0.56%
$93
Mar 2, 2021
$16.70
$17,000
$13,809
-18.77%
$-3,191
Apr 5, 2021
$17.68
$17,500
$15,241
-12.91%
$-2,259
May 3, 2021
$16.80
$18,000
$14,982
-16.77%
$-3,018
Jun 2, 2021
$16.75
$18,500
$15,438
-16.55%
$-3,062
Jul 2, 2021
$19.04
$19,000
$18,191
-4.26%
$-809
Aug 2, 2021
$18.98
$19,500
$18,634
-4.44%
$-866
Sep 2, 2021
$19.28
$20,000
$19,428
-2.86%
$-572
Oct 4, 2021
$17.02
$20,500
$17,790
-13.22%
$-2,710
Nov 2, 2021
$19.87
$21,000
$21,269
+1.28%
$269
Dec 2, 2021
$20.96
$21,500
$22,936
+6.68%
$1,436
Jan 3, 2022
$22.74
$22,000
$25,564
+16.20%
$3,564
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in VST
Investing $500 per month in Vistra Corp. (VST) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $294K today. That's +512.0% total return on $48K invested, with a +33.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $7K from reinvested dividends.