Cost of Delay Calculator

It is the wealth you give up by starting to invest later. This calculator compares two investors who invest the same amount at the same expected return and stop at the same age; the only difference is when they start. The gap between their final values is the cost of delay.

Because of compounding. The money you invest earliest has the longest time to grow, and returns keep earning returns. A late start does not just skip a few contributions: it removes the years of growth that would have been added on top of the largest balance.

Yes. With a SIP, both investors begin with the same monthly amount and apply the same yearly step-up from their own start age, so the late starter invests less in total but ends up with far less than that difference. With a lumpsum, both invest exactly the same amount once; only the number of years it grows differs.

Monthly SIP invests the amount at the start of every month until the stop age, compounds monthly, and can be stepped up once a year. Lumpsum invests a single amount once at the start age and lets it compound yearly until the chosen age.

Invest a larger amount, increase it every year with a higher step-up, or keep investing for longer. Use the calculator to see how much each change closes the gap.

No. It assumes the same rate of return every year, while real market returns go up and down. Treat the result as an illustration of how much timing matters, not a prediction.