Estimate the growth of your mutual fund investment — lumpsum or SIP — including the impact of the expense ratio.
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Choose lumpsum or SIP, fill in the amount, expected return, and time period to see your estimated maturity value.
A mutual fund calculator projects how a fund investment could grow over time, whether you invest a single lumpsum — using it as a lumpsum calculator — or contribute every month through a Systematic Investment Plan, using the same tool as a SIP calculator. NeftCal's version also works as an expense ratio calculator: it nets the fund's expense ratio out of your expected return before compounding, so the projection reflects what you'd actually keep after fees rather than an inflated gross number, across 10 currencies including the Indian Rupee.
Mutual funds are the primary market-linked investment vehicle for millions of Indian and global investors, regulated in India by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and represented industry-wide by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Choosing between a lumpsum and a SIP, and understanding exactly how much a fund's expense ratio quietly erodes your returns over 10–20 years, are two of the most consequential decisions a retail mutual fund investor makes — and both are easy to get wrong without running the actual numbers.
This tool suits first-time SIP investors comparing monthly contribution amounts, lumpsum investors deciding whether to deploy a bonus or windfall all at once, anyone comparing a Direct plan's lower expense ratio against a Regular plan's advisor-driven one, and investors who simply want to sanity-check a distributor's or app's projected maturity value using a transparent formula.
Mutual fund returns are never guaranteed — they depend on market performance — but the mechanics of compounding and fees are certain. Understanding how your net return (expected return minus expense ratio) compounds over your investment horizon is essential groundwork for goal-based planning, whether the goal is retirement, a child's education, or a house down payment. Because expense-ratio drag compounds every year alongside your gains, even a fund that looks similar to a peer on gross performance can produce a meaningfully different final corpus once fees are netted out over a long horizon.
Returns are compounded using the net return after the expense ratio
Lumpsum invests a single amount upfront and lets it compound annually for the full period. SIP spreads investment across regular monthly contributions using a future-value-of-annuity-due formula, which averages your purchase cost and suits investors without a large sum upfront.
The expense ratio is an annual fee charged by the fund house, deducted continuously from the fund's assets. Even a 1% difference in expense ratio can significantly reduce your final corpus over 15–20 years, because the drag compounds every year alongside your returns.
Mutual fund returns depend on market performance and are never guaranteed by SEBI, AMFI, or the fund house. This calculator uses a constant assumed rate for estimation; actual returns will fluctuate year to year.
NeftCal's SIP formula assumes each monthly installment is invested at the start of the month (annuity-due), which is why the result is multiplied by an extra (1 + i) compared to a standard end-of-period annuity.
From investment mode to maturity value in under a minute
Pick Lumpsum for a single one-time investment, or SIP for a fixed contribution made every month. This determines which growth formula the calculator applies.
Choose from 10 supported currencies, then input your lumpsum amount or monthly SIP amount. The suggested range updates automatically for the mode and currency you pick.
Use the fund's category-average return or a conservative assumption of your own. The 10–14% hint reflects a commonly cited long-term range for diversified equity funds, not a guarantee.
Pull the actual expense ratio from the fund's factsheet — this is subtracted from your expected return to get the net rate the calculator actually compounds.
Enter how many years you plan to stay invested, then click Calculate to see the maturity value, net return, wealth gained, expense-ratio cost, and wealth multiplier, plus invested-vs-returns and year-wise growth charts.
A realistic lumpsum and SIP mutual fund calculation, step by step
Suppose you invest a ₹1,00,000 lumpsum in an equity mutual fund with a 12% expected annual return and a 1% expense ratio, for a 10-year holding period.
Scenario — SIP: Now suppose instead you invest ₹5,000 every month in the same fund (12% expected return, 1% expense ratio, net 11%) for the same 10-year period. Monthly net rate i = 0.11 / 12 ≈ 0.9167%, and n = 10 × 12 = 120 installments. Maturity = 5,000 × [((1 + i)¹²⁰ − 1) / i] × (1 + i) ≈ ₹10,94,938. Total invested = 5,000 × 120 = ₹6,00,000, so wealth gained ≈ ₹4,94,938 — a wealth multiplier of about 1.82×, lower than the lumpsum's 2.84× because most of the SIP's later installments haven't had as many years to compound as the single lumpsum did from day one.
What your wealth multiplier and expense-ratio cost actually tell you
The wealth multiplier (maturity value ÷ total invested) is a quick, intuitive read on how much your money grew. It isn't a fixed benchmark — it depends entirely on your assumed return and time horizon — but the general ranges below give context for what different multipliers typically represent over a 10-year window.
| Wealth Multiplier (10-yr horizon) | General Read | Typical Context |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1.5× | Modest growth | Low return assumption, short horizon, or a high expense ratio eating into gains |
| 1.5× – 2.5× | Meaningful compounding effect | SIP contributions or moderate return assumptions (7–10%) |
| Over 2.5× | Strong compounding effect | Lumpsum investments at equity-fund return assumptions (10–14%) over long horizons |
Lumpsum vs SIP outcomes: for the same total money invested, a lumpsum typically shows a higher wealth multiplier than a SIP over the same period, because the entire amount compounds from day one, while SIP installments arrive — and start compounding — gradually. That doesn't make SIP inferior: it suits investors without a large sum available upfront and spreads purchase timing across market ups and downs.
Reading the expense-ratio cost: the larger this figure relative to your wealth gained, the more the fund's fees are working against you. Comparing this cost across a Direct plan and a Regular plan of the same fund is one of the clearest ways to see why SEBI and AMFI both publish investor-education material on the Direct-vs-Regular gap.
Market risk isn't in this projection: this calculator assumes a smooth, constant net return for the full period. Real mutual fund NAVs move unevenly — some years well above the assumption, some years negative — so treat the maturity value as an illustrative planning estimate, not a promised outcome.
This tool provides general financial estimates for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risk; past performance isn't a guarantee of future returns. Read all scheme-related documents carefully and consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser before investing.
Where this mutual fund calculator earns its keep
Check whether a target SIP or lumpsum is likely to reach a retirement, education, or house-purchase goal.
Run the same total contribution through both modes to see how the investment pattern changes the outcome.
Quantify how much a lower Direct-plan expense ratio could add to your corpus versus a Regular plan over 15–20 years.
Cross-check a distributor's or app's projected maturity value against an independent, transparent formula.
Estimate how a bonus, inheritance, or maturity payout could grow if invested as a lumpsum.
Model your current fixed SIP amount as a baseline before layering on an annual step-up assumption.
Compare typical fund-return assumptions across 10 currencies for NRI or international investors.
Use the low expense ratio typical of index funds and ETFs in place of an active fund's higher fee.
Verify the lumpsum and SIP future-value formulas by hand against an instant calculation.
What this mutual fund calculator does well, and where it can't replace professional advice
Quick-reference comparison of the two investment modes this calculator supports
| Feature | Lumpsum | SIP (Monthly) |
|---|---|---|
| Investment pattern | Single amount invested once | Fixed amount invested every month |
| Best suited for | Bonus, inheritance, or maturity payout | Regular income earners without a large upfront sum |
| Compounding effect | Full amount compounds for the entire period | Each installment compounds for a different length of time |
| Timing risk | Higher — full amount enters the market at one price/NAV | Lower — cost is averaged across many NAVs over time |
| Typical wealth multiplier (same total, same period) | Higher | Lower, but with smoother entry |
Common questions about mutual fund investing
Official guidance to complement this calculator — not a substitute for licensed financial advice
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