The free dividend calculator that shows your income compounding
Enter an investment, a dividend yield and a time horizon — this calculator projects your portfolio value, total dividends earned and future annual income, with or without a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP). No sign-up, no spreadsheet, just the numbers.
Your projection
| Year | Dividends | Annual income | Portfolio value |
|---|
This calculator is an educational estimate, not financial advice. It assumes steady yield, growth and contributions; real dividends can be raised, cut or suspended, and market prices move daily. Read the methodology below before relying on any projection.
Dividend calculators for popular stocks & ETFs
Start from a well-known dividend payer instead of a blank form. Each card loads sensible starting assumptions into the calculator above — yield, dividend growth and price growth — which you can then edit freely.
Yields shown are approximate trailing figures for illustration (October 2026) and change with market prices. Verify the current yield on the fund's or company's official page before investing.
How the dividend calculator works
Three ingredients decide your future income: how much you put in, what the investment pays, and how long compounding is left to run.
Your money goes in
An initial lump sum plus an optional monthly contribution. Every dollar you add buys more income-producing shares, so contributions early in the timeline matter most.
Dividends get paid — and reinvested
Each month the portfolio pays out its dividend yield. With DRIP switched on, that cash buys more shares automatically, so next month's payout is calculated on a bigger base.
Growth compounds on growth
Dividend growth raises the payout per share every year, while share-price growth lifts the value of everything you own. Together they produce the snowball effect in the chart above.
monthly dividend = portfolio value × (dividend yield ÷ 12)
new shares (DRIP) = monthly dividend × (1 − tax rate)
yield on cost = annual dividend income ÷ total money you contributed
each year: dividend per share × (1 + dividend growth), price × (1 + price growth)
What is a DRIP — and why reinvesting changes everything
A dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) automatically uses your dividend payouts to buy more shares of the same stock or fund instead of paying you cash. Most brokers offer it free, and many allow fractional shares, so every cent of a payout goes straight back to work.
Reinvesting feels slow at first because the payouts are small. Its power shows up later: the shares bought by last year's dividends pay dividends of their own, and the shares those buy pay again. That loop — income buying more income — is why the DRIP on / DRIP off comparison above widens so dramatically over 20–30 years.
DRIP is not always the right choice. You might take dividends as cash if you:
- Live on the income — retirees often spend payouts rather than reinvest them.
- Want to rebalance — cash lets you redirect dividends into underweight holdings.
- Hold shares in a taxable account — reinvested dividends are still taxed in the year they are paid, even though you never touched the cash.
Use the toggle in the calculator to see both paths with your own numbers — the difference is the clearest argument for starting early.
- Dividend yield
- Annual dividends divided by the current share price. A $100 stock paying $3.50 a year yields 3.5%.
- Dividend growth rate
- How fast a company or fund raises its payout each year. Steady growers turn a modest starting yield into a large income stream over decades.
- Yield on cost
- Your annual dividend income divided by the total money you personally put in. It measures how hard your own dollars are working, regardless of today's price.
- Ex-dividend date
- The cutoff date for receiving the next payout: buy before it and the dividend is yours; buy on or after it and the seller keeps it.
- Payout ratio
- The share of profits paid out as dividends. Very high ratios can signal a payout at risk of being cut; moderate ratios leave room to grow.
More free calculators
The same engine, tuned for a different question. Each tool loads the right assumptions into the calculator so you can start exploring immediately.
Dividend Growth Calculator
See how annual dividend raises turn a small yield into serious income — and what your yield on cost could look like in 10, 20 or 30 years.
ETF Dividend Calculator
Model a hands-off fund portfolio with a 2% yield and steady price growth — the classic set-and-forget ETF approach.
Dividend Income Calculator
High-yield mode: a 9% starting yield shows what an income-first portfolio pays out each year — and the growth trade-offs that come with it.
Retirement Dividend Calculator
Work backwards from the income you want in retirement: the portfolio it takes, and the monthly contribution that gets you there.
Compound Interest Calculator
No dividends, no yield — pure compounding. See how a lump sum plus monthly deposits grow at a steady annual return.
Monthly Cashflow Calculator
Set a target monthly income and see exactly how much capital it takes at different yields — from a cautious 3% to an aggressive 8%.
Portfolio Dividend Calculator
Add your real holdings — ticker by ticker — and get your total invested, blended yield and combined annual and monthly dividend income.
Dividend Backtest
What if you had put a lump sum into SCHD, VOO or another ticker years ago and reinvested every dividend? Run the scenario with stated assumptions.
Dividend investing guides
The ideas behind the calculators, in plain English — each one ends at the tool that lets you run the numbers on your own portfolio.
Dividend calculator — frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions dividend investors ask most. For anything deeper, run the numbers above with your own assumptions.