DCA scenario calculator
This calculator isolates the arithmetic of dollar-cost averaging: it spreads equal purchases over a transparent log-uniform path between your start and end prices, then reports units, average cost and return after fees. It is a reproducible scenario, not a claim about actual historical prices.
- Profit / loss
- 7,319.98
- Return
- 30.50%
- Average cost
- 76,628.40
- Units accumulated
- 0.31319982
- Total purchase fees
- 24.00
Model, not market history: Buy prices are spaced evenly on a logarithmic scale between the two prices you enter. The path is deterministic and reproducible, but it does not use an asset's historical candles.
Assumes one purchase per period. Purchase fees reduce the amount of asset acquired; exit fees, spread, slippage, tax, staking yield and interest on idle cash are excluded.
Frequently asked
This page models fixed contributions along a transparent price path. It is designed to explain the maths, not predict the future return of a particular asset.
Why use a log-uniform price path?
Crypto prices move multiplicatively, so equal percentage steps are a clearer neutral path than equal dollar steps. More importantly, the rule is explicit: the same inputs always produce the same prices and result.
Is this a historical backtest?
No. A historical backtest requires timestamped market data for a named asset and exchange. This page is a deterministic scenario calculator until that data source is connected.
Why can DCA underperform a lump-sum purchase?
If price rises steadily, earlier capital gets more time in the asset, so buying everything at the start usually wins. DCA trades some expected upside for lower timing concentration and a repeatable saving habit.
If the start and end prices match, will real DCA outcomes also match?
No. DCA is path-dependent: a lower intermediate price buys more units with the same contribution, while a higher one buys fewer. Two markets with identical start and end prices can therefore produce different accumulated units and ending values when the path order differs. This page fixes a log-uniform path for reproducibility; it is not a forecast of real volatility.
Does using more contribution periods make a DCA plan better?
Period count alone is not comparable here because the contribution is fixed per period; adding periods also increases total invested capital. To compare weekly and monthly schedules fairly, hold the total budget and horizon constant, recalculate the per-period contribution, and account for minimum order sizes and per-trade costs.