Alphabet (GOOGL) DCA Calculator
What a fixed monthly buy of Alphabet actually did — computed from real daily closes (Aug 2004 → Jul 2026), not projections. Run your own amount and schedule below.
What $100 a month actually built
The last 10 years of a $100 monthly plan in GOOGL, month by month: the flat line is cash paid in ($12,100 total), the accent line is what the position was worth along the way — ending at $51,442. Every point is computed from that day's real close.
Timing luck, quantified
Same plan, different start month. Each bar below is one possible 5-year monthly DCA window in GOOGL's history, sorted from worst to best — the honest spread between unlucky and lucky timing, and the case for starting on a schedule instead of waiting:
204 possible 5-year start months — 100% ended positive.
Why dollar-cost average into Alphabet?
Alphabet is the calmest of the mega-cap growth names we track — which makes it a useful control case. Since the 2004 IPO its worst episodes (−65% in 2008, −44% in 2022) were shallower and shorter than peers', so the gap between its best and worst 5-year windows above is narrower too. Less drama means DCA's edge over a lump sum shrinks; the schedule's value here is mostly behavioral: it keeps the buying automatic through ad-cycle scares.
The forward-looking caveat is concentration of a different kind: most of the cash still comes from search advertising, and the market re-prices that moat — in both directions — every time AI headlines shift. A narrower historical spread is a description of the past, not a ceiling on future surprises.
FAQ
History, not opinion: $100 every month into GOOGL for the last 10 years (121 buys, $12,100 invested) would be worth $51,442 today — +325% before fees and taxes. Past performance doesn't predict the future, but that's what the plan actually produced.
The worst 5-year monthly-DCA start in GOOGL's history began Jul 2005 and finished at +1%. The best (May 2021) finished at +172%. DCA doesn't delete timing luck — it narrows it and removes the decision.
A lump sum bets everything on one entry price. Monthly DCA spreads your cost across GOOGL's ups and downs — you buy more units when it's cheap, fewer when it's expensive. Compare both directly in our lump sum vs DCA calculator.
Real GOOGL daily closing prices from Aug 2004 to Jul 2026 (21.9 years), refreshed weekly and validated for gaps, zeros and staleness — see the data & methodology page. Fees, spreads and taxes are not modelled.
Run the plan on a real exchange
Five exchanges where DCA — and tokenized stocks & ETFs — actually work, each with a real discount. Pick one, copy the code, trade cheaper.
Referral links support the site and never affect the math. Availability varies by country — check your local regulations.