Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) DCA Calculator
What a fixed monthly buy of Vanguard S&P 500 ETF actually did — computed from real daily closes (Sep 2010 → 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 VOO, 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 $27,865. 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 VOO'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:
131 possible 5-year start months — 100% ended positive.
Why dollar-cost average into VOO?
VOO is the default answer in most index-investing conversations: the S&P 500 at a 0.03% fee, and the asset most "just automate it" plans are actually built on. Monthly DCA matches how the fund is really used — a payday buy, held for decades. The chart above is that habit, measured on real closes: every dip in the window (the 2020 crash, 2022's slide) became a cheaper buy without anyone making a decision.
One honesty note about the sample: VOO launched in September 2010, so this backtest contains no 2008. The deepest drawdown in its history is about −34% (March 2020) — a full financial-crisis path would test both the spread above and your patience harder than anything in this window did.
FAQ
History, not opinion: $100 every month into VOO for the last 10 years (121 buys, $12,100 invested) would be worth $27,865 today — +130% 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 VOO's history began Apr 2015 and finished at +7%. The best (Jan 2017) finished at +69%. 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 VOO'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 VOO daily closing prices from Sep 2010 to Jul 2026 (15.9 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.
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