Vanguard Total Market ETF (VTI) DCA Calculator
What a fixed monthly buy of Vanguard Total Market ETF actually did — computed from real daily closes (Jun 2001 → 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 VTI, 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 $26,997. 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 VTI'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:
242 possible 5-year start months — 92% ended positive.
Why dollar-cost average into VTI?
VTI holds essentially the entire US stock market — S&P 500 plus thousands of mid and small caps — and our series runs from 2001, so it includes the 2008–09 collapse (roughly −55%) that newer S&P funds' histories miss. That makes its timing-luck strip more instructive than most: the worst windows above start near 2004–2007 peaks, and monthly buys through 2009 are what pulled those plans back above water.
In practice VTI and an S&P 500 fund have tracked each other closely — the small-cap tail adds breadth, not magic. The case for picking it as a DCA vehicle is the same boring one as VOO's: one fund, near-zero fee, nothing to rebalance, and a schedule that keeps working when headlines argue otherwise.
FAQ
History, not opinion: $100 every month into VTI for the last 10 years (121 buys, $12,100 invested) would be worth $26,997 today — +123% 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 VTI's history began Mar 2004 and finished at -40%. The best (Sep 2016) finished at +68%. 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 VTI'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 VTI daily closing prices from Jun 2001 to Jul 2026 (25.1 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.