Lumpsum calculator
₹1,00,000 invested once at 12% a year becomes ₹3,10,585 in 10 years — the money multiplied 3.11× without you adding a rupee. This calculator does that for any amount, rate and duration, and shows the inflation-adjusted value alongside.
Your one-time investment
A single amount invested today and left alone.
An assumption, not a promise. Equity funds are usually modelled at 10–12%; see what rate to assume.
Set 0 to switch the "today’s money" column off. India’s CPI has averaged close to 6% over the past decade; the RBI targets 4% with a 2-point band.
What it becomes
Amount investedWhat compounding addsValue in today’s money
| Year | Invested | Returns | Value at year end | In today’s money |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹12,000 | ₹1,12,000 | ₹1,05,660 |
| 2 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹25,440 | ₹1,25,440 | ₹1,11,641 |
| 3 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹40,493 | ₹1,40,493 | ₹1,17,960 |
| 4 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹57,352 | ₹1,57,352 | ₹1,24,637 |
| 5 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹76,234 | ₹1,76,234 | ₹1,31,692 |
| 6 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹97,382 | ₹1,97,382 | ₹1,39,147 |
| 7 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,21,068 | ₹2,21,068 | ₹1,47,023 |
| 8 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,47,596 | ₹2,47,596 | ₹1,55,345 |
| 9 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,77,308 | ₹2,77,308 | ₹1,64,138 |
| 10 | ₹1,00,000 | ₹2,10,585 | ₹3,10,585 | ₹1,73,429 |
How a lump sum is calculated
One amount, one formula: FV = P × (1 + r)t, where P is what you invest, r
is the annual rate as a decimal, and t is the number of years.
No annuity maths is needed because there is only one cash flow. That also makes lump sum returns much easier to reason about than SIP returns — the whole amount is exposed to the whole period, so the multiple depends only on rate and time.
The shape of that is worth internalising. At 12%, money roughly doubles every six years, is about 3.1× in ten, and about 9.6× in twenty. Doubling the time more than triples the multiple, which is the entire argument for starting early.
When a lump sum is the right move
Lump sum suits money that has already arrived: a bonus, a maturing deposit, sale proceeds, an inheritance. If it is sitting in a savings account, it is losing to inflation while you decide.
The arithmetic favours investing all of it immediately — every month you hold back is a month of compounding forfeited. The behavioural reality is that a single large investment concentrates all your timing risk into one date, and if markets fall 20% the following quarter, plenty of people sell.
The usual compromise is to stagger a large amount over a few months. That costs a little expected return in exchange for a plan you are more likely to stick to. It is a reasonable trade, as long as you know that is the trade you are making.
If you are choosing between a lump sum and a SIP with the same total money, the comparison calculator puts a number on the difference.
Before you rely on this
An estimate, not a forecast
This is arithmetic applied to assumptions you chose. Mutual funds carry market risk, returns are not guaranteed, and past performance does not indicate future results. Nothing here is personalised advice — for decisions of any size, speak to a SEBI-registered investment adviser.
Questions people actually ask
Is annual or monthly compounding correct for a lump sum?
Annual is the convention, and it is what this page uses, because a mutual fund's annualised return is quoted as an effective annual figure already.
Monthly compounding of the same nominal rate produces a slightly higher number — 12% compounded monthly is 12.68% effective. If another calculator shows more than this one, that is usually the reason. Both are internally consistent; they are answering slightly different questions.
What is the difference between lumpsum and SIP returns on the same money?
For the same total amount over the same period in a rising market, lump sum wins, because all of it compounds for the full term while SIP instalments each compound for less.
In the reference case — ₹12 L either way over 20 years — the gap runs to several times the SIP's own returns. Run it yourself in the SIP vs lump sum calculator.
How is a lump sum in an equity fund taxed?
A single purchase has a single holding period, which makes it far simpler than a SIP. Following the July 2024 changes: held twelve months or less, gains are short-term and taxed at 20%; held longer, they are long-term at 12.5%, with the first ₹1.25 lakh of long-term equity gains in a financial year exempt.
Debt funds bought on or after 1 April 2023 are taxed at your slab rate regardless of holding period. Verify current rules before acting — see SIP taxation in India.
Can I add to a lump sum later?
Yes, and if you intend to, model it with the compound interest calculator instead — it takes a starting amount and a monthly top-up together, which is what most people's situation actually looks like.