SIP for 5 years

Over 5 years at 12% a year, ₹10,000 a month projects to ₹8,24,864 — ₹6,00,000 of your money and ₹2.25 L from compounding, which is 27% of the total. The table below covers every common instalment.

By Sudarshan Babar · Software engineer and founder of the getinfotoyou tool network Updated

Your 5-year SIP

₹500₹1 lakh

What leaves your bank account every month. Type any amount — the slider is just a shortcut.

%
1%25%

An assumption, not a promise. Equity funds are usually modelled at 10–12%; see what rate to assume.

years
1 year40 years
%
0%12%

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

Total you put in ₹6,00,000
Added by compounding ₹2,24,864
Share from compounding 27.3%
Worth in today’s money ₹6,16,386
Projected value ₹8,24,864
₹0₹2.13 L₹4.25 L₹6.38 L₹8.5 L012345

What you investWhat compounding addsValue in today’s money

Year-by-year growth of a ₹10,000 monthly SIP at 12% a year.
YearMonthlyInvested so farReturnsValue at year endIn today’s money
1₹10,000₹1,20,000₹8,093₹1,28,093₹1,20,843
2₹10,000₹2,40,000₹32,432₹2,72,432₹2,42,464
3₹10,000₹3,60,000₹75,076₹4,35,076₹3,65,299
4₹10,000₹4,80,000₹1,38,348₹6,18,348₹4,89,790
5₹10,000₹6,00,000₹2,24,864₹8,24,864₹6,16,386

Five years is the wrong horizon for equity

This is the page where the honest answer is mostly discouraging, so here it is plainly: five years is too short for an equity SIP you cannot afford to lose.

Indian equity has had multiple five-year stretches with flat or negative real returns. Over 20 years a bad patch is something you ride through; over five it can be the whole period, and you have no time to recover before the deadline.

The table below therefore projects at 12% because that is the convention — but for a five-year goal a 7% debt assumption is far more defensible. At ₹10,000 a month that is ₹7,20,105 rather than ₹8,24,864. The lower number is the one to plan on.

What actually suits five years: short-duration debt funds, a recurring deposit, or a hybrid fund if you can tolerate some movement. The RD calculator and FD calculator handle the deposit versions, and SIP vs RD covers the trade-off at this horizon specifically.

If the five years is arbitrary and the money is genuinely long-term, extend the horizon instead. Ten years changes the answer completely.

Every monthly amount over 5 years

Same 5-year term, different instalments, all at 12% a year.

Different monthly amounts over 5 years at 12% a year
MonthlyYou investProjected valueIn today’s money
₹1,000₹60,000₹82,486₹61.64K
₹2,000₹1,20,000₹1,64,973₹1.23 L
₹5,000₹3,00,000₹4,12,432₹3.08 L
₹10,000₹6,00,000₹8,24,864₹6.16 L
₹15,000₹9,00,000₹12,37,295₹9.25 L
₹25,000₹15,00,000₹20,62,159₹15.41 L
₹50,000₹30,00,000₹41,24,318₹30.82 L

Questions people actually ask

How much will I have after 5 years of SIP?

At 12% a year: ₹4,12,432 from ₹5,000 a month, ₹8,24,864 from ₹10,000, and ₹20,62,159 from ₹25,000. The full table is above.

These are projections from a rate you chose, not forecasts. Run them three points lower before relying on them.

Is 5 years long enough for equity?

No, not for money you cannot afford to lose. Indian equity has had multiple five-year stretches of flat or negative real returns, and a five-year deadline leaves no room to recover.

Use short-duration debt, an RD or a hybrid fund, and assume 6–7% rather than 12%.

What is a 5-year SIP worth after inflation?

At 6% inflation, the ₹10,000-a-month projection of ₹8,24,864 is worth about ₹6.16 L in today's money.

Over 5 years that gap is 25% of the headline figure, which is why any long-horizon plan should be read in real terms.