DCA history · S&P 500
S&P 500 DCA since 2001: $100 weekly
Investing $100 every week into S&P 500 since 1 January 2001 (1,347 buys, $134,700 in total) would be worth $604,470 today (+348.75%).
Backtest 1 January 2001 to 22 October 2026 · USD · no fees · live price. Change the amount, dates or fees →
Dollar-cost averaging
$604,470
+348.75% · +10.18%/yr
- Invested
- $134,700.00
- Buys
- 1,347
- Average cost
- $1,711.43
Lump sum, day one
Winner$783,551
+481.70%
- Invested
- $134,700.00
- Bought at
- $1,320.28
- Max drawdown
- 56.78%
Perfect timing (hindsight)
$1,529,137
+1035.22%
- Bought on
- 9 Mar 2009
- At a price of
- $676.53
- Not a plan you could follow
How it would have felt
Over this period the plan was worth less than the money you’d put in on 16.8% of days, with the longest unbroken stretch lasting 817 days (to 7 Sept 2003). The worst moment was 9 Mar 2009, when it was down 41.0% on what had been invested. It has been in profit continuously since 5 Oct 2011. The average cost per unit was $1,711.43 against a price today of $7,680.08 (+348.75%). The cheapest buy was $676.53 on 9 Mar 2009 and the priciest $7,807.24 on 12 Oct 2026.
Year by year
| As of | Invested | Worth | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Dec 2001 | $5,300 | $5,125 | -3.31% |
| 31 Dec 2002 | $10,500 | $8,592 | -18.17% |
| 31 Dec 2003 | $15,700 | $16,892 | +7.59% |
| 31 Dec 2004 | $20,900 | $23,993 | +14.80% |
| 31 Dec 2005 | $26,100 | $30,089 | +15.28% |
| 31 Dec 2006 | $31,300 | $39,832 | +27.26% |
| 31 Dec 2007 | $36,600 | $46,518 | +27.10% |
| 31 Dec 2008 | $41,800 | $32,593 | -22.03% |
| 31 Dec 2009 | $47,000 | $46,458 | -1.15% |
| 31 Dec 2010 | $52,200 | $58,151 | +11.40% |
| 31 Dec 2011 | $57,400 | $63,326 | +10.32% |
| 31 Dec 2012 | $62,700 | $77,307 | +23.30% |
| 31 Dec 2013 | $67,900 | $106,058 | +56.20% |
| 31 Dec 2014 | $73,100 | $123,695 | +69.21% |
| 31 Dec 2015 | $78,300 | $127,960 | +63.42% |
| 31 Dec 2016 | $83,500 | $145,740 | +74.54% |
| 31 Dec 2017 | $88,700 | $179,739 | +102.64% |
| 31 Dec 2018 | $94,000 | $173,386 | +84.45% |
| 31 Dec 2019 | $99,200 | $229,232 | +131.08% |
| 31 Dec 2020 | $104,400 | $272,647 | +161.16% |
| 31 Dec 2021 | $109,600 | $351,803 | +220.99% |
| 31 Dec 2022 | $114,800 | $288,296 | +151.13% |
| 31 Dec 2023 | $120,000 | $363,959 | +203.30% |
| 31 Dec 2024 | $125,300 | $454,567 | +262.78% |
| 31 Dec 2025 | $130,500 | $534,823 | +309.83% |
| 22 Oct 2026 | $134,700 | $604,470 | +348.75% |
Try a different start
Weekly $100 into S&P 500, by start year:
Does the start year really matter? Best and worst time to start DCA or DCA vs lump sum, tested on every start month.
Frequently asked questions
- How much would $100 every week in S&P 500 since 2001 be worth today?
- Investing $100 every week into S&P 500 since 1 January 2001 (1,347 buys, $134,700 in total) would be worth $604,470 today (+348.75%).
- Was DCA better than a lump sum for S&P 500 since 2001?
- Investing the same $134,700 in one go on 1 January 2001 would be worth $783,551 today (+481.70%), so putting it all in on day one came out ahead over this particular period. Which wins depends heavily on the start date.
- How long was S&P 500 DCA underwater since 2001?
- The plan was worth less than the money invested on 16.8% of days, with the longest stretch lasting 817 days (ending 7 Sept 2003).