DCA history · S&P 500
S&P 500 DCA since 2017: $100 weekly
Investing $100 every week into S&P 500 since 1 January 2017 (515 buys, $51,500 in total) would be worth $104,123 today (+102.18%).
Backtest 1 January 2017 to 11 November 2026 · USD · no fees · live price. Change the amount, dates or fees →
Dollar-cost averaging
$104,123
+102.18% · +13.78%/yr
- Invested
- $51,500.00
- Buys
- 515
- Average cost
- $3,771.61
Lump sum, day one
Winner$175,409
+240.60%
- Invested
- $51,500.00
- Bought at
- $2,238.83
- Max drawdown
- 33.92%
Perfect timing (hindsight)
$175,521
+240.82%
- Bought on
- 23 Mar 2020
- At a price of
- $2,237.40
- 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 1.3% of days, with the longest unbroken stretch lasting 23 days (to 8 Jan 2019). The worst moment was 23 Mar 2020, when it was down 17.3% on what had been invested. It has been in profit continuously since 8 Apr 2020. The average cost per unit was $3,771.61 against a price today of $7,625.46 (+102.18%). The cheapest buy was $2,238.83 on 1 Jan 2017 and the priciest $7,811.54 on 11 Oct 2026.
Year by year
| As of | Invested | Worth | Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 Dec 2017 | $5,300 | $5,802 | +9.47% |
| 31 Dec 2018 | $10,500 | $10,198 | -2.87% |
| 31 Dec 2019 | $15,700 | $18,917 | +20.49% |
| 31 Dec 2020 | $20,900 | $28,140 | +34.64% |
| 31 Dec 2021 | $26,100 | $41,547 | +59.18% |
| 31 Dec 2022 | $31,300 | $38,354 | +22.54% |
| 31 Dec 2023 | $36,600 | $53,568 | +46.36% |
| 31 Dec 2024 | $41,800 | $71,709 | +71.55% |
| 31 Dec 2025 | $47,000 | $89,231 | +89.85% |
| 11 Nov 2026 | $51,500 | $104,123 | +102.18% |
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 2017 be worth today?
- Investing $100 every week into S&P 500 since 1 January 2017 (515 buys, $51,500 in total) would be worth $104,123 today (+102.18%).
- Was DCA better than a lump sum for S&P 500 since 2017?
- Investing the same $51,500 in one go on 1 January 2017 would be worth $175,409 today (+240.60%), 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 2017?
- The plan was worth less than the money invested on 1.3% of days, with the longest stretch lasting 23 days (ending 8 Jan 2019).