Dividend Calculator

Project a dividend-paying investment into the future, with dividends reinvested (a DRIP) or taken as cash. Enter your starting amount, the dividend yield, how fast the dividend and the share price grow, and a time horizon to see the future value, total dividends, your annual income and your yield on cost.

$
%
%
%
Future value
Total dividends
Dividend income
Yield on cost

A forward projection from the rates you enter, compounded annually with dividends reinvested at each year's price. Real dividends and prices do not grow at a steady rate and dividends can be cut, so treat this as an illustration, not a promise. Educational tool, not investment advice.

How to Use the Dividend Calculator

A starting amount, a yield, two growth rates and a horizon.

1

Choose reinvest or cash

Pick Reinvest dividends (DRIP) to buy more shares with every payout, or Take as cash to collect them.

2

Enter your figures

Type the starting amount, the dividend yield, how fast the dividend and share price grow each year, and the number of years.

3

Read the result

See the future value, total dividends, your annual income and yield on cost — and how much reinvesting adds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a DRIP (dividend reinvestment plan)?
A DRIP, or dividend reinvestment plan, automatically uses the cash dividends a stock or fund pays to buy more shares instead of paying you the cash. Those extra shares then earn dividends of their own, so your position and your dividend income compound over time. Many brokers and companies offer this for free, often buying fractional shares. This calculator shows what that reinvestment does over the years, and lets you compare it against simply taking the dividends as cash.
How does this dividend calculator work?
Enter your starting investment, the current dividend yield, how fast you expect the dividend to grow each year, how fast you expect the share price to grow, and a number of years. Each year the calculator pays the dividend, optionally reinvests it to buy more shares at that year's price, and grows the share price — then reports the projected value, the total dividends paid, your annual dividend income at the end and your yield on cost. Switch between Reinvest dividends and Take as cash to see the difference. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
What is yield on cost?
Yield on cost is your annual dividend income divided by what you originally invested, rather than by today's price. As a company raises its dividend over the years — and as reinvested dividends buy you more shares — your income keeps growing against a fixed original cost, so the yield on cost climbs well above the yield you started with. It is the number that captures why long-term dividend-growth investors care less about the starting yield and more about dividend growth.
Are these projections guaranteed?
No. This is a forward projection built entirely from the assumptions you enter — a steady dividend yield, a constant dividend growth rate and a constant share-price growth rate. Real dividends can be cut or suspended, prices fall as well as rise, and none of these grow at a smooth rate, so treat the result as an illustration of how reinvestment and dividend growth compound, not a promise. It is an educational tool, not investment advice; a real portfolio will differ, and dividends are never guaranteed.