---
title: "SIP Delay Calculator: Cost of Starting Late | RupeeCase"
description: "SIP delay calculator: the cost of starting a monthly SIP a few years later, and the higher SIP needed to catch up to the same value by the same date."
source_url: "https://www.rupeecase.com/learn/tools/sip-delay-calculator"
---

Cost of waiting 5 years**₹77.5 L**46.0% of what starting now builds
Start now: value after 25 years**₹1.69 Cr**invested ₹30.0 L
Start in 5 years: value on the same date**₹91.1 L**invested ₹24.0 L
Monthly SIP needed to catch up**₹18,505**for 20 years, 1.85 times the SIP
Extra each month to catch up**₹8,505**
Total invested to catch up**₹44.4 L**against ₹30.0 L starting now
Cost of waiting at the Dynamic Asset Allocator model CAGR**₹298.84 Cr**Dynamic Asset Allocator, model, back tested CAGR 45.18% as of 27 Apr 2026. Not a promise of future returns.

* Start now
* Start in 5 years
* Catch up SIP
* Start now at the Dynamic Asset Allocator model CAGR

Both SIPs end on the same date; instalments at month end, monthly rate 0.949% from 12.0% a year.
      Share this resultReset

  01How it works

## In plain words.
Two SIPs of the same amount end on the same date: one starts today, the other after the delay. The late SIP has fewer instalments, and it loses the stretch of compounding when the balance would have been largest. The calculator compares the two values, then solves the SIP formula backwards for the instalment that, started after the delay, reaches what starting now builds.

    The formula

`i = (1 + r)^(1/12) - 1; n = years x 12; n2 = (years - delay) x 12``Start now = SIP x ((1 + i)^n - 1) / i; start late = SIP x ((1 + i)^n2 - 1) / i``Cost of waiting = start now - start late``Catch up SIP = start now x i / ((1 + i)^n2 - 1)`

  02Worked example

## The default numbers, by hand.
Rs 10,000 a month at 12% a year for 25 years builds about Rs 1.69 crore. Started 5 years later, the same SIP runs 20 years and builds about Rs 91.1 lakh, so the wait costs about Rs 77.5 lakh, 46% of the value, while it skips only Rs 6 lakh of instalments. To reach Rs 1.69 crore in 20 years the SIP has to be about Rs 18,500 a month, 1.85 times as much, and about Rs 44.4 lakh goes in against Rs 30 lakh.

| Input | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Monthly SIP | ₹10,000 |
| Delay before starting | 5 years |
| Expected return a year | 12% |
| Years to the goal date, from today | 25 years |

| Result | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Cost of waiting 5 years | ₹77.5 L |
| Start now: value after 25 years | ₹1.69 Cr |
| Start in 5 years: value on the same date | ₹91.1 L |
| Monthly SIP needed to catch up | ₹18,505 |
| Extra each month to catch up | ₹8,505 |
| Total invested to catch up | ₹44.4 L |
| Cost of waiting at the Dynamic Asset Allocator model CAGR | ₹298.84 Cr |

  03Key concepts

## What to know before you use it.

### Why the lost years cost so much
Compounding works on the balance, and the balance is largest at the end. Starting five years late removes five years of growth on the whole pot, not five years of small early balances, which is why the cost is far larger than the instalments skipped.

### Ways to catch up
A later start can reach the same value with a larger SIP, a yearly step up or a longer horizon. The step up SIP calculator and the goal planner show the other two levers.

### Good to know

* A small SIP started now keeps the time on your side; it can be raised later with a step up.
* At a higher assumed return the cost of waiting is larger, because each year of compounding is worth more. At 0% a delay costs only the instalments skipped.
* A constant return is a simplification; actual values on any date can be above or below these lines.

  04Assumptions

## What the calculator assumes.

* One constant return; instalments at the end of each month, no missed instalments.
* Both SIPs end on the same date; the delay is in whole years.
* Tax, exit load and expense ratio are not deducted; the capital gains tax calculator covers the tax on equity gains. The default 12% is an assumption for illustration, not a forecast.

  05Questions

## Asked about the SIP delay cost calculator.
What is the cost of delaying a SIP?The difference between what a SIP started today and the same SIP started later are worth on the same future date. Rs 10,000 a month at 12% for 25 years against 20 years is a gap of about Rs 77.5 lakh.

How much more SIP do I need if I start late?Solve the SIP formula for the shorter period: catch up SIP = target x i / ((1 + i)^n2 - 1). Starting 5 years into a 25 year plan at 12% needs about 1.85 times the SIP.

Does the cost of delay depend on the return?Yes. The higher the return, the more each year of compounding is worth and the more a delay costs. At 0% a delay costs only the instalments skipped.

    Explore next

## Learn the idea behind the numbers.

* [GuideHow to invest your first salary: an order of steps that worksEmergency fund, insurance, EPF, tax regime, then a first SIP, worked on a real budget.](/guides/first-salary-investing)
* [GuideHow to invest for your child's education: the cost, the monthly amount and the glide pathThe future cost, the monthly amount at different returns, and the glide path out of equity.](/guides/child-education-investing)
* [Blog noteThe average year mythReturns and risk maths, a short note](/blog/2026-07-08-morning-average-year-myth/)
* [Blog noteSIP vs lump sum: time in the marketPersonal finance and tax, a short note](/blog/2026-06-10-evening-sip-vs-lump-sum/)

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06Keep going

## Learn the idea, see it applied.

  [Module 2.1Why Rules Beat Gut Feeling9 min read, Path 02](/learn/path-2/module-2-1-why-rules-beat-gut-feeling)[Module 8.1Why Investors Lose: Introduction to Behavioural Finance11 min read, Path 08](/learn/path-8/module-8-1-why-investors-lose-introduction-to-behavioural-finance)[The matching indexLarge Mid Hybrid40 equity stocks plus 20% LiquidCase. 80/20 equity-plus-debt on the LargeMidCap 250.CAGR33.2%Sharpe1.67Max DD−18.3%Model, back tested, as of 27 Apr 2026. Not client returns, not a promise. Risk band: Moderate.](/strategies/large-mid-hybrid)

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