What If I Invested It?
See the true cost of any purchase over time
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How many years ago did you make this purchase?
Enter an amount and how many years ago to see what it would be worth if invested.
What If I Had Invested It?
$1,000 put into the S&P 500 at the start of 2016 grew to about $3,936 by the end of 2025 with dividends reinvested, a 14.7% yearly return. Over the full 1928 to 2025 record the average was 10.0% a year. Enter any amount and number of years above to see what it could have become in six assets, using long-run past averages.
What the Past Returns Actually Were
Compound annual returns, before inflation, taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict future returns.
| Asset | Period | Average per year | $1,000 became |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (with dividends) | 1928 to 2025 | 10.0% | $11.6 million |
| S&P 500 (with dividends) | 2006 to 2025 | 10.9% | $7,925 |
| S&P 500 (with dividends) | 2016 to 2025 | 14.7% | $3,936 |
| Nasdaq-100 | Jan 1985 to Jan 2025 | 14.25% | about $206,000 |
| Gold | 1971 to 2025 | 9.0% | $116,099 |
| Gold | 2016 to 2025 | 15.1% | $4,094 |
| 10-year Treasury bond | 1928 to 2025 | 4.5% | $77,529 |
| 10-year Treasury bond | 2016 to 2025 | 0.9% | $1,098 |
| 3-month Treasury bill | 1928 to 2025 | 3.4% | $25,783 |
| Bitcoin | Apr 2013 to Dec 2025 | about 67% | about $653,000 |
Gold's price was fixed by the US government until 1971, which is why its return is shown from 1971. Bitcoin went from about $134 in late April 2013, when CoinMarketCap's price history begins, to about $87,500 at the end of 2025, with falls of 75% or more along the way.
$1,000 at the Calculator's Rates
| Asset (rate used) | 5 years | 10 years | 20 years | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (10%) | $1,611 | $2,594 | $6,727 | $17,449 |
| Nasdaq 100 (14%) | $1,925 | $3,707 | $13,743 | $50,950 |
| Gold (9%) | $1,539 | $2,367 | $5,604 | $13,268 |
| Treasury bonds (4.5%) | $1,246 | $1,553 | $2,412 | $3,745 |
| Savings (2%) | $1,104 | $1,219 | $1,486 | $1,811 |
| Bitcoin (60%) | $10,486 | $109,951 | not shown | not shown |
Bitcoin is not shown for periods longer than 13 years because it had no meaningful market price before 2013.
Why Past Returns Can Mislead
Start and end dates change everything
The S&P 500 returned 14.7% a year over 2016 to 2025 but 10.0% a year over the whole record. Pick a start just before a crash, such as 2000 or 2007, and the next decade looks far worse. Bitcoin's average swings even more with the start date.
Inflation
All figures are nominal. At 3% inflation, a 10% return is roughly 7% in real buying power, so $1,000 over 20 years grows to about $3,870 in today's dollars rather than $6,727.
Taxes and fees
Index funds charge very little, but taxes on dividends and gains in a regular brokerage account reduce the result. Retirement accounts such as a 401(k) or IRA can defer or avoid those taxes.
Method and sources. Calculator: value = amount × (1 + rate)years, with the fixed rates shown in the results. Past returns: NYU Stern (Aswath Damodaran), Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds, Bills, Real Estate and Gold, 1928 to 2025 (S&P 500 including dividends, 10-year Treasury bond, 3-month Treasury bill, gold); Nasdaq, 40th anniversary of the Nasdaq-100 (January 2025); Bitcoin prices from CoinMarketCap historical data. Savings rates: FDIC national rates and rate caps, monthly table for 21 September 2026 (savings 0.37%, money market 0.63%, 12-month CD 1.73%); the high-yield figure of 4% is the level a typical online savings account pays today, which is not a published average and can change any month. All returns computed from those series. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For illustration only, not investment advice.
Investment Questions
Each asset grows at one fixed yearly rate, based on long-run past averages: S&P 500 10% (1928 to 2025 average with dividends, NYU Stern / Damodaran data); Nasdaq 100 14% (14.25% a year from its 1985 launch to January 2025, per Nasdaq); gold 9% (1971 to 2025); 10-year Treasury bonds 4.5% (1928 to 2025); savings 0.37%, the FDIC national average rate for savings accounts on 21 September 2026, and high-yield savings 4%, the level a typical online account pays today, which is not guaranteed and can change any month; and Bitcoin 60%, an assumption well below its actual average since 2013 (about 67% a year from April 2013 to the end of 2025), shown only for periods of 13 years or less. Real returns vary a lot from year to year, and past performance does not guarantee future results.
For most ordinary investors over long time horizons (10+ years), the S&P 500 index is widely considered the gold standard by financial experts. It offers broad diversification across 500 of the largest US companies, low costs (index ETFs charge as little as 0.03% annually), and a historically consistent return of around 10 to 11% per year. Warren Buffett has repeatedly recommended low-cost S&P 500 index funds for most investors. However, over shorter periods or specific time windows, other assets like Bitcoin or Nasdaq have dramatically outperformed. The key advantage of the S&P 500 is consistency: it has never permanently lost value over any 20-year period in history, while individual stocks, Bitcoin, and commodities can lose 80 to 90% of value temporarily.
Opportunity cost is the value of what you give up when you choose one option over another. When you spend $1,000 on something, the opportunity cost is not just the $1,000: it's everything that money could have grown into if invested. A $1,000 purchase made 20 years ago had an opportunity cost of roughly $6,700 in S&P 500 terms (at 10% annual return). This is why financial advisors talk about "paying your future self first": because money invested early has much more time to compound. The opportunity cost of small recurring purchases is especially significant: a $5 daily coffee habit over 10 years costs $18,250, and invested at 10% a year instead that money would have grown to roughly $30,000.
Compound interest means you earn returns not just on your initial investment but also on all the returns you've already earned. This creates exponential growth over time. Example: $1,000 at 10% annual return. Year 1: $1,100 (earned $100). Year 2: $1,210 (earned $110, including $10 on last year's gains). Year 10: $2,594. Year 20: $6,727. Year 30: $17,449. The rule of 72 gives a quick estimate: divide 72 by the annual return rate to get the approximate number of years to double your money. At 10%, money doubles every 7.2 years. At 7%, every 10.3 years. This is why starting early matters enormously: an extra 10 years can more than double the final outcome.
Bitcoin's extraordinary historical returns reflect the growth from essentially zero value to a mainstream asset worth tens of thousands of dollars. From 2013 (when it first reached meaningful liquidity) to 2024, Bitcoin's annualized return has been roughly 60 to 100% per year on average. However, this figure is highly misleading for future projections. Bitcoin experienced drops of roughly 75% to 85% from peak to trough in 2014, 2018 and 2022. Anyone who bought near the top of a cycle and needed to sell saw devastating losses. The future trajectory of Bitcoin is genuinely unknown: it could continue appreciating, stabilize as a store of value, or fail. The calculator shows historical returns for context, not as a prediction or recommendation.
The easiest way to invest in the S&P 500 is through a low-cost index ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) or index mutual fund. Top options: VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF), expense ratio 0.03%. SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF): expense ratio 0.09%, most liquid. IVV (iShares Core S&P 500 ETF): expense ratio 0.03%. These can be purchased through any brokerage: Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard offer commission-free trading on ETFs. For beginners, setting up automatic monthly purchases ("dollar-cost averaging") removes the emotional decision of when to buy.
Yes: the returns shown in this calculator are nominal returns, meaning they include inflation. To get real (inflation-adjusted) returns, you need to subtract inflation. If the S&P 500 returns 10% nominally and inflation is 3%, the real return is approximately 7%. Over 20 years, this makes a significant difference: $1,000 at 10% nominal = $6,727 in 20 years. $1,000 at 7% real (inflation-adjusted) = $3,870. In other words, measured in today's buying power your $1,000 grows to about $3,870, not $6,727. Gold is often cited as an inflation hedge, though its real (inflation-adjusted) long-term return is much lower than commonly believed: closer to 1 to 2% per year in real terms historically.
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals (e.g., $100 every month) regardless of market conditions. When prices are low, you automatically buy more shares; when prices are high, you buy fewer. Over time, this results in a lower average cost per share than trying to time the market. Research consistently shows that even professional investors rarely outperform simple DCA strategies over the long run. DCA also removes emotional decision-making: the temptation to wait for a "better time" to invest often results in missing the best market days, which are unpredictable. Studies show that missing just the 10 best trading days in a decade can cut overall returns by half. The best time to invest is consistently, starting today.
Gold's nominal return since the US left the gold standard in 1971 has been about 8% to 9% a year, but its real (inflation-adjusted) return over the very long run is much lower. This means gold barely maintains purchasing power over the very long term. However, gold has specific advantages: it tends to hold value during financial crises and stock market crashes, acts as a hedge against severe inflation and currency devaluation, and is uncorrelated with stocks (it often goes up when stocks go down). Gold does not produce income (no dividends or interest). Most financial advisors recommend gold as a small portion (5 to 10%) of a diversified portfolio for stability, not as a primary wealth-building vehicle. In contrast, the S&P 500 has dramatically outperformed gold in real terms over any 30-year period in modern history.
No: and this is one of the most important financial truths. The best time to start investing was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Even starting at age 50 or 55 with consistent monthly investments gives you 15 to 20 years of compound growth before typical retirement age. Example: $500 per month invested at 10% annually for 20 years = approximately $343,000. For 30 years = approximately $985,000. The key insight from this calculator is not to feel regret about past purchases but to understand the value of redirecting even small amounts to investments starting now. The money you invest today will be worth significantly more in 10, 20, or 30 years regardless of when you start.
Invested at the start of 2016 with dividends reinvested, $1,000 had grown to about $3,936 by the end of 2025, a compound return of 14.7% a year (NYU Stern / Damodaran data). That decade was stronger than average: over 1928 to 2025 the S&P 500 returned 10.0% a year, which would turn $1,000 into about $2,594 in ten years.
Including reinvested dividends, the S&P 500 returned about 10.0% a year from 1928 through 2025, compounded, before inflation (NYU Stern / Damodaran). Individual years ranged from large losses, such as 2008, to gains of more than 30%. After inflation, the long-run return is roughly 6% to 7% a year. This calculator uses 10% for the S&P 500.