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Dividend Calculator

Dividend calculator: shares, price and dividend per share give yield, yearly and monthly income, and with DRIP a year-by-year table against taking the cash. How it works

Use the Dividend Calculator

Whole years, 0 to 100.

Taken from each dividend before it is reinvested. Leave empty for none.

Portfolio value at the end
$11,682.96
Total dividends paid $2,751.05 · Yield on cost (next payout) 5.38%

Dividend income

Yield on cost is the next payout per share divided by the price you paid per share.

Initial investment
$5,000.00
Starting annual income
$200.00
Starting yield
4.00%
Annual income at the end (next payout)
$385.56
Monthly average at the end
$32.13
Dividend per share at the end
$5.38
Yield at the end (on the share price then)
3.30%
Shares at the end
71.7232
Share price at the end
$162.89
Total return (reinvesting)
+133.7%

Assumes one dividend a year, paid at the start of each year on the shares held then; with reinvestment it buys shares at that year's starting price. New money you add buys shares at the start of each year too (a monthly amount is added as 12 times that amount at the start of the year), and those shares are paid their first dividend the next year. Taxes and fees are not included.

Reinvesting compared with taking cash

If the same dividends were paid out as cash instead, you would keep 50.00 shares worth $8,144.47 plus the cash received, $10,437.25 in all. Reinvesting ends at $11,682.96, which is more by $1,245.71 (+$1,245.71).

Each table row ends at the price after growth, and the last row equals the Portfolio Value at the End.

About the Dividend Calculator

50 shares at $100 paying $4 a share bring in $200.00 a year, a 4.00% yield. With the dividend growing 3% a year, the price 5% a year and every dividend reinvested, the dividend calculator shows the holding worth $11,682.96 after 10 years. The next payout, due at the start of year 11, is $385.56 for the year, 5.38% on what you paid. The end-of-period figures on this page always mean that next payout. Against the $5,000.00 invested that is a total return of +133.7%, and $1,245.71 more than taking the dividends as cash ($10,437.25).

Year by year with DRIP: 50 shares at $100 paying $4

YearShares at startPrice at startDividend per shareDividendsNew sharesPrice at endValue at end
150.00$100.00$4.00$200.002.000$105.00$5,460.00
252.00$105.00$4.12$214.242.040$110.25$5,957.95
354.04$110.25$4.24$229.332.080$115.76$6,496.64
558.24$121.55$4.50$262.202.157$127.63$7,708.29
1069.39$155.13$5.22$362.152.334$162.89$11,682.96

Rows of the yearly breakdown the page shows, with the price growing 5% a year and the dividend 3%. Each dividend buys shares at that year’s starting price, and the last row’s value is the portfolio value at the end.

$5,000 of a 4% yielder with and without reinvesting

Years heldValue with DRIPIncome a year at the end, DRIPValue without DRIPCash dividends receivedIncome a year at the end, no DRIP
10 years$11,682.96$385.56$8,144.47$2,292.78$268.78
20 years$25,652.43$698.47$13,266.49$5,374.07$361.22
30 years$53,492.68$1,201.69$21,609.71$9,515.08$485.45

50 shares at $100 paying $4 a share. The dividend grows 3% a year and the price 5% a year, and one dividend is paid at the start of each year. Taxes and fees are left out.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the share price, the shares you own, the annual dividend per share and the years to hold.
  2. Enter the yearly growth you expect for the share price and for the dividend (0 for none), and any new money you add each year or each month.
  3. Choose how often the dividend is paid (once, twice, four or twelve times a year) and, if you want, a tax rate taken from each dividend.
  4. Tick DRIP to reinvest every dividend. The page adds the total return, a reinvest-versus-cash comparison and, under Show Yearly Breakdown, a row for every year.

Frequently asked questions

How much dividend income will 100 shares pay?
Shares × the annual dividend per share. 100 shares paying $2 a share bring in $200.00 a year, $16.67 a month on average. At a $50 share price that is a 4.00% yield. Set the years to hold to 0 to see only today’s figures.
What is yield on cost?
The dividend per share divided by the price you paid per share. Here it uses the next payout after the last year held. In the starting example 10 years of 3% growth take the dividend from $4.00 to $5.38, so the yield on the $100 you paid is 5.38%, while the yield on the share price then, $162.89, is 3.30%.
How much difference does reinvesting dividends make?
In this model, a lot over long periods. After 30 years the starting holding is worth $53,492.68 with reinvestment. Without it the shares are worth $21,609.71 and you have taken $9,515.08 in cash, $31,124.80 together. The extra shares also raise the income at the end: $1,201.69 a year against $485.45.
How much do I need invested to earn $1,000 a month in dividends?
At a 4% yield, $300,000. Enter 3,000 shares at $100 paying $4 a share and 0 years to hold: the tool shows $12,000.00 a year, $1,000.00 a month on average. At a lower yield you need more money for the same income, and the figure is before tax.
What if I add money every month?
Enter it under New money added and set Added every to Month. The calculator adds 12 × the monthly amount at the start of each year, buying shares at that year’s starting price. With one dividend a year those shares earn dividends from the next year; paid two, four or twelve times a year, they first earn with the second payment of that year, because the first is paid just before they are bought. With $100 a month on top of the starting example, 10 years of DRIP end at $30,586.33 and $1,009.41 a year of income from $17,000.00 put in, against $28,582.53 when the dividends are taken as cash.
When are dividends paid in this calculator?
Once a year at the start of the year by default. Choose twice, four or twelve times a year and the annual dividend is split into equal payments, the first at the start of the year; with DRIP each payment buys shares at the price at that point in the year, and the dividend per share still grows once a year. Paid quarterly, the starting example pays $2,786.32 over 10 years against $2,751.05, but ends at $11,663.79 against $11,682.96, because the later payments buy at higher prices.

Dividend income and DRIP planning

It answers what one stock or fund pays now, and what it could pay and be worth after some years. Enter the price, the shares, the dividend per share, the years, the growth you expect in the price and in the dividend, new money each year or month, and how often the dividend is paid: once, twice, four or twelve times a year. Tick DRIP to reinvest; the yearly breakdown shows the shares bought. In the example below, year 1 pays $200.00, buys 2.000 shares at $100 and ends at $5,460.00.

An optional tax rate comes off each payment first: at 25% that $200.00 becomes $150.00 reinvested, and the 10 years end with 65.6169 shares worth $10,688.30.

How the projection works

Each year:

  1. Dividend = shares held × dividend per share, split into equal payments if paid more often, less any tax.

  2. With DRIP each payment buys shares at the price at that point in the year. New money (12 × a monthly amount) buys shares at the year's starting price, with or without DRIP.

  3. The share price grows by its yearly rate and the dividend per share by its own.

After the last year, portfolio value = shares × share price and yield on cost = next dividend per share ÷ price you paid per share.

Example: 50 shares at $100 paying $4 a share once a year, held 10 years, price growth 5%, dividend growth 3%, DRIP on. The holding starts at $200.00 a year, a 4.00% yield. After 10 years you have 71.7232 shares at $162.89, worth $11,682.96, and $2,751.05 of dividends have been paid. The next payout is $5.38 a share: $385.56 a year or $32.13 a month, 5.38% on what you paid and 3.30% on the share price then.

Add $100 a month and you end with 187.7735 shares worth $30,586.33, a total return of +79.9% on the $17,000.00 put in. Taking the dividends as cash ends at $28,582.53.

Fees and price swings are left out.

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