Dividend Reinvestment Calculator
Compare putting dividends back into your investment with keeping them as cash. See how each choice could affect your total value.
Inputs used
What difference could reinvesting dividends make?
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What this means
Reinvestment changes what compoundsThe model compares reinvesting dividends with holding them as cash that earns no return. Dividends and price growth are assumptions, not promises. Try changing each separately.
Free educational illustration only. Results depend on your assumptions and may not fit your circumstances. This tool does not provide individualized advice; do not use it as your sole basis for a financial decision. Read the financial disclosures.
Annual simplified model with constant yield and price growth, no contributions, fees, or taxes. Dividends can change or stop. Total return includes dividends; do not enter a total return as price growth.
How this calculator works
Annual reinvested value compounds price growth plus dividend yield. Without reinvestment, capital grows at the price growth rate and annual dividends are accumulated as uninvested cash based on each year’s opening value.
Model assumptions: Annual simplified model with constant yield and price growth, no contributions, fees, or taxes. Dividends can change or stop. Total return includes dividends; do not enter a total return as price growth.
Model reviewed: October 10, 2026. Outputs are rounded for display; calculations use unrounded values. Defaults and return comparisons are illustrative, not recommended assumptions.
Worked example
Starting with $10,000, a constant 3% annual dividend yield and 4% annual price growth excluding dividends illustrate $38,696.84 after 20 years with annual reinvestment. Taxes and fees are excluded, and dividends are not guaranteed.
Hypothetical example, calculated with this tool’s model; not a forecast or recommended assumption.
Load this example in the calculator ↗Common questions
Should price growth include dividends?
No. Enter price growth excluding dividends, then enter the dividend yield separately. Using total return as price growth would count dividends twice.
How does this DRIP model reinvestment?
It applies constant annual price growth and opening-year dividend yield, with annual reinvestment. The cash-dividend comparison holds distributions as cash earning no return. Actual dividends, reinvestment timing, taxes, and fees can differ.