Bitcoin DCA, explained with real prices

Q: What is dollar-cost averaging (DCA)?

Dollar-cost averaging means buying a fixed amount on a regular schedule, for example $20 every week, instead of one large purchase. The amount stays the same, so the schedule buys more when the price is low and less when it is high.

Q: How does the BitcoinSaving calculator work?

It replays one real daily BTC/USD closing price per day back to 18 August 2010. For each scheduled purchase it divides your amount by that day price and adds the Bitcoin to your total. The hourly option splits each day amount into 24 equal parts at the same day price.

Q: Can a DCA plan end up worth less than the amount put in?

Yes. Plans that started near a price peak can be worth less than the amount invested for long periods. DCA smooths the entry price; it does not remove risk. Past performance does not predict future results.

Q: How do I read the plans-by-start-year table?

Each row replays the same plan, $20 every week, starting on 1 January of that year, on the daily closing price series back to 18 August 2010, valued at the latest price in the series. Weekly plans buy every 7 days from the start date. The table shows every start year from 2016, including years where the plan sits below its invested amount, because that is part of the picture. Past performance does not predict future results.

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is buying a fixed amount on a fixed schedule, whatever the price does. This page explains the method and how our calculator turns it into numbers.

DCA Simulator

The visual one: banknote amount cards, a starting-year wheel, the green result panel and a growth chart you can scrub.

Open the simulator

DCA Calculator

The form one: type an amount, pick a rhythm and a start year, get the numbers plus a year-by-year table.

Open the calculator

The idea in one paragraph

Instead of deciding when Bitcoin is cheap, you pick an amount you can repeat, for example $20 a week, and a schedule. Every purchase buys whatever that amount is worth that day. Across years of rising and falling prices, your average cost lands somewhere in the middle of the range, and you never had to time anything.

How the calculator computes a plan

One daily BTC/USD closing price per day, back to 18 August 2010.
For hourly plans, each day's amount is split into 24 equal purchases at that day's price, because no public hourly series reaches back to 2010.
Total invested is simply amount times number of purchases.
Average cost is total invested divided by total Bitcoin accumulated.
No fees, no taxes, no spread. Real buying costs a little more than the simulation.

Where DCA helps, and where it does not

Helps	Does not
Removes timing decisions and panic buying	Protect a plan from falling prices
Fits a salary rhythm: small, repeatable amounts	Beat a lucky lump sum bought at the bottom
Smooths the entry price across a full cycle	Protect a plan that starts at a peak and stops early

Compare the two entry styles in detail on Lump sum vs DCA, or see the difference in small units with the sats converter.

The price history behind every plan is on the data page, and if you have a target amount in mind, the goal planner counts the weeks at today's price. For a single amount rather than a schedule, theBTC to USD converter does the conversion, and background in plain language is in the Learn hub.

Plans by start year: $20 a week

The same plan, started in different years, plays out very differently, because the price on each purchase day was different. The table below replays one plan, $20 every week, from 1 January of each start year, on the same daily closing price series the calculator uses, valued at the latest price in the series. Weekly plans buy every 7 days from the start date. Every year from 2016 is shown, including years where the plan sits below the amount put in. The current year row is partial: it runs only to the latest close in the series.

Loading the start-year plans…

Pick any row and run the exact plan in the calculator, or change the amount and the rhythm there. The data page shows the yearly prices behind these rows, and Lump sum vs DCA replays the same money as one purchase instead of weekly buys.

Questions

What is dollar-cost averaging (DCA)?

Buying a fixed amount on a regular schedule instead of one large purchase. The fixed amount buys more when the price is low and less when it is high.

How does the BitcoinSaving calculator work?

It replays one real daily closing price per day back to 2010, divides each scheduled amount by that day's price, and adds up the Bitcoin. Hourly splits each day into 24 equal parts at the same price.

Can a DCA plan end up worth less than the amount put in?

Yes. A plan started near a peak can sit below its invested amount for years. DCA smooths the entry price; it does not remove risk. Past performance does not predict future results.

How do I read the plans-by-start-year table?

Each row is the same $20 weekly plan, started on 1 January of that year and valued at the latest price in the series. The table shows every start year from 2016, including years where the plan sits below its invested amount. Past performance does not predict future results.

Try it with your amount