Bitcoin DCA Calculator
Enter an amount, a rhythm and a starting year, and the calculator replays the plan on real daily Bitcoin prices back to 2010. Prefer the visual version? Use the DCA simulator. New to the idea? ReadBitcoin DCA, explained.
Result
| Total invested | $11,360 |
|---|---|
| Purchases | 568 |
| Bitcoin accumulated | 3.0781 BTC |
| Satoshis | 307,812,689 |
| Value at latest close (2026-11-11) | $226,809 |
| Average cost per bitcoin | $3,691 |
| Net result | $215,449 (+1,896.6% vs invested) |
See this plan in the simulator
Compared with
| Invested into | |
|---|---|
| Value at latest close | |
| Return on past data |
Year by year
| Year | Purchases | Total invested | Bitcoin | Value at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 53 | $1,060 | 1.9907 BTC | $1,938 |
| 2017 | 52 | $2,100 | 2.5111 BTC | $34,811 |
| 2018 | 53 | $3,160 | 2.6676 BTC | $9,849 |
| 2019 | 52 | $4,200 | 2.8320 BTC | $20,294 |
| 2020 | 52 | $5,240 | 2.9363 BTC | $85,123 |
| 2021 | 52 | $6,280 | 2.9593 BTC | $136,751 |
| 2022 | 52 | $7,320 | 3.0009 BTC | $49,606 |
| 2023 | 52 | $8,360 | 3.0387 BTC | $128,500 |
| 2024 | 53 | $9,420 | 3.0555 BTC | $285,241 |
| 2025 | 52 | $10,460 | 3.0659 BTC | $268,257 |
| 2026 | 45 | $11,360 | 3.0781 BTC | $226,809 |
Prices: daily BTC/USD closes, Coinbase via btcdollarcostaverage.com, from 18 August 2010. The current year row runs only to the latest close. Education only, not financial advice. Past performance does not predict future results.
A DCA calculator replays a savings plan on real historical prices. You fix an amount and a schedule, and it works out every purchase the plan would have made: how much you would have put in, how much Bitcoin those purchases add up to, your average cost per bitcoin, and what the stack is worth at the latest price. It answers "what would steady buying have done?" with numbers instead of opinions.
Enter the amount you could set aside each time, pick how often (hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly), and choose the year the plan starts. Press Calculate. Below the result you get a year-by-year table and, if you pick a benchmark under "Compare with", the same plan replayed into gold, the S&P 500, NVIDIA or MSCI World. For the visual version with the growth chart, open the same plan in the simulator.
DCA suits beginners who want to build a Bitcoin position out of regular cashflow without watching the price or trying to time an entry. It is a habit, not a guarantee: plans can sit below what you put in for years. The main alternatives are buying one lump sum, value averaging (adjusting each purchase to hit a target growth path), and active trading. The guide at Bitcoin DCA, explained walks through where each one fits.
The formula
Every purchase buys the same dollar amount, so each one adds amount ÷ price that dayto the stack. Two numbers describe the whole plan:
- Average cost = total invested ÷ total Bitcoin accumulated
- Value today = total Bitcoin × the latest closing price
Because cheap days buy more Bitcoin, the average cost lands below the simple average of the prices along the way. A small example, five monthly buys of $100:
| Month | Amount | Bitcoin price | Bitcoin bought |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | $100 | $30,000 | 0.003333 BTC |
| Month 2 | $100 | $24,000 | 0.004167 BTC |
| Month 3 | $100 | $36,000 | 0.002778 BTC |
| Month 4 | $100 | $48,000 | 0.002083 BTC |
| Month 5 | $100 | $40,000 | 0.002500 BTC |
| Total | $500 | Average price $35,600 | 0.014861 BTC |
Average cost: $500 ÷ 0.014861 = $33,645, noticeably under the $35,600 average price, because the $24,000 month bought the most Bitcoin. The example is simplified and hypothetical; the calculator above runs the same maths on real daily prices.
How dollar-cost averaging works
- Choose the asset. Here it is Bitcoin, bought in dollars.
- Set a schedule. Hourly, daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
- Fix the amount. The same dollars every time, whatever the price does.
- Stick to it. The plan buys more when the price is low and less when it is high, without any timing decisions.
Questions
How is the average cost calculated?
Total invested divided by total Bitcoin accumulated. Each purchase buys amount divided by that day's closing price, so cheap days contribute more Bitcoin and pull the average cost below the simple average of the prices along the way.
Does the calculator include fees or taxes?
No. The replay uses raw closing prices with no exchange fees, no spread and no taxes, so a real plan costs slightly more than the simulation shows.
What does the hourly frequency mean?
No public hourly price series reaches back to 2010, so an hourly plan is modelled as 24 equal purchases per day, all at that day's closing price. The total per day is 24 times the amount entered.
Can a DCA plan end up worth less than the amount put in?
Yes. A plan that starts near a price peak can sit below its invested amount for years. Dollar-cost averaging smooths the entry price; it does not remove risk. Past performance does not predict future results.
How does the comparison with gold or the S&P 500 work?
The same amount on the same schedule is replayed into the benchmark instead of Bitcoin, using its weekly closing prices carried forward to each purchase date. The comparison starts at the benchmark's first available price, so for younger benchmarks the invested total can be smaller. Both sides are past data, before fees and taxes.