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Dividend Calculator

Project your dividend income, with or without reinvesting.

What is a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP)?
A DRIP automatically uses each dividend payment to buy more shares instead of paying it out as cash, which compounds your position over time. This calculator shows both paths side by side: taking the dividends as cash income, or reinvesting them.

Your numbers

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How much the per-share dividend itself grows each year — separate from share price.

Enter your numbers and press Calculate to see your results.

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Cash Dividends vs. Reinvesting (DRIP)

This calculator projects two different outcomes from the same investment: taking each year’s dividend as cash income, or reinvesting it to buy more shares (a DRIP). Both assume the share price itself stays flat — this is a dividend-income and reinvestment projection, not a total-return forecast, since predicting future price movement isn’t something a calculator can responsibly do.

The dividend growth rate models a common pattern in dividend-growth investing: many companies raise their per-share dividend over time, so the yield on your original investment ("yield on cost") rises even if the market yield on the stock doesn’t change.

Reinvesting compounds faster because the growing dividend income itself buys more shares, which then pay their own dividends — the same compounding principle as interest, just funded by dividends instead of a fixed rate.

How this is calculated

Cash path: each year's dividend = balance × yield, yield grows by the dividend growth rate, balance grows only by contributions. DRIP path: balance compounds at the dividend yield via the standard future-value formula.

Assumptions

  • Share price is assumed flat — this projects dividend income and reinvestment growth, not price appreciation, which is unpredictable.
  • "Take as cash" pays out each year's dividend and keeps your added contributions growing only by those contributions, not by reinvested dividends.
  • "Reinvest (DRIP)" compounds the account at the dividend yield instead, the standard simplification for a dividend-reinvestment projection.
  • The dividend growth rate raises the effective yield on your original cost each year, a common way dividend-growth investors track rising income over time.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn’t this model share price growth?
Future price movement isn’t predictable the way a dividend schedule or contribution plan is, so including a price-growth assumption would make the projection look more precise than it can honestly be. This tool focuses on the part that is modelable: dividend income and reinvestment compounding.
What is "yield on cost"?
Your current annual dividend divided by what you originally paid, rather than the stock’s current price. It naturally rises over time if the company keeps raising its dividend, even without the stock price moving.
Is reinvesting always better than taking cash?
For long-term growth, reinvesting typically builds a larger position faster. Taking dividends as cash makes sense when you need the income now, such as in retirement — this calculator shows both so you can compare your specific numbers.
Does a high dividend yield mean a better investment?
Not necessarily — a very high yield can sometimes signal a falling share price or an unsustainable payout. This calculator projects the numbers you enter; it doesn’t evaluate whether a particular yield is safe.

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This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and is not personalized financial advice. Rates, taxes, and financial products change — verify with providers and qualified professionals.