Dividend Reinvestment Calculator

Project how automatically reinvesting your dividends (DRIP) grows a stock position over time, compounding both share price growth and rising dividend income.

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Results

Calculated
Final portfolio value
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Ending shares × ending share price
Total shares owned
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Starting shares plus all reinvested dividend shares
Dividends reinvested
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Cumulative dividend cash used to buy shares
Total return
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Growth vs. your initial investment

How dividend reinvestment (DRIP) works

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) uses the cash dividends a stock pays out to automatically buy more shares of that same stock, instead of paying the dividend to you in cash. Each new share bought with reinvested dividends also earns its own dividends going forward, so the share count — and the income it generates — compounds over time. Enter your starting investment, share price, dividend yield, expected growth rates, and time horizon above, then click Calculate to project the result.

The formula

This calculator steps forward one year at a time. Starting shares are your initial investment divided by the share price. In each year: the share price grows by your entered price-growth rate, the dividend per share grows by your entered dividend-growth rate, that year's dividend is paid on your current share count, and the dividend cash immediately buys more shares at that year's price. After the full period, the final portfolio value is your ending share count multiplied by the ending share price.

Understanding the inputs

Dividend yield is the current annual dividend divided by the share price, expressed as a percentage — it sets the very first year's dividend per share. Dividend growth rate is how much the dividend per share is expected to increase each year, independent of the share price. Share price growth is the expected annual change in the stock price itself, separate from dividends. All rates compound annually and are assumed to stay constant for the full period.

Interpreting the results

Final portfolio value is the projected worth of your position at the end of the period. Total shares owned shows how much your original share count grew purely from reinvested dividends. Dividends reinvested is the cumulative dollar amount of dividend income that went back into buying shares over the whole period. Total return compares the final value to your initial investment — note it does not separate price appreciation from dividend compounding, since both are blended into the ending share price and share count.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dividend reinvestment (DRIP)?
Dividend reinvestment means using the cash dividends a stock pays out to automatically buy more shares of that same stock instead of taking the dividend as cash. Over time this grows your share count, and since each new share also earns dividends, the growth compounds.
What formula does this calculator use?
Starting from your initial shares (investment divided by share price), the calculator steps forward one year at a time: the share price and dividend per share each grow by their entered annual rate, that year's dividend is paid on your current share count, and the dividend cash buys additional shares at that year's price. This repeats for the full investment period, and the final value is your ending shares multiplied by the ending share price.
How do taxes affect dividend reinvestment?
This calculator ignores taxes. In a standard taxable brokerage account, reinvested dividends are still taxable income in the year they are paid, even though you never receive the cash. In a tax-advantaged account like an IRA or 401(k), reinvested dividends are not taxed until withdrawal (or never, for a Roth). Your actual after-tax growth will be lower than the figures shown here.
What assumptions does this calculator make?
It assumes dividends and price growth compound once per year at constant rates you set, with every dividend fully reinvested and no fees, taxes, or reinvestment discounts. Real dividend growth and share prices fluctuate year to year, so treat the result as an illustration of compounding, not a forecast.