S&P 500 Calculator
The S&P 500 tracks 500 of the largest US companies and is the world's most-watched stock index. The calculator above projects an investment using its long-run average return — nominal, inflation-adjusted, or your own assumption.
Where the ~10% figure comes from
Over roughly the past century the S&P 500 has returned about 10% per year on average with dividends reinvested — around 6–7% after inflation. That average conceals enormous variation: individual years have ranged from −37% to +38%, and there have been decades (like 2000–2009) with roughly zero total return. Use the inflation-adjusted option to think in today's purchasing power, and treat every projection as an illustration, not a promise. To see what actually happened over a specific period, use the S&P 500 historical returns calculator.
How Europeans invest in the S&P 500
EU investors can't buy the well-known US funds (VOO, SPY); instead you buy a UCITS S&P 500 ETF — such as iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS (CSPX) or Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS (VUAA) — with ongoing fees as low as 0.03–0.07%. Two things to know: an accumulating share class reinvests dividends automatically, and as a euro investor you carry USD/EUR currency risk on top of market risk. Also remember the S&P 500 is one country's market — our ETF guide covers globally diversified alternatives, and the broker comparison shows where to buy at the lowest cost.
Lump sum or monthly investing?
If you have a lump sum ready, historical data says investing it immediately has beaten spreading it out about two times in three — markets rise more often than they fall. But monthly investing (dollar-cost averaging) has a different job: it removes the fear of buying at the top, and for most people the realistic alternative to "invest monthly" is not "invest everything today" but "wait and do nothing". The plan you can actually stick to wins. Model both above: a large starting amount with no contributions, versus zero start and a solid monthly amount.