₹1,000 SIP for 3 Years
What an ₹1,000 monthly SIP actually grows to over 3 years — at four different return rates, not one optimistic guess.
Quick answer
An ₹1,000 monthly SIP held for 3 years grows to roughly ₹43,508 if it earns 12% a year. You would have invested ₹36,000 of your own money, so about ₹7,508 of that total is growth — 1.21 times what you put in. At a more conservative 8% the same SIP reaches about ₹40,806, which is why the rate you assume matters more than any other input.
Estimated corpus at 12%
₹43,508
₹36,000 invested · ₹7,508 growth · 1.21x
₹1,000 SIP for 3 years at different returns
The return rate is the one input nobody can know in advance, so here is the whole range rather than a single figure. Your invested amount stays ₹36,000 in every row — only the growth changes.
| Annual return | Final corpus | Growth | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | ₹40,806 | ₹4,806 | 1.13x |
| 10% | ₹42,130 | ₹6,130 | 1.17x |
| 12% (shown above) | ₹43,508 | ₹7,508 | 1.21x |
| 15% | ₹45,679 | ₹9,679 | 1.27x |
What waiting costs you
This is the number that actually changes behaviour, and almost nobody publishes it. Same ₹1,000 a month, same 12% return, same 3-year finish line — you just start later.
Delaying by 3 years costs about ₹43,508 — far more than the ₹36,000 of instalments you skipped. The gap is the compounding those early years would have done, and it cannot be made up later by investing more.
Change the numbers yourself
Set your own amount, rate and duration.
Your investment
Equity mutual funds have historically returned 10–14% over the long term. Returns are not guaranteed.
Projected value
₹50.46L
₹50,45,760
Before you rely on this figure
The projection assumes you never miss an instalment, the return is steady, and you do not withdraw along the way. Real investing is none of those things. Treat ₹43,508 as the shape of the outcome, not a figure to plan a commitment around.
Two things also reduce what reaches you. The fund’s expense ratio is deducted before the return you see, so a fund charging 1.5% a year needs to earn that much more just to match a cheaper one. And gains are taxable when you redeem — see capital gains and the capital gains calculator.
If your income will rise over these 3 years, a step-up SIP reaches a meaningfully larger corpus for very little extra strain. And if you are working backwards from a target amount instead of a monthly one, the goal SIP calculator tells you the instalment you need. For how a SIP works at all, start with our SIP explainer or the guide on SIP vs lump sum.
Frequently asked questions
How much will I get from an ₹1,000 SIP in 3 years?+
At an assumed 12% annual return, about ₹43,508, against ₹36,000 invested. The honest range matters though: at 8% it is roughly ₹40,806 and at 15% roughly ₹45,679. Nobody can tell you which you will get.
Is 12% a realistic return to assume?+
It is a common planning assumption for Indian equity funds over long periods, not a promise or a guarantee. Actual returns are not smooth — a period that averages 12% will still contain years with double-digit losses. If you are planning something you cannot afford to miss, run the numbers at 8% or 10% instead and treat anything above that as upside.
How much of the ₹43,508 is my own money?+
₹36,000 is your own contribution and ₹7,508 is growth. Over 3 years, growth is 17% of the final figure. That proportion rises sharply with time, which is the entire argument for starting early rather than investing more.
What if I stop the SIP partway through?+
The units you already bought stay invested and keep compounding, but the instalments you skip are gone from the calculation permanently. Stopping during a market fall is the most expensive version of this, because those are precisely the months when your fixed amount buys the most units.
Will I have to pay tax on the maturity amount?+
You pay tax on the gains when you redeem, not on the full amount, and equity fund gains held over a year are taxed as long-term capital gains. Our capital gains calculator works out the figure for your own holding, and the rules are summarised in our capital gains glossary entry.
Should I increase the SIP amount each year instead?+
Usually yes, and it changes the outcome substantially. A step-up SIP that rises with your salary reaches a far larger corpus than a flat one for very little extra pain, since each increase comes out of a raise rather than your current budget. Our step-up SIP calculator shows the difference for your own numbers.