Model dividend reinvestment over time. See how reinvesting dividends compounds share count and income, and compare DRIP vs. taking cash dividends.
A Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) automatically uses dividend payments to purchase additional shares of the same stock. Over time that increases the share count, which can increase future dividend income and total position value.
Our DRIP Calculator models this process year by year. Enter your initial shares, dividend per share, expected dividend growth rate, and stock-price growth rate to see how the position compounds over 5, 10, 20, or more years. The tool shows total shares accumulated, annual income, and portfolio value - with and without reinvestment for comparison.
DRIP is a common long-term accumulation strategy because the share count itself grows over time. This calculator shows that compounding in a simple year-by-year model rather than relying on a vague rule of thumb.
The difference between reinvesting dividends and taking them as cash can become large over long holding periods. This calculator turns that compounding gap into concrete share-count, income, and portfolio-value numbers for your own assumptions.
Each year: Dividend Income = Shares x Dividend per Share. New Shares from DRIP = Dividend Income / Stock Price. Shares grow each year, and both dividend per share and stock price grow at their respective rates. No-DRIP comparison: the same dividends are taken as cash without reinvestment.
Result: With DRIP: 205.4 shares, $2,405 annual income, $74,274 portfolio | Without: 100 shares, $1,210 income, $50,880 total value
Starting with 100 shares of a $100 stock paying $4 per share annually, with 6% annual dividend growth and 7% price appreciation, the DRIP model grows the share count to about 205.4 shares over 20 years. Annual dividend income in year 20 is about $2,405 with DRIP versus about $1,210 without reinvestment. The DRIP portfolio ends around $74,274 versus about $50,880 for the no-DRIP case, where total value includes both stock and accumulated cash dividends.
The appeal of DRIP lies in the growing share count. In year one, dividends buy a small number of new shares. In later years, those additional shares can also earn dividends, so the compounding picks up speed.
DRIP usually provides more benefit when the payout is stable, the holding period is long, and the investor does not need the dividend cash for spending. The result is especially sensitive to reinvestment time horizon.
Keep in mind that DRIP purchases create multiple tax lots, which can complicate record-keeping. Use your brokerage's basis-tracking tools, and remember that reinvested dividends can still be taxable in taxable accounts.
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This calculator runs a year-by-year projection. It starts with the entered share count, annual dividend per share, and stock price, then applies the entered dividend-growth rate and price-growth rate once per year. In the DRIP case, each year's dividend income buys additional shares at that year's modeled price. In the no-DRIP case, share count stays flat and dividends accumulate as cash.
It is a simplified accumulation model. It does not include taxes, brokerage-plan fees, fractional-share restrictions, or changes in payout policy beyond the constant growth assumptions you enter.
A Dividend Reinvestment Plan automatically reinvests cash dividends into additional shares of the same stock or fund. Instead of receiving cash, you accumulate more shares that may generate future dividends.
The effect depends on starting yield, dividend growth, price growth, and time. The gap is usually modest in the early years and much larger over long holding periods because each round of reinvested dividends buys additional shares that can also generate future dividends.
Often yes in taxable accounts. Reinvesting the cash does not automatically remove the tax reporting obligation, and each reinvestment may also create a new basis lot.
Many brokerages support fractional-share reinvestment, but plan capabilities vary. Some programs may handle residual cash differently.
Not necessarily. If you need current income, taking the cash may be more useful. DRIP is generally most helpful during accumulation when the goal is to grow share count and future income.
They serve different purposes. DRIP reinvests income you are already receiving, while lump-sum investing deploys new capital. DRIP is closer to an automatic reinvestment policy than a new-funding decision.