Dollar-Cost Averaging Return

Crypto & Digital Assets
Updated Apr 2026 • Has calculator

Calculates the total return of a DCA strategy by averaging purchase prices across multiple periods.

What is DCA Return?

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is an investment strategy in which a fixed dollar amount is invested at regular intervals regardless of the asset's price. Because more units are purchased when prices are low and fewer when prices are high, the average cost basis per unit is always below the simple arithmetic average of the purchase prices — a mathematical property called the harmonic mean advantage. The DCA Return calculator computes total units acquired, average cost basis, current portfolio value, and total percentage return from the first purchase to the present price.

Formula

Return (%) = (Current Value / Total Invested − 1) × 100

Worked Example

Worked example — Ethereum (ETH) — $100/quarter DCA

2023 Q1–Q4

Step 1  Q1 (Jan 2023): ETH = $1,250 → 0.0800 ETH purchased
Step 2  Q2 (Apr 2023): ETH = $1,900 → 0.0526 ETH purchased
Step 3  Q3 (Jul 2023): ETH = $1,850 → 0.0541 ETH purchased
Step 4  Q4 (Oct 2023): ETH = $1,625 → 0.0615 ETH purchased
Step 5  Total: 0.2482 ETH acquired for $400 invested
Step 6  Avg cost basis: $1,611/ETH; current price (Jan 2024): $2,400
Step 7  → DCA total return: 49.0% vs. 92.0% lump-sum return from Q1 price

Source: CoinMarketCap — Ethereum Historical Data (2024-01-01)

Calculate DCA Return

Enter the asset price at each purchase period, e.g.: 1250, 1900, 1850, 1625

Fixed dollar amount invested each period

Current market price of the asset

Total Return

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Not investment advice.

How to Interpret DCA Return

< 0
Loss — position is below average cost basis
0 – 25
Modest Gain — flat or early-stage DCA
25 – 100
Strong Gain — sustained price appreciation
> 100
Outstanding Gain — significant price appreciation
Sources
  1. Investopedia — Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
  2. CoinMarketCap — Ethereum Historical Data