How Much SIP Do You Need to Reach ₹1 Crore?

Assuming a 12% annual return, the monthly SIP needed to reach 1 crore depends almost entirely on how long you stay invested: roughly 43,000 a month over 10 years, about 20,000 over 15 years, around 10,000 over 20 years, near 5,300 over 25 years, and just about 2,800 a month over 30 years.

The same goal, the same return, yet the monthly commitment falls more than tenfold simply by starting earlier and staying longer. That gap is the entire lesson of long-term investing.

Compounding rewards duration disproportionately. In the early years most of your corpus is the money you put in, but in the later years the growth on past growth takes over and does the heavy lifting.

This is why a 25-year-old investing a modest amount usually ends up far ahead of a 35-year-old investing much more. The extra decade in the market is worth more than the larger contributions.

You do not have to commit the full amount from day one. Increasing your SIP by 5 to 10% each year as your income grows, called a step-up SIP, reaches the same goal with a much lower starting amount.

A step-up also keeps your investing in step with salary hikes and inflation, so the corpus retains its real purchasing power by the time you need it.

A 12% return is a reasonable long-term equity assumption, but real returns are uneven and some years will be negative. Test the plan at a lower return too, so you are not blindsided by a weak stretch.

Remember that equity gains above the annual exemption attract long-term capital-gains tax, and fund expenses nibble at returns. Build a small buffer above 1 crore rather than aiming for the exact figure.