Watch your contributions, growth and dividends snowball — honestly, after franking and tax.
Pop in a starting amount, a monthly top-up and a few years, and we’ll grow your ASX shares or ETFs in front of you. Three colours, one story: what you put in, what the market gave you, and what your dividends quietly added on top.
The lump sum you begin with.
What you drip in every month, like clockwork.
How long you let the snowball roll.
Pick a ticker and we’ll fill in its trailing dividend yield. Everything stays an assumption you can edit.
Annual capital growth — unrealised until you sell.
Annual cash yield, reinvested each month.
100% for fully franked (most big ASX names), 0% for unfranked.
We tax the grossed-up dividend income each year at this rate plus 2% Medicare. Capital growth isn’t taxed until you sell.
Projected value after 20 years
$359,438You put in $125,000 — the rest is growth and dividends compounding.
After franking & tax
$354,014Tax on dividends trims $5,423 off the top
Total return
+187.6%Growth on top of your $125,000 in.
What makes up the snowball
The leaf line is the headline figure; the darker line is what you keep after franking credits and tax on dividends.
Here’s exactly how we grow the number — monthly compounding split into price growth and reinvested dividends, with franking grossed up and your marginal rate applied so the after-tax line is real, not optimistic.
Add each contribution and compound monthly
We start from your initial amount and add your regular contribution every month (your dollar-cost-averaging schedule), then compound the running balance month by month. Each instalment grows for the months it’s actually invested, so a steady habit snowballs realistically over the years you set.
Split the return into price growth and dividends
Unlike a savings calculator’s single rate, we model your two real return streams separately: capital growth at your assumed price-growth rate, and a dividend yield paid on the balance. Splitting them shows where your return actually comes from — growth is unrealised until you sell, dividends are cash in hand.
Gross up franking and reinvest the dividend
We gross up your dividends by their franking percentage at the 30% company tax rate (a $70 fully franked dividend grosses up to $100 with a $30 credit) and reinvest the dividend slice back into the pot, so the compounding reflects the franking credits Australian investors actually receive.
Apply your marginal rate for the honest after-tax line
We tax the grossed-up dividend income each year at the marginal rate you set, then plot an after-tax line alongside the headline figure. It’s a reminder that capital growth is only taxed when you sell (and may earn the 50% CGT discount past 12 months) — for the full sale maths, head to the CGT calculator. General information only, not financial or tax advice.
Einstein supposedly called compound interest the eighth wonder of the world — but the generic calculators that quote him treat shares like a savings account. This compound interest calculator for shares knows better. It splits your projected return into price growth and dividend yield, grosses up your franking credits, and shows the after-tax number too — so the snowball you see is the one you’ll actually keep. Whether you’re dollar-cost averaging into VAS, drip-feeding an ETF every payday, or plotting your FIRE number, you get a clear contributions-vs-growth-vs-dividends breakdown in seconds. Free, no signup, and every calculation runs in your browser.
A savings calculator applies one flat interest rate. Shares earn two ways: capital growth (the price rises) and dividends (cash paid to you). This calculator models them separately because they behave differently — growth is unrealised until you sell, while reinvested dividends compound and may carry franking credits. Lumping them into one rate, like generic tools do, hides where your returns actually come from.
Dollar-cost averaging means investing a fixed amount on a regular schedule — say $500 every month — instead of one lump sum. It smooths out your buy price over time and removes the stress of timing the market. Just enter your monthly contribution and the calculator adds each instalment to the pile and compounds it for the months remaining, so you can see how a small, steady habit snowballs over 10, 20 or 30 years.
Fully franked dividends come with a credit for the 30% company tax already paid. To value a dividend properly you gross it up: a $70 fully franked dividend is grossed up to $100, with a $30 franking credit attached. That credit offsets your own tax bill — or is refunded if your marginal rate is below 30%. We apply your franking percentage and marginal tax rate so the dividend slice of your snowball reflects what lands in your pocket, not just the cash paid.
There’s no guaranteed figure, so be honest with yourself. Historically the broad Australian market has delivered roughly 4–6% price growth plus a 3.5–4.5% dividend yield over the long run, though any single year swings wildly. If you’re modelling a specific ETF like VAS, A200 or IOZ, use its actual trailing yield and a conservative growth assumption. The point of the chart is to compare scenarios, not to promise a return.
Yes for dividends — we apply your marginal tax rate to the grossed-up dividend income each year, then add the after-tax dividend back into the compounding pot. The after-tax comparison line also reminds you that capital growth is only taxed when you sell (and may qualify for the 50% CGT discount if you’ve held over 12 months). For a full sale calculation, head to our CGT Calculator. This tool is general information only, not financial or tax advice.
Completely. Every number you type is calculated right in your browser — nothing is uploaded, stored, or sent to a server, and there’s no login or email wall. You can run a hundred FIRE scenarios on the train and we’ll never see a single dollar figure. It’s free, with no broker credentials required, ever.
