DCA vs Lump Sum Comparison
Compare dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum investing across top 50 US stocks
What is DCA vs Lump Sum Investing?
Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA)
Invest a fixed amount at regular intervals (e.g., $500/month), regardless of stock price. Buy more shares when prices are low, fewer when high.
Lump Sum Investing
Invest your entire amount at once, getting all your money working in the market immediately. Maximizes time in market.
Our analysis: We compared $500/month DCA vs investing the same total upfront for each stock over 3, 5, and 10 year periods.
5-Year Summary: Which Strategy Wins?
42
Lump Sum Wins
(84%)
8
DCA Wins
(16%)
Lump Sum
Overall Winner
across 50 stocks
This aligns with academic research showing lump sum investing outperforms DCA approximately two-thirds of the time in rising markets.
All Stocks: DCA vs Lump Sum Results (5-Year)
$500/month DCA vs $30,000 lump sum | Sorted by lump sum return
| Stock | DCA Value | DCA Return | Lump Sum Value | Lump Sum Return | Winner | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | $154,236 | +414.1% | $395,788 | +1219.3% | Lump Sum | View → |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | $121,032 | +303.4% | $230,220 | +667.4% | Lump Sum | View → |
| LLY Eli Lilly and Company | $66,145 | +120.5% | $153,655 | +412.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| XOM Exxon Mobil Corporation | $56,924 | +89.7% | $104,892 | +249.6% | Lump Sum | View → |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | $64,928 | +116.4% | $88,628 | +195.4% | Lump Sum | View → |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. | $63,807 | +112.7% | $87,432 | +191.4% | Lump Sum | View → |
| COST Costco Wholesale Corporation | $49,041 | +63.5% | $86,775 | +189.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| WMT Walmart Inc. | $63,578 | +111.9% | $85,432 | +184.8% | Lump Sum | View → |
| RTX RTX Corporation | $60,188 | +100.6% | $84,598 | +182.0% | Lump Sum | View → |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | $53,886 | +79.6% | $77,428 | +158.1% | Lump Sum | View → |
| CVX Chevron Corporation | $47,654 | +58.8% | $72,346 | +141.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| IBM International Business Machines Corporation | $50,638 | +68.8% | $71,418 | +138.1% | Lump Sum | View → |
| ORCL Oracle Corporation | $44,700 | +49.0% | $70,658 | +135.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| PM Philip Morris International Inc. | $51,269 | +70.9% | $69,968 | +133.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| ABBV AbbVie Inc. | $43,555 | +45.2% | $68,793 | +129.3% | Lump Sum | View → |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $54,035 | +80.1% | $64,869 | +116.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | $42,738 | +42.5% | $63,435 | +111.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | $60,433 | +101.4% | $62,021 | +106.7% | Lump Sum | View → |
| BRK-B Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | $40,078 | +33.6% | $56,362 | +87.9% | Lump Sum | View → |
| MRK Merck & Co., Inc. | $39,952 | +33.2% | $55,233 | +84.1% | Lump Sum | View → |
| LIN Linde plc | $40,233 | +34.1% | $54,806 | +82.7% | Lump Sum | View → |
| CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc. | $47,134 | +57.1% | $52,854 | +76.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| TSLA Tesla, Inc. | $45,085 | +50.3% | $51,301 | +71.0% | Lump Sum | View → |
| MSFT Microsoft Corporation | $34,940 | +16.5% | $50,781 | +69.3% | Lump Sum | View → |
| KO The Coca-Cola Company | $39,177 | +30.6% | $49,639 | +65.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | $45,882 | +52.9% | $49,475 | +64.9% | Lump Sum | View → |
| AMGN Amgen Inc. | $43,296 | +44.3% | $49,326 | +64.4% | Lump Sum | View → |
| MCD McDonald's Corporation | $36,087 | +20.3% | $46,258 | +54.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| V Visa Inc. | $36,869 | +22.9% | $44,750 | +49.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| MA Mastercard Incorporated | $36,740 | +22.5% | $43,380 | +44.6% | Lump Sum | View → |
| BAC Bank of America Corporation | $39,800 | +32.7% | $41,607 | +38.7% | Lump Sum | View → |
| NEE NextEra Energy, Inc. | $39,121 | +30.4% | $40,754 | +35.8% | Lump Sum | View → |
| AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. | $40,891 | +36.3% | $40,754 | +35.8% | DCA | View → |
| PEP PepsiCo, Inc. | $30,481 | +1.6% | $37,348 | +24.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| HD The Home Depot, Inc. | $31,387 | +4.6% | $36,761 | +22.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| HON Honeywell International Inc. | $36,290 | +21.0% | $36,231 | +20.8% | DCA | View → |
| PG The Procter & Gamble Company | $30,349 | +1.2% | $36,183 | +20.6% | Lump Sum | View → |
| TXN Texas Instruments Incorporated | $33,982 | +13.3% | $34,526 | +15.1% | Lump Sum | View → |
| QCOM QUALCOMM Incorporated | $28,337 | -5.5% | $32,399 | +8.0% | Lump Sum | View → |
| TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | $26,992 | -10.0% | $31,861 | +6.2% | Lump Sum | View → |
| DHR Danaher Corporation | $24,956 | -16.8% | $29,165 | -2.8% | Lump Sum | View → |
| ABT Abbott Laboratories | $28,755 | -4.1% | $28,752 | -4.2% | DCA | View → |
| CRM Salesforce, Inc. | $26,218 | -12.6% | $27,975 | -6.7% | Lump Sum | View → |
| UNH UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | $19,075 | -36.4% | $23,684 | -21.1% | Lump Sum | View → |
| ACN Accenture plc | $20,408 | -32.0% | $23,254 | -22.5% | Lump Sum | View → |
| INTC Intel Corporation | $41,165 | +37.2% | $22,682 | -24.4% | DCA | View → |
| UPS United Parcel Service, Inc. | $22,683 | -24.4% | $21,348 | -28.8% | DCA | View → |
| CMCSA Comcast Corporation | $25,152 | -16.2% | $19,874 | -33.8% | DCA | View → |
| ADBE Adobe Inc. | $17,088 | -43.0% | $15,621 | -47.9% | DCA | View → |
| NKE NIKE, Inc. | $17,322 | -42.3% | $12,840 | -57.2% | DCA | View → |
Stocks Where DCA Won (5-Year)
These stocks had enough volatility that DCA outperformed lump sum investing
AMZN
Amazon.com, Inc.
DCA: +36.3%
Lump: +35.8%
HON
Honeywell International Inc.
DCA: +21.0%
Lump: +20.8%
ABT
Abbott Laboratories
DCA: -4.1%
Lump: -4.2%
INTC
Intel Corporation
DCA: +37.2%
Lump: -24.4%
UPS
United Parcel Service, Inc.
DCA: -24.4%
Lump: -28.8%
CMCSA
Comcast Corporation
DCA: -16.2%
Lump: -33.8%
ADBE
Adobe Inc.
DCA: -43.0%
Lump: -47.9%
NKE
NIKE, Inc.
DCA: -42.3%
Lump: -57.2%
Top 10 Stocks for Lump Sum Investing (5-Year)
Stocks with the largest advantage for lump sum over DCA
NVDA
NVIDIA Corporation
+805.2% advantage
AVGO
Broadcom Inc.
+364.0% advantage
LLY
Eli Lilly and Company
+291.7% advantage
XOM
Exxon Mobil Corporation
+159.9% advantage
COST
Costco Wholesale Corporation
+125.8% advantage
ORCL
Oracle Corporation
+86.5% advantage
ABBV
AbbVie Inc.
+84.1% advantage
CVX
Chevron Corporation
+82.3% advantage
RTX
RTX Corporation
+81.4% advantage
GOOGL
Alphabet Inc.
+79.0% advantage
Key Takeaways
1.
Lump sum wins most of the time - In 42 out of 50 stocks (84%),
investing everything upfront produced better returns than DCA over 5 years.
2.
DCA wins in volatile stocks - For 8 stocks, DCA outperformed because price volatility
allowed investors to buy at lower average prices during dips.
3.
Psychology matters - DCA's real advantage is making investing easier psychologically.
It's easier to invest $500/month than $30,000 at once, which means you're more likely to actually invest.
4.
Both strategies work - Every stock in this analysis grew money over 5 years with both strategies.
The difference between DCA and lump sum is often smaller than the overall gains.
Investment Terms Explained
Learn about DCA, CAGR, and more
Popular ETFs
Compare ETF returns by category
US Stocks
Individual stock analysis
Disclaimer: This page is for educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This is not investment advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.