SIP Pause Impact Calculator
See how much a SIP pause really costs you in the long run.
Your regular monthly SIP contribution (Rs)
Expected yearly return rate (%)
Total number of years for your SIP
Which month does the pause begin? (e.g. 24 = after 2 years)
How many months will you stop your SIP?
Impact of Your SIP Pause
Corpus Without Pause
₹11.62 L
Corpus With Pause
₹11.23 L
Corpus Lost to Pause
₹38.99 K
Missed Contributions
₹15.00 K
This is more than just the missed contributions -- compounding is lost too.
SIP With vs Without Pause
How the SIP Pause Impact Calculator Works
Skipping a few SIP instalments -- because of a job change, an emergency expense, or just deciding to 'catch up next month' -- feels harmless in the moment. This calculator shows the real cost in rupees: it runs your SIP twice, once uninterrupted and once with the pause you specify, and compares the two final corpus values.
Both simulations use the same monthly amount, expected annual return, and total duration; the only difference is that the paused run skips contributions for the months you specify. Because compounding needs time as well as money, a pause early in a long SIP tends to cost more by the end than an equally long pause taken later -- this calculator lets you test both scenarios.
Worked example
A ₹10,000/month SIP at 12% for 15 years, paused for 6 months in year 3, can end up several lakh rupees short of the uninterrupted version by the end -- not just the ₹60,000 in skipped instalments, but the compounding those instalments would have earned over the remaining years.
Frequently asked questions
Is it always better to never pause a SIP?
In pure return terms, yes -- an uninterrupted SIP always ends with a larger or equal corpus than the same SIP with any pause. But real life sometimes forces a pause (job loss, emergency); this tool is meant to show the size of the trade-off, not to argue against ever pausing for genuine need.
Does pausing later in the SIP hurt less than pausing early?
Generally yes, because money invested earlier has more years left to compound. A 6-month pause in year 1 typically costs more by the final year than the same 6-month pause in year 10, even though the amount of skipped instalments is identical.
Can I use this to plan a temporary reduction instead of a full pause?
This calculator models a full pause (zero contribution) for the months you select. If you're planning to reduce rather than fully stop your SIP, you can approximate the impact by running two Basic SIP calculations at the two different monthly amounts and comparing the totals.