Crypto DCA calculator: backtest recurring buys on real prices
Pick a coin, an amount and a schedule, and this calculator replays every buy on real Bybit spot candles: what you put in, what the coins are worth at the end, your average cost, the worst point along the way and how one lump sum on day one would have done. Fees and slippage are included, and no price is simulated.
| Year | Buys | Invested | Average cost | Value at end | Return |
|---|
How the DCA calculator works
Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) means buying a fixed dollar amount on a fixed schedule, whatever the price. The calculator replays that plan on real Bybit spot candles for the coin you pick. Each scheduled buy fills at the 00:00 UTC open of that day's candle plus the slippage you enter, and the fee comes out of the coins you receive, which is how Bybit charges spot fees: in the asset you buy.
one buycoins = amount × (1 − fee) ÷ (open × (1 + slippage))
average = total invested ÷ total coins
value = total coins × last daily close in your range
Weekly and every-2-weeks schedules count forward from your start date. Monthly buys land on the same calendar day each month, or on the last day of a shorter month, so a plan that starts on the 31st buys on June 30 and February 28. The average cost therefore already includes every fee and every bit of slippage.
Reading the results
Profit or loss compares the value of your coins at the last close in the range with the dollars you put in. Worst point vs invested is the lowest reading of value ÷ invested − 1 on any daily close, the deepest your plan sat under water. That number decides whether a real person keeps buying, so read it before the final return.
The summary adds three checks. The lump-sum comparison puts the same total in on the first buy date with the same fee and slippage. When prices rise across the window, the lump sum finishes ahead because all of its money is exposed from day one; start the window near a peak and DCA can win instead. The time-weighted drawdown removes the effect of new deposits, so it shows the market's own peak-to-trough fall while you held. The Sharpe ratio uses the same daily returns, annualized with the square root of 365 because crypto trades every day, and appears only once a window has 30 days of returns. The yearly table groups buys by calendar year, which shows which years carry the result and which buys are still below cost.
Data and limits
Prices are daily OHLCV candles from Bybit's spot market for eight USDT pairs, downloaded from Bybit's public API with the ccxt library and saved as static files. Only closed candles are used, and the date range and fetch date print under the chart. Each pair starts at its first daily candle on Bybit: July 5, 2021 for BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT, later in 2021 for XRP, DOGE, SOL, ADA and AVAX, and October 25, 2023 for POL/USDT. POL stands in for MATIC, which Polygon upgraded to POL on September 4, 2024. Nothing is spliced in from other exchanges, and no earlier prices are invented.
The results leave out taxes, deposit and withdrawal costs, and any markup a card or app purchase adds; if your purchase method costs more than the exchange fee, raise the fee field to match. One fixed buy time is also a simplification, since a buy at another hour fills at a slightly different price. Above all, a few years of history cover only one or two market cycles, and past performance does not predict future results.
From a spreadsheet to a DCA bot
A DCA bot automates this schedule on an exchange account, which removes the temptation to skip a buy after a bad week. Our DCA trading bot guide covers how those bots place orders, and automating DCA the right way walks through the settings that matter. If your bot also buys extra after each drop, that is a martingale-style ladder rather than plain DCA, and our martingale strategy guide explains the extra risk. To project a steady growth rate instead of replaying history, use the compound return calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is DCA better than investing a lump sum?
Not automatically. A lump sum has all of its money in the market from the first day, so it finishes ahead whenever prices rise across the window. DCA spreads the entry over many prices, which limits the damage from starting right before a drop and suits anyone investing from each paycheck. The calculator shows both results for the same window, so try a start date near a price peak and one near a low to see how the answer changes.
What fee and slippage should I enter?
Bybit lists a 0.1% spot trading fee for both maker and taker orders at its non-VIP level, and that is the default here. Bybit notes that rates vary by VIP level and region, so enter the fee your account actually pays, plus any card or app markup. The 0.05% slippage default is our assumption for a small market order on a liquid pair; enter more for smaller coins with wider spreads.
Why does the price history start in 2021?
The calculator uses only real Bybit spot candles, and the daily BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT history in our data starts on July 5, 2021. XRP, DOGE, SOL, ADA and AVAX start later in 2021, and POL/USDT starts on October 25, 2023. We do not stitch in older prices from other sources, so a start date before a pair's first candle moves to that first candle and the page tells you.
Does the result include taxes?
No, every figure is before tax. For US federal tax purposes the IRS treats digital assets as property, not currency, so selling coins you bought through DCA can create a capital gain or loss that you report. Keep records of each buy and check the IRS digital asset guidance or a tax professional.