Flat SIP vs Step-Up SIP: 10, 15, and 20 Year Projections

Side-by-side comparison tables for flat and step-up SIPs at different tenures, starting amounts, and step-up rates.

1.10-year comparison at 12% CAGR

Starting ₹10,000/month. **Flat SIP**: invested ₹12 lakh, corpus = ₹23.2 lakh (₹11.2 lakh gain). **5% step-up**: invested ₹15.1 lakh, corpus = ₹28.5 lakh (₹13.4 lakh gain). **10% step-up**: invested ₹19.1 lakh, corpus = ₹35.1 lakh (₹16 lakh gain). **15% step-up**: invested ₹24.3 lakh, corpus = ₹43.4 lakh (₹19.1 lakh gain). Each 5% increase in step-up rate adds ~₹7 lakh to your 10-year corpus.

2.15-year comparison at 12% CAGR

Starting ₹10,000/month. **Flat SIP**: invested ₹18 lakh, corpus = ₹50.5 lakh. **10% step-up**: invested ₹38.2 lakh, corpus = ₹95.7 lakh. The step-up SIP invested 2.1x more but generated 1.9x the corpus. The marginal returns on step-up increase with time because early step-up amounts get the longest compounding runway. At 15 years, the step-up advantage becomes substantial.

3.20-year comparison at 12% CAGR

Starting ₹10,000/month. **Flat SIP**: invested ₹24 lakh, corpus = ₹99.9 lakh (≈₹1 crore). **10% step-up**: invested ₹68.7 lakh, corpus = ₹1.98 crore. **15% step-up**: invested ₹1.34 crore, corpus = ₹3.45 crore. At 20 years, a 15% step-up generates 3.45x the flat SIP corpus. But check if your income can support ₹1.34 crore in total SIP over 20 years — that's ₹1.63 lakh/month in year 20.

4.Key takeaway

Step-up SIP's advantage grows exponentially with time. A 10% step-up is the sweet spot for most salaried Indians — it matches typical IT salary growth and nearly doubles the 20-year corpus. Use our step-up SIP calculator to find the step-up rate that matches your income trajectory.