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Dividend Calculator

A dividend calculator figures your annual income from a stock or fund in seconds: enter shares or investment amount, the dividend yield or per-share payout, how often dividends are paid, and an optional annual growth rate to see income now and at any future year.

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Annual dividend income (Year 1)--
Per payment--
Yield on cost--
Annual income in Year 10--
Total dividends over 10 years--

Enter your figures above. Results update live and stay in your browser.

Jessica Martinez
By Jessica Martinez, Contributing Writer, Business & Finance
Updated June 20, 2026

Reinvest those dividends?

The Dividend Reinvestment Calculator shows what happens when each payment buys more shares instead of sitting as cash.

Open the DRIP Calculator →

How dividends work

A dividend is a cash payment companies make to shareholders, usually from profits. You collect it proportional to your number of shares, on a schedule the company sets. The yield tells you the annual payout as a percentage of the share price. The per-share amount is the raw dollar figure each share receives per payment.

Yield vs. yield on cost. The yield you see quoted on a brokerage site is the current payout divided by the current price. Yield on cost is the payout divided by what you paid. If you bought at $20 and the stock now trades at $40, a $1 annual dividend shows a 2.5 percent market yield but a 5 percent yield on cost. Long-term holders in growing payers often have yield-on-cost numbers well into double digits.

Payment frequency and what it means

Most U.S. stocks pay quarterly. Monthly payers show up frequently among REITs and covered-call income funds. A few foreign companies pay once a year. Frequency affects how quickly you can put the cash back to work, but it does not change the total annual income. The calculator divides annual income by the payment count to show you the per-payment amount regardless of which schedule you pick.

Dividend growth rate

A stock paying $0.45 per share quarterly today with a 7 percent annual growth rate will pay roughly $0.88 per share quarterly ten years from now. Set the growth rate to zero if you want a flat projection, or enter a historical growth rate for the company you are researching. The "Dividend Aristocrats" index tracks companies that have raised their dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years; their long-run growth averages have run in the 5 to 8 percent range historically.

How much to make $1,000 a month in dividends

At a 4 percent yield you need roughly $300,000 invested. At 3 percent you need $400,000. At 6 percent the number drops to about $200,000. The relationship is straightforward: monthly income = (investment x yield) / 12. Raise the yield assumption and the required capital falls. The catch is that higher-yielding stocks carry risks that lower-yielding dividend growers do not, so targeting a blended yield across multiple positions is more realistic than chasing a single high payer.

Compare with straight compounding

See how the same capital grows in a compound interest account without the dividend income layer.

Open the Compound Interest Calculator →

This tool is informational and educational. It is not financial or investment advice. Dividends are not guaranteed, and investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.

Jessica Martinez
About the author
Jessica Martinez
Contributing Writer, Business & Finance, Encore Editorial

A reformed credit analyst, Jessica Martinez turns dense financial paperwork into something you can actually use. She writes the explainers behind these calculators and checks every formula against a primary source before it ships.

Good to know

FAQs

How do I calculate how much dividend I will get?

Multiply your shares by the dividend per share per payment, then multiply by the number of payments per year. For example, 500 shares paying $0.40 per quarter equals $800 per year. If you know the yield, multiply your investment amount by the yield to get the annual total.

How much do I need to invest to make $1,000 a month in dividends?

At a 4 percent annual yield you need roughly $300,000 invested. At 6 percent the figure drops to about $200,000. Use this calculator to enter your target income, then back into the required investment by adjusting the share count or investment amount until the annual result hits $12,000.

How much money do you need to make $50,000 a year in dividends?

At 3.5 percent you need roughly $1.43 million. At 5 percent the number is $1 million. Run this calculator with your actual yield expectation to find your personal capital target.

What is yield on cost?

Yield on cost is your current annual dividend income divided by what you originally paid for the shares. If you paid $20 per share and the annual dividend is now $1.20, your yield on cost is 6 percent even if the stock trades at $40 and the quoted yield looks lower.

How often are dividends paid?

Most U.S. stocks pay quarterly. Monthly payers are common among REITs and income-focused ETFs. A few companies pay semi-annually or annually. Select the matching frequency in this calculator to see accurate per-payment amounts.

What is dividend growth rate?

It is the percentage by which a company increases its per-share payout each year. A $1.00 payout growing at 5 percent annually reaches $1.63 after ten years. Consistent dividend growers tend to compound income faster than high-yield static payers over long periods.