Crypto DCA calculator: average cost from your own prices

Quote currencyA label only; nothing is converted

Amount per purchaseThe fixed amount spent each time, fee included

Fee rate (%)Taken out of each purchase, from your platform's fee schedule

Current priceOptional; for profit or loss

Purchase 1 priceA past or hypothetical price; nothing is forecast

Purchase 2 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 3 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 4 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 5 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 6 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 7 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 8 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 9 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 10 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 11 priceCan be left empty

Purchase 12 priceCan be left empty

Average cost (fees included)—

Total quantity—

Total spent—

Total fees—

Plain average of the prices—

Average cost against the plain average—

Purchases counted—

Current value—

Profit or loss at the current price—

Profit or loss %—

All default values are hypothetical. The calculator uses only the prices you type: it holds no price history and makes no forecast. Dollar-cost averaging does not remove the risk of loss, and tax is not included.

How does a crypto DCA calculator work?

Dollar-cost averaging (DCA) means spending the same amount at each purchase, so the quantity bought changes with the price. FINRA describes it as investing in equal portions at regular intervals, whatever the market is doing. The calculator applies these formulas to the prices you enter:

Quantity at each purchase = amount × (1 − fee rate ÷ 100) ÷ price

Total spent = amount × number of purchases

Average cost = total spent ÷ total quantity

Plain average = sum of the prices ÷ number of purchases

With a current price it also shows the current value (total quantity × current price) and the profit or loss against the total spent. The fee is taken out of each purchase, so a fee of 0.1% on 500 leaves 499.50 to buy with.

Worked example

Why the average cost sits below the plain average

A fixed amount buys more units when the price is low and fewer when it is high, so the low prices count for more in the average.

In the example, the purchase at 1,250 bought 0.3996 units and the one at 2,000 bought 0.24975. This is a property of the arithmetic, and it holds in any order: the same four prices in another order give the same average cost. If every price were the same, the two averages would match and the fee would put the average cost slightly above them.

A lower average cost is not a gain. It compares two ways of describing what you paid, and says nothing about what the asset is worth later. If the same four purchases ended at 1,250 instead of 1,500, the 1.273725 units would be worth 1,592.16 USDT, a loss of 407.84 USDT, or −20.39%.

Does DCA remove the risk of loss?

No. DCA changes the timing of purchases, and the position can still lose money, including all of it if the asset becomes worthless.

FINRA says spreading purchases out can reduce the effect of short-term swings and can help limit losses in a large decline, while it often produces lower returns than investing a lump sum and can cost more in per-transaction fees. Those are general points about investing, and crypto carries the extra risks FINRA lists on its crypto page, where it calls the risk of losing all of your investment significant.

This calculator takes no position on whether to use DCA, what to buy, how much to spend or how often. It has no future-price mode by design: a projection would need a price path that nobody knows.

DCA calculator or average cost calculator?

Use this page when each purchase spends the same amount, and the crypto average cost calculator when you know the price and quantity of each buy.

A DCA bot that adds safety orders as the price falls and sells at one target is a different design, covered in DCA bot explained. A rule tested on past prices shows how the rule behaved, not what it will do; see backtesting pitfalls.

Which values to enter

• Amount per purchase: the amount spent each time, fee included. The 500 default is only an example.
• Purchase prices: your actual fills or a hypothetical series. Prices 5 to 12 sit in a closed box, and empty fields are skipped.
• Fee rate: from your platform's fee schedule, and an estimate of slippage can be added to it.
• Current price: optional, for the value and the profit or loss.
• Quote currency: a label only; nothing is converted.

For readers in Turkey, Article 99/A of Capital Markets Law No. 6362 treats foreign platforms' activity aimed at Turkish residents as unlicensed. The list of operating platforms kept by the Capital Markets Board (SPK, also CMB) is a provisional list, and being on it does not mean a platform is authorized.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate DCA in crypto?

Divide the amount left after the fee by each purchase price to get the quantity, add the quantities, then divide the total spent by the total quantity. 500 at a 0.1% fee at 2,000, 1,600, 1,250 and 1,600 gives an average cost of 1,570.1976.

Does this calculator use historical prices or predict future ones?

Neither. You type the prices, so the page holds no price data and shows no projection. Past prices you enter describe what happened and say nothing about what comes next.

Why is my average cost lower than the average of the prices?

A fixed amount buys more units at lower prices, so those prices weigh more. The gap comes from the arithmetic and is not a profit.

Does DCA guarantee a profit?

No. The position can lose money or lose its whole value, whatever the average cost. DCA only spreads the purchases over time.

Can I use this for a DCA calculator in Excel?

The same formulas work in a spreadsheet: one column of prices, a second for the amount after the fee divided by the price, then the total spent divided by the total of the second column.

Sources

• FINRA: The benefits and limitations of dollar-cost averaging (19 May 2026) (opens in a new tab)
• FINRA: Crypto assets, risks (opens in a new tab)
• Capital Markets Law No. 6362, consolidated text, Article 99/A (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)
• SPK: List of operating crypto asset service providers, provisional (Turkish) (opens in a new tab)

This calculator is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. Results depend on the values you enter; fees, margin rules and tax rules differ by exchange and country and change over time, so check the official source and ask a licensed adviser about your own situation. Sources, checks and corrections: see the editorial policy.