Free Tool
Ticker Backtest
What would your investment be worth today? Backtest any ETF or stock with real price and dividend history — see the total return with dividends reinvested and with dividends taken as cash.
Your backtest
Pick a ticker, an amount, and a start date.
Total return over time
Backtested value each month, dividends included — reinvested (DRIP), taken as cash, and the amount you put in.
View year-by-year values
| Year | Amount invested | Dividend income | Avg / month | Income to date | Value (with DRIP) |
|---|
Dividend income received over time
The actual dividend income this position generated each year — reinvested and as cash — plus the running total.
| Year | Income (reinvesting) | Income (taking cash) | Total received (DRIP, to date) |
|---|
How this backtest works
Unlike a projection calculator, this tool replays what actually happened. Your starting amount buys fractional shares at the first closing price on or after your start date, using split-adjusted prices. Every dividend the fund actually paid is applied on its ex-dividend date — in the DRIP scenario it immediately buys more shares at that day’s close, and in the cash scenario it accumulates without earning interest.
- Prices are split-adjusted; dividends are restated per current share, so stock splits are handled correctly.
- Dividends are reinvested at the closing price on the ex-dividend date (real DRIP programs reinvest on the payment date, usually days later — the difference is small).
- Fractional shares are allowed; there are no fees, commissions, or taxes in the simulation. In a taxable account, reinvested dividends are generally still taxable income.
- Cash dividends (without DRIP) earn 0% while they accumulate.
- Past performance does not predict future results — a backtest tells you what happened, not what will happen.
Want to go beyond one ticker?
The Portfolio Forecast projects your actual holdings forward with dividend growth, taxes, and Monte Carlo outcomes, and the ETF Compare tool puts funds side by side on yield, fees, and performance.
Could you have lived on this ETF?
Switch the backtest to Live off it mode to replay retirement-style spending instead of buy-and-hold growth. Enter a starting amount and a monthly spending goal: every dividend arrives as cash, the goal is withdrawn at the start of each month, and shares are sold at that day’s closing price only when the income falls short. The results show how many months the dividends alone covered your target, the worst shortfall streak, how many shares you’d have had to sell, and what your position — and its income — would look like today. It’s the question income investors actually ask, answered with real history instead of an assumed yield.
Backtest FAQ
What does “total return” mean?
Total return combines share-price change and dividends. A fund whose price went nowhere can still post a strong total return if it paid large dividends that were reinvested — which is exactly what this backtest measures, and why the with-DRIP and without-DRIP lines drift apart over time.
Why does my result differ from other backtesting sites?
Small differences come from reinvestment timing (ex-date vs. payment date), whether prices are adjusted for splits and dividends, and monthly vs. daily data. This tool simulates daily closes with reinvestment on the ex-dividend date.
What if the fund is younger than my start date?
The backtest starts at the fund’s first available trading day and tells you so — it never fabricates history before a fund existed.
Popular backtests
Jump straight into a pre-filled backtest, or replay living off an income fund.
