Ethereum DCA calculator: ETH vs Bitcoin
$50 a week into Ethereum from 9 November 2017, the first close in this data, to 6 October 2026 put in $23,250 and would be worth $114,403. The same $50 a week into Bitcoin would be worth $123,888, so Bitcoin finished $9,485 ahead. Change the amount, schedule and dates below.
$50 a week into Ethereum from 9 November 2017 to 6 October 2026 put in $23,250 and would be worth $114,403 (+392.1%).
The same schedule into Bitcoin would be worth $123,888 (+432.9%), so Bitcoin finished $9,485 ahead.
| Measure | Ethereum | Bitcoin |
|---|---|---|
| Invested | $23,250 | $23,250 |
| Worth on 6 Oct 2026 | $114,403 | $123,888 |
| Gain | +392.1% | +432.9% |
| Yearly return | +34.4% | +36.1% |
| Purchases | 465 | 465 |
| Held | 42.4106 ETH | 1.448005 BTC |
| Average price paid | $548.21 | $16,056.57 |
| Worst point vs cost | −74.8% on 14 Dec 2018 | −56.3% on 15 Dec 2018 |
Where the Ethereum data starts
The daily closes come from Yahoo Finance's ETH-USD series, which begins on 9 November 2017 and runs to 6 October 2026. Ethereum launched in July 2015, so its first two years or so of trading are not in this series. A plan dated earlier starts on the first close; purchases scheduled before it are neither made nor counted as invested. Staking rewards are not included: the figures are the price of ETH alone, as for every coin here.
Bitcoin vs Ethereum, by start year
$50 a week, the same dollars on the same dates into each, from each start to 6 October 2026. Bitcoin finished ahead from 7 of the 9 start dates, Ethereum from 2. The last column is the lowest the Ethereum plan fell against what had been paid in.
| Start | Put in | Ethereum | Bitcoin | ETH worst vs cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 2017 | $23,250 | $114,403 | $123,888 | −74.8% |
| 1 Jan 2018 | $22,900 | $111,188 | $120,471 | −74.6% |
| 1 Jan 2019 | $20,300 | $88,480 | $88,190 | −35.9% |
| 1 Jan 2020 | $17,650 | $46,805 | $52,511 | −40.8% |
| 1 Jan 2021 | $15,050 | $18,515 | $30,126 | −57.7% |
| 1 Jan 2022 | $12,450 | $15,466 | $25,207 | −59.1% |
| 1 Jan 2023 | $9,850 | $11,430 | $16,307 | −34.1% |
| 1 Jan 2024 | $7,250 | $7,408 | $8,166 | −47.9% |
| 1 Jan 2025 | $4,600 | $4,973 | $4,570 | −41.6% |
Start dates are not independent trials: every row shares the years after it, so the recent ones decide much of every older row too. Read the table as one history seen from several doors, not as a win rate.
What DCA did through Ethereum's drawdowns
Ethereum's worst fall in this data was 94.0%, from $1,396.42 on 13 January 2018 to $84.31 on 14 December 2018. Bitcoin's worst over the same years was 83.4%, from 16 December 2017 to 15 December 2018.
A plan buying $50 a week from the first close was worth $1,327 at Ethereum's peak and $731.26 at the bottom — a 44.9% fall in the balance while the price fell 94.0%, because the plan kept buying on the way down. At the bottom it was 74.8% below the $2,900 paid in. Its longest stretch below cost ran 342 days, from 7 June 2018 to 14 May 2019; the same schedule in Bitcoin spent at most 368 days below cost.
That is what a schedule does and does not do. It kept buying through the fall, so the plan came out of it holding more ETH than it went in with; it did not stop the balance falling. How long buyers stayed underwater on Bitcoin is measured start date by start date in how long Bitcoin DCA stayed underwater.
Common questions
- Would DCA into Ethereum have beaten Bitcoin?
- It depends on the start date. With $50 a week to 6 October 2026, Bitcoin finished ahead from 7 of the 9 start dates, Ethereum from 2. From the first close in this data, 9 November 2017, Ethereum would be worth $114,403 and Bitcoin $123,888. That is history, not a forecast.
- How far back does the Ethereum data go?
- To 9 November 2017, the first day of Yahoo Finance's ETH-USD series. Ethereum launched in July 2015, so its first two years or so of trading are not in this series.
- Are fees or staking rewards included?
- No. Fees, spreads and taxes are excluded. Staking rewards are not included: the figures are the price of ETH alone, as for every coin here.
- What did Ethereum's worst crash do to a DCA plan?
- Ethereum's worst fall in this data was 94.0%, from $1,396.42 on 13 January 2018 to $84.31 on 14 December 2018. Bitcoin's worst over the same years was 83.4%, from 16 December 2017 to 15 December 2018. A plan buying $50 a week from the first close was worth $1,327 at Ethereum's peak and $731.26 at the bottom — a 44.9% fall in the balance while the price fell 94.0%, because the plan kept buying on the way down. At the bottom it was 74.8% below the $2,900 paid in.
How this is calculated
Every figure on this page is computed by the same engine the simulator runs, from daily closes in US dollars — the feeds, their first readings and refresh times are on the sources page. Purchases are made at the close of the day they are scheduled for, or the next close when there is none. Fees, spreads and taxes are excluded. Nothing here is projected forward. The calculator above reruns that engine in your browser when you change an input; the result printed with the page is the same calculation, made when the page was built.