An investor who put $100 a month into Bitcoin starting in January 2015 would have turned $13,700 into over $632,000 by May 2026 — a return of 4,515%, according to data from Coinbird's Bitcoin DCA Calculator. The analysis, which uses historical CoinGecko prices, shows that dollar-cost averaging beat a one-time lump-sum investment over the full five-year period from May 2021 to May 2026, but not at the one-, two-, three-, or four-year marks.
The long-term numbers
The $100/month plan accumulated 8.219 BTC over 137 monthly purchases at an average acquisition cost of roughly $1,667 per BTC. The portfolio's value as of May 19, 2026: about $632,315. The maximum drawdown during the 2022 bear market reached -76.72% — a gut-check for anyone who started the plan earlier.
Five-year DCA vs. lump sum
For investors who started near the May 2021 market peak, the DCA plan returned +84.34% over the next five years, turning $6,100 invested into about $11,244. A lump-sum investment of the full $6,100 made upfront in May 2021 returned roughly +43%. The gap comes down to timing: DCA kept buying more Bitcoin during the 2022 bear market, when prices were low, and reaped the rewards when the market recovered.
Where DCA falls short
Coinbird's scenarios show that lump-sum investing beat DCA at every shorter horizon tested — one, two, three, and four years. The DCA advantage only emerged after a full crash-and-recovery cycle. That makes sense: if prices are mostly rising, getting in early with a lump sum wins. The five-year advantage comes from surviving a downturn and buying the dip.
What the data doesn't say
The analysis excludes taxes and trading fees. Coinbird, which serves more than two million users annually across its platforms, is clear that past performance doesn't guarantee future results. The calculator is available for anyone to run their own scenarios, using data going back to 2013.
