Monthly Dividend Calculator

Enter the monthly dividend income you want, a share price and a dividend yield. The calculator multiplies the monthly goal by 12 to get the yearly income, divides that by the yield to find how much to invest, and divides the investment by the share price to find the number of shares to buy, rounded up to whole shares. With a tax rate set, it raises the amount so the income after tax still meets the goal.

To use a real stock or ETF, enter its ticker under Fill from a stock or fund and press Fill. The calculator fills in the latest closing price and the yield from the dividends paid over the last 12 months, the same numbers as its GNG dividend history page, and shows the months those dividends were paid.

Choose Amount invested under Start from to run it the other way: enter the money you plan to invest and the dividend income calculator shows the whole shares it buys and the income they pay each year and each month on average.

Say you want $1,000 a month in dividends from a stock that yields 4%, with no tax. That is $12,000 a year, and $12,000 divided by 4% is $300,000 invested. At a $50 share price, that buys 6,000 shares, each paying $2.00 a year.

If the stock pays quarterly, the $12,000 arrives as 4 payments of $3,000, in 4 months of the year and nothing in the other 8. A stock that pays monthly sends about $1,000 in each of the 12 months. Both pay $12,000 a year, so the monthly average is $1,000 either way.

Going the other way, $100,000 at the same 4% yield buys 2,000 shares and pays $4,000 a year, about $333.33 a month on average.

The monthly figure is an average, a twelfth of the yearly income, and few stocks pay that way. Most US stocks pay quarterly dividends, so the dividend payments arrive in 4 months of the year, each worth about 3 months of the average. Monthly dividend stocks, such as some REITs, and many income ETFs pay in all 12 months.

When you fill from a ticker, the results show its payment months over the last 12 months and how much of your yearly income each month brings. Companies can move payment dates or change how often they pay, so next year can look different.

Dividend yield is the yearly dividend per share divided by the share price. A $2.00 yearly dividend on a $50 stock is a 4% yield. Enter a ticker and the calculator works as a dividend yield calculator, using the dividends paid over the last 12 months and the latest price.

Yield drives the result of any dividend investment calculator: the higher the yield, the less you need to invest for the same income. $12,000 a year takes $300,000 at a 4% yield and $200,000 at 6%. A very high yield can also mean the market expects a dividend cut.

The dividend coverage ratio checker shows how well a company's earnings and free cash flow covered its dividend, year by year.

How much you need to live off dividends starts with the yearly spending the income has to cover. $40,000 a year is about $3,333 a month, and at a 4% yield that takes about $1,000,000 invested, before tax. Used as a live off dividends calculator, it shows the amount for the spending and tax rate you enter.

Inflation raises the income you need over time, taxes take a share of each payment, and dividends can be cut or suspended. Like any dividend income estimator, this calculator works from past payments and leaves out dividend growth and reinvestment, so its results are a starting point. The DRIP calculator shows how reinvested dividends and dividend growth can add up over the years.

To find the invested amount that supports your spending, calculate your FIRE number with the free FIRE calculator.