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Gold and silver investment calculator: what if you had bought back then?
Pick a year and an amount, once or every month, and see what it became next to stocks and inflation. Hindsight, finally with a calculator.
By Joel Perkes · Data updated November 7, 2026
$10,000 of gold bought in 2000, at that year’s average of $279 an ounce, bought about 35.8 ounces, worth about $143,258 at the spot price on Oct 24, 2026. Over the same years to mid-2025, the S&P 500 with dividends turned $10,000 into about $71,376, and keeping up with inflation took $18,693. Start in 1980 instead and the order flips: gold reached about $55,805 and stocks about $1,543,125. Choose your own metal, year and amount below.
US data: US dollar prices, the US consumer price index and the S&P 500. For your own currency’s buying power, try the inflation calculator.
Gold and silver investment calculator
US dollars and US prices. Bought at each year’s average price, with no dealer premium, storage or tax. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
What it would be worth
$10,000 of gold in 2000 would be worth about $143,258 today.
Same years, all to mid-2025
Gold beat inflation and the stock market over these years. Pick a different start year and the order can flip, which is why one chart never settles the argument.
How this is calculated
- 1. Ounces. Each purchase buys metal at that year’s average price. Monthly mode buys twelve times a year, through 2025.
- 2. Worth today. The ounces times the indicative spot price, refreshed about every 20 minutes.
- 3. Inflation. Each purchase in today’s dollars, by the consumer price index (CPI-U annual averages; 2026 estimated).
- 4. The fair comparison. Every column runs to mid-2025, the last full year of stock data: the metal at its 2025 average, the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested from the middle of each purchase year, and inflation to the 2025 average.
Sources: gold and silver yearly averages, metalcharts.org (1970 to 2025), as stored for this site’s gold and silver price by year; S&P 500 total returns, Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, updated January 5, 2026; consumer prices, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis; spot from gold-api.com. No dealer premiums, fees, storage or taxes. Past results say nothing about future ones.
What $10,000 became, by start year
The same $10,000, bought once at each year’s average price and measured at mid-2025 (the inflation column is what it needed just to keep its buying power):
| Start | Gold | Silver | S&P 500 | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | $837,073 | $258,258 | $2,843,506 | $79,481 |
| 1980 | $55,805 | $19,404 | $1,543,125 | $39,066 |
| 1990 | $89,608 | $82,878 | $363,414 | $24,629 |
| 2000 | $123,011 | $80,869 | $71,376 | $18,693 |
| 2010 | $28,016 | $19,827 | $69,924 | $14,759 |
| 2020 | $19,390 | $19,479 | $19,543 | $12,438 |
Read down the columns and the start year does most of the talking. Gold looks brilliant from 1971 and 2000 and poor from 1980. Stocks win most long stretches because they pay dividends and the metals don’t. Silver is the most dramatic of the three in both directions.
Has gold beaten the stock market?
Over some stretches, yes; over most long ones, no. From 2000 to mid-2025 gold turned $10,000 into about $123,011 while the S&P 500 with dividends reached about $71,376, because 2000 was near the top for stocks and near the bottom for gold. From 1971 the S&P 500 reached about $2,843,506 and gold about $837,073. The fairest summary is that gold and stocks do different jobs: stocks own businesses that pay you, gold is money that can’t be printed and pays nothing. Our article on why gold rose in the 1970s explains when each tends to win.
What if I had bought at the 1980 peak?
This is the bear case for gold, stated plainly. Gold averaged $615 an ounce in 1980. After inflation, its yearly average didn’t beat that until 2024. $10,000 of gold from 1980 was worth about $55,805 by mid-2025, against $39,066 needed to keep up with prices. Silver from 1980 is worse: about $19,404, still short of inflation. If someone shows you a gold chart, check where it starts.
What about buying a little every month?
Dollar-cost averaging, buying the same amount on a schedule, takes the start date out of your hands. $100 a month in gold from January 2000 through 2025 is $31,200 in all. It bought about 40.4 ounces, worth about $161,334 at spot on Oct 24, 2026. The same $100 a month in the S&P 500 reached about $156,987 by mid-2025, and keeping up with inflation needed about $44,330.
What this leaves out
Real buyers pay a premium over spot, often a few percent on gold coins and more on silver, and sell for a little under spot. The premium calculator shows yours. Metal held at home or in a vault costs something to store (the cost to store gold calculator adds it up); stocks in a fund carry fees. And in the US, profit on gold and silver is taxed at up to 28% as a collectible, which the capital gains tax calculator works out. None of that is in the numbers above, so treat them as the market’s result, not anyone’s actual account.
Questions people actually ask
If I invested $10,000 in gold in 2000, how much would it be worth today?
About $143,258 at the spot price on Oct 24, 2026. Gold averaged $279 an ounce in 2000, so $10,000 bought about 35.8 ounces. That ignores the dealer premium you would have paid and any storage cost.
If I invested $10,000 in silver in 2000, how much would it be worth today?
About $109,192 at the spot price on Oct 24, 2026. Silver averaged $4.95 an ounce in 2000, so $10,000 bought about 2,020 ounces.
Has gold beaten the stock market?
It depends on the start year. From 2000 to mid-2025, $10,000 in gold grew to about $123,011 against about $71,376 in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested. From 1980, gold reached about $55,805 and stocks about $1,543,125.
What if I had bought gold at the 1980 peak?
You would have waited a long time. Gold averaged $615 an ounce in 1980; after inflation, its yearly average did not beat that until 2024. $10,000 from 1980 was worth about $55,805 by mid-2025, against about $39,066 needed just to keep up with prices.
Has silver kept up with inflation since 1980?
No. Silver averaged $20.63 an ounce in 1980. $10,000 of it was worth about $19,404 at the 2025 average price, less than the $39,066 needed to match inflation. Its yearly average has not yet beaten the 1980 average after inflation.
What is dollar-cost averaging in gold?
Buying the same dollar amount on a schedule, such as every month, instead of all at once. Choose 'every month' above. $100 a month in gold from 2000 through 2025, $31,200 in all, bought about 40.4 ounces, worth about $161,334 at spot on Oct 24, 2026.
Why does this use yearly average prices?
Because nobody buys at the exact low or high. Using each year's average price is a fair middle, and it matches the yearly figures for stocks and inflation. Your own results depend on the day you bought and the premium you paid.
Does this include dealer premiums, storage and taxes?
No. Real buyers pay a premium over spot, often a few percent for gold and more for silver, and sell for less than spot. Selling also triggers the collectibles tax rate in the US. The premium calculator and the capital gains tax calculator on this site cover both.
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