5 a day vs £152 a month into Vanguard S&P 500 (Acc) for retirement — does it matter?

Global

Been wondering about this and can’t work out which actually makes more sense.
If you’re investing in the Vanguard S&P 500 (Acc), is it better to put in £5 a day or £152 once a month?
The total invested over the year is exactly the same, but my thinking is that investing daily means you’re buying at loads of different prices, so if the market drops during the month you pick up some cheaper shares. Whereas with monthly investing you could end up putting the whole amount in on a day when the market is high.
I’ve also heard people say that getting your money in the market earlier is better because it has more time to grow.
This is all for my pension/retirement, so I’m investing for the long term (20–30+ years). At the moment I’m putting in £5 a day, mainly because it feels manageable, and my plan is to increase it to £10 a day and then more over time as and when I can afford it.
Does investing daily actually make any meaningful difference over the long run, or am I overthinking it and should I just switch to a monthly contribution instead?

Posted Jun 27, 2026, 7:18 AM UTC

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