Tools and data
ETF fee calculator: what a fund's fee costs you over time
Put in your own numbers and compare two yearly fees on the same money and the same growth.
By The Off-Duty Economist Last reviewed Free, no sign-up, nothing stored
The short version
- Fees come out of your money every year, so they compound just like returns.
- A difference that looks tiny each year can grow into thousands of pounds over decades.
- This calculator shows the gap for your own numbers. It's an illustration, not a forecast.
Why fees matter so much
A yearly fee is taken from everything in the fund, including the growth from earlier years. So the cost grows with your money. In the early years the two lines on the chart barely separate. By the end the gap can be large.
You can’t control what markets do. You can control what you pay. That’s why the cost of a fund is one of the first things worth checking.
For every cost an ETF carries, not just the yearly fee, see what an ETF really costs.
How the calculator works
- Growth and fees both compound monthly, and monthly additions go in at the end of each month.
- The growth rate is your assumption. Real returns jump around from year to year and can be negative. A smooth line is a simplification.
- It ignores tax, which is fine inside an ISA or a SIPP.
- It covers one yearly fee. To include your platform’s fees, add them to both fee figures.
- Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored. The sums happen in your browser.
A fund’s ongoing charge is on its factsheet: how to read an ETF factsheet shows where.
This calculator is an illustration of how fees work, not a forecast of what you'll earn or advice about what to buy. Investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. Read the full disclaimer.