Mutual Fund Fee Calculator
See how expense ratios eat into your investment returns over time and quantify the true cost of fund fees.
Results
What is it?
The Mutual Fund Fee Calculator shows the long-term impact of expense ratios on your investments. Even a seemingly small difference of 0.5% in fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars over decades due to the compounding drag effect.
How to use
Enter your investment amount, the expected annual return before fees, the fund's expense ratio, and how long you plan to invest. The calculator compares your ending balance with and without fees to reveal the total dollar cost of those fees.
Example scenario
Investing $100,000 at 8% annual return over 20 years grows to $466,096 without fees. With a 1% expense ratio (net 7% return), it only grows to $386,968 — the fee costs you $79,128, or about 17% of your potential gains.
Pro tip
Index funds typically have expense ratios of 0.03-0.20%, while actively managed funds charge 0.50-1.50%. Over 30+ years, switching from a 1% fee fund to a 0.05% index fund can save you more than a year's salary.