ETF Fee Drag Calculator
Enter two funds and your plan. You'll get the dollar gap between them at year 10, 20 and 30 — plus a chart of both portfolios over time.
How the math works
Each month your contribution is added, then the whole balance grows at the net monthly return: (1 + gross return − expense ratio)^(1/12). This mirrors how expense ratios are actually deducted from fund NAV daily. It deliberately ignores taxes, bid-ask spreads and trading commissions — both funds are charged the same way, so the gap is a fair comparison.
Who this tool is for / not for
Use it if you…
- Are choosing between two similar ETFs and only see the fee difference in basis points
- Hold an old mutual fund or 401(k) default option charging >0.5%
- Want a sanity check before rolling over an old account
Skip it if you…
- Expect a forecast of which fund will outperform — this compares costs, not skill
- Need tax-adjusted results (municipal/tax-advantaged accounts change the math)
- Are comparing funds with different underlying exposure — apples vs oranges
Related tools
Choosing funds is half the job. Charting and screening them is the other half.
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Try TradingView free →FAQ
Does the expense ratio come out of my returns automatically?
Yes. Funds deduct fees from the fund's assets daily, which lowers the reported NAV. You never see a bill — that's exactly why the drag is invisible without doing this math.
Is a 0.20% expense ratio high?
For broad-market index ETFs, 0.03%–0.10% is common among the largest providers. 0.20% is reasonable; 0.75%+ for a plain index product is expensive. Sector, international and thematic ETFs typically run higher.
What gross return should I assume?
Long-run global equity averages have been roughly 7% nominal, but the future is unknowable. The good news: the fee gap is fairly insensitive to this assumption — lower returns actually make fees relatively more painful.