ETF fee calculator
What an expense ratio costs over a holding period
Enter a balance, an expense ratio and a holding period to see total fees paid and the ending value with and without the fee drag.
- Value after fees
- $208,475.79
- Value with no fee
- $233,047.86
- Total fee drag
- $24,572.07
What the inputs mean
- Balance
- Amount invested.
- Expense ratio
- Annual fee as a percentage of assets.
- Annual return
- Gross return before fees.
- Years
- Holding period.
Formula
Worked example
$50,000 at 8% for 20 years, 0.60% versus 0.03% → $233,048 versus $259,749 — about $26,700 of fee drag.
Questions people ask
Is the fee charged as a lump sum?
No. It is accrued daily out of the fund's assets, which is why it shows up as a lower return rather than a visible charge.
Limitations
Every result here is arithmetic on the numbers you enter. It carries no view on any specific security, assumes returns are steady when real returns are not, and ignores taxes, slippage and commissions. Use it to size and sanity-check, not to forecast.
Now run it on a real ticker
Score any name free, then bring the number back here.
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Understand the inputs
Autonium publishes research, not recommendations. Scores, factors and written reads describe historical and current data and are not buy or sell advice. Not financial advice. Market data is refreshed on a schedule and may lag. See our methodology and disclosures.