Visualize the long-term cost of fund expense ratios on returns with side-by-side ETF comparison and fee drag charts.
Expense ratios are easy to compare in basis points but harder to translate into dollars over time. This calculator places two ETFs on the same assumed investment path, adjusts each projection for its stated annual expense ratio, and plots both the balances and the resulting fee drag. The main surprise is that the long-term gap is not merely the annual fee percentages added together. Each fee leaves less money invested for later compounding. The result is a cost comparison under chosen assumptions, not a forecast of either ETF's market return.
The calculator applies each entered expense ratio to an otherwise matched ETF scenario and projects both paths across the selected horizon. Keeping the growth assumptions equal isolates the effect associated with the fee difference. The chart shows when the balances begin to separate, while the comparison values summarize the resulting dollar gap.
An expense ratio does more than reduce one year's ending value. Money used for fund expenses is no longer in the projected balance to participate in later gains or losses. Over multiple periods, the displayed drag can therefore exceed starting balance times expense-ratio difference times years, especially when the assumed return is positive.
No. It compares the effect of expense ratios under matched assumptions. A lower ratio produces less modeled fee drag, but funds can differ in index exposure, holdings, liquidity, tracking, tax consequences, risk, and performance. Use the result to assess one cost dimension, not as a buy or sell recommendation.
Because the projected balance changes over time and fee effects carry forward. A fee reduces the amount available for subsequent compounding, so later values reflect both the expense and the growth that the deducted amount did not earn. The shortcut uses only the opening balance and therefore misses changes in the balance during the holding period.
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