Fee impact calculator
What do fees actually cost me?
Compare the same plan with and without an annual fee to see the cost in money rather than in basis points. A fee is charged on the whole balance every year, including growth it has already produced.
- Written by
- Suggested Investments Research Team
- Content type
- Calculator
- Published
- 2026-09-13
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-13
Total contributed
$160,000
Balance before fees
$445,795
Balance after fees
$381,063
Cost of the fee
$64,732 (14.5%)
The fee is charged on the whole balance every year, including the growth it has already produced.
How to read the result
- Read the cost as a share of the ending balance, not as a percentage per year. That is the number that matters.
- The fee cost grows with the time invested, so it is largest for exactly the money you plan to leave alone longest.
- Fees are the one assumption on this page you fully control.
What this calculator cannot tell you
- Trading costs, spreads and taxes are not modelled.
- A higher fee is not automatically worse if it buys something you genuinely need.
- Arithmetic on your inputs, not a projection of any specific fund.
Terms used here
Sources and methodology
Standard future-value arithmetic. Every figure is hypothetical and depends entirely on the assumptions you enter.
- Investor.gov investor education — U.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionPrimary source
- Intelligent Accumulation methodology — Suggested InvestmentsPrimary source
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