About the Mutual Fund Calculator
Mutual fund fees look small, but they take a share of your money every year, and over decades the effect is large. This mutual fund calculator projects the value of a fund from a starting amount and regular monthly deposits at the return you expect, then shows the same investment after the fund's yearly expense ratio and any sales charge taken from each deposit. You see the final value, how much you paid in, the growth after fees and exactly how many dollars went to fees. It is a simple way to compare a low-cost index fund with a more expensive actively managed fund.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Mutual Fund Calculator
- 1Enter the amount you start with and the amount you add each month.
- 2Enter the return you expect before fees.
- 3Enter the fund's expense ratio and any sales charge on deposits.
- 4Enter the number of years you will stay invested.
- 5Read the final value and the money lost to fees.
Comparing two funds
Run the calculator twice with the same deposits and gross return, once with each fund's expense ratio. The difference in final value is what the more expensive fund must beat through better performance to be worth it. A fund with a 1 percent fee needs to earn about one percentage point more every year than a cheap index fund just to break even, which is hard to do consistently.
Ways to keep costs low
- Choose no-load funds
- Prefer index funds and funds with low expense ratios
- Watch for platform and advice fees on top of fund fees
- Keep trading to a minimum
- Check the total cost figure the fund reports
Related tools
The Compound Interest Calculator and SIP Calculator project regular investing, the CAGR Calculator measures past growth, the Average Return Calculator shows the true average of yearly results, the Retirement Calculator plans long-term goals and the Inflation Calculator shows real value. This tool is educational and not investment advice.
Features
- Growth with regular monthly deposits
- Expense ratio taken from the return each year
- Front-end sales charge on every deposit
- Value without fees for comparison
- Money lost to the expense ratio and to the sales charge
- Up to 70 years
- Runs in your browser
Frequently asked questions
What is an expense ratio?
It is the yearly fee a fund charges, as a percent of the money invested. A 1 percent ratio on 100,000 costs 1,000 a year. The fee is taken from the fund's assets automatically, so you never see a bill, but it lowers your return every year.
How much do fees matter over time?
More than most people expect. Investing 10,000 for 25 years at 7 percent grows to about 54,000 with no fees, but only about 43,000 with a 1 percent expense ratio. That is around 11,000 lost to fees, roughly a fifth of the final value.
What is a front-end load?
It is a sales charge taken from each deposit when you buy the fund, such as 5 percent. A 1,000 deposit with a 5 percent load puts only 950 to work. Many funds today have no load, so compare before you buy.
What is a good expense ratio?
Broad index funds often charge under 0.2 percent. Actively managed funds commonly charge 0.5 to 1.5 percent. Whether higher fees are worth it depends on whether the manager beats the market after fees, which many do not do consistently over the long run.
Does this guarantee my returns?
No. Investments rise and fall, and the return you enter is only an assumption. Use cautious figures, test several, and remember that you can lose money. Past performance doesn't predict future results.
Are taxes and inflation included?
No. Taxes on gains and dividends and the effect of rising prices would reduce your real return. For inflation, use the Inflation Calculator alongside this one.