ETF Calculator
What could a starting amount and a monthly contribution grow to in an ETF, and how much do the fund’s ongoing costs (TER) take from it along the way? Choose a fund or enter your own costs, set your amounts and horizon, and the result updates as you type. The figures below the calculator show its example settings.
ETF Growth & Fee-Erosion Simulator
See how ongoing fund costs (TER) affect your long-term wealth.
Set your parameters
VWCE · TER 0.14%
Buying ETFs in your own currency can avoid unnecessary currency-exchange fees. Read more about this
Advanced
6% is an illustrative assumption, not a forecast. You can change it.
Wealth projection
25 years
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My plans
Wealth over time
How this is calculated
- Each month your balance grows by one twelfth of the yearly return (monthly compounding).
- Your monthly contribution is added at the end of each month, so it starts growing the month after.
- Ongoing fund costs (TER) come off the yearly return, month by month. Gross is the result without those costs, net is the result after them.
Markets can also fall. See what a drop would mean in the market crash simulator
Net means after fund costs (TER). Not included: your broker’s trading costs, tax, inflation (unless you choose it) and market swings. The return is an assumption, not a forecast.
Investing a fixed amount each month spreads your purchases over time, so you buy at different prices.
Risk disclaimer: Investing involves risk of loss. The figures presented by this calculator are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Brokers to compare
Fees checked in November 2026.
This list shows brokers that serve retail investors in the Netherlands. The order is alphabetical and the same for every fund, regardless of any compensation.
BUX
- Order fee: €0.99 per ETF order (market order) on every plan; limit orders from Plus.
- Savings plan: plan buys cost €0.00 on every plan.
- Account: subscription Basic €0 per month, Plus €2.99, Prime €7.99; on top, a variable service fee on invested assets of 0.20% a year on Basic, 0% up to €250,000 (0.10% above) on Plus and 0% up to €500,000 (0.10% above) on Prime.
DEGIRO
- Order fee: Core Selection ETFs €1 handling fee per trade and no commission (Tradegate); other ETFs €2 commission plus €1 handling fee.
- Savings plan: no savings plan fee is listed on its fee pages.
- Account: no custody, inactivity or monthly service fee; exchange connection 0.25% of portfolio value per year, at most €2.50 per exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels free.
Interactive Brokers
- Order fee: Dutch ETF orders 0.05% of trade value, minimum €1.25 (Tiered) or €3.00 (Fixed) per order; third-party costs, such as exchange fees, may apply.
- Account: no platform fees or account minimum.
Trade Republic
- Order fee: €1 settlement fee per trade (€2 if the exchange is chosen via Direct Price).
- Savings plan: savings plans carry no execution fee.
Trading 212
- Order fee: no commission on trades.
We currently receive no compensation from these providers. This is not personal advice or a recommendation. Fees can change: always check the provider’s current terms.
What is fee drag? Every fund charges ongoing costs (TER), deducted from its return. Because those costs also shrink compounding, the gap grows year after year. Example with the example settings (€5,000 start, €500 a month, 25 years, 6% gross a year): at 0.14% costs the difference is about €8,134; at 0.20% about €11,555.
How to read the result. Gross is the balance without fund costs, net the balance after costs. Fee erosion is the difference between the two: what the costs took, including the growth that money would have had. Net gain is the net balance minus what you put in, and “fees as % of gain” sets the fee erosion against the gross gain. The chart shows how the gap opens slowly at first and faster later.
Assumptions and limits. Monthly compounding, contributions at the end of each month, no inflation adjustment unless you choose a rate under Advanced. No taxes (such as the Dutch Box 3), transaction costs or dividend withholding tax. Real returns vary and can be negative.
About the broker list. The list below the calculator is informational and the same for every fund. How it was put together is stated with it.
Your inputs. Runs in your own browser. Your inputs stay in your browser and are not sent to us.
The example settings, year by year
| After | Put in | Gross | Net | Fee erosion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 years | €35,000 | €41,629 | €41,457 | €172 |
| 10 years | €65,000 | €91,037 | €90,291 | €745 |
| 15 years | €95,000 | €157,680 | €155,704 | €1,976 |
| 20 years | €125,000 | €247,571 | €243,323 | €4,248 |
| 25 years | €155,000 | €368,822 | €360,688 | €8,134 |
Two more worked examples
These are made-up situations, calculated with the same engine as the tool above. The 6% a year before costs is an illustrative assumption, not a forecast, and the fund costs (TER) are example values.
Example 1: a lump sum. €10,000 is invested once and nothing is added for 20 years. With no costs the balance ends at €33,102. At a TER of 0.07% it ends at €32,644, at 0.14% at €32,192 and at 0.20% at €31,810. Between the lowest-cost and the highest-cost example the gap is €834 on €10,000 put in.
Example 2: a small monthly amount for 30 years. Starting from nothing and adding €150 a month, €54,000 is put in over 30 years. At 6% before costs the balance is €150,677 with no costs and €146,705 at a TER of 0.14%, so the costs took €3,972. At 0.20% the balance is €145,040. If the return before costs is only 4% a year, the balance at 0.14% is €101,548. At a return of 0%, nothing grows, yet the costs still lower the balance to €52,885, which is €1,115 less than the €54,000 put in.
| Situation | No costs | TER 0.07% | TER 0.14% | TER 0.20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €10,000 once, 20 years, 6% | €33,102 | €32,644 | €32,192 | €31,810 |
| €150 a month, 30 years, 6% | €150,677 | €148,676 | €146,705 | €145,040 |
How the calculation works in short
Each month the calculator takes the yearly return before costs, subtracts the TER, and divides by 12 to get a monthly rate. With 6% and a TER of 0.14% that is (6% − 0.14%) ÷ 12 = 0.4883% a month. The balance is multiplied by 1.004883, and the monthly contribution is added at the end of the month. With the example settings the first month is €5,000 × 1.004883 + €500 = €5,524.42. The balance is rounded to whole cents every month, and this repeats for every month of the horizon.
Common mistakes when reading the result
- Reading the 6% as a promise. It is an assumption chosen to show how the maths works. Real returns differ from year to year and can be negative.
- Looking at the TER alone. A cheaper fund is not a better one by definition: the index, the countries and the risk can differ, and the calculator only shows what a cost difference adds up to.
- Mixing up yearly and monthly amounts. The contribution field is per month; entering a yearly sum there overstates the result twelve times.
- Treating the gross figure as what ends up in your account. Gross is the balance without fund costs; net is after them, and neither includes inflation, tax or broker costs.
- Forgetting that the horizon matters more than it looks. In the examples above, the same cost difference is small after a few years and much larger after thirty.
Questions about the ETF Calculator
Why does a cost of 0.14% matter if it is so small?
The TER is taken every year from the whole balance, and the balance keeps growing. In example 2 the costs take €3,972 of a balance of €150,677. The money lost to costs would also have earned a return of its own in the later years.
Is the 6% a forecast?
No. It is an illustrative assumption used for the example settings. You can change it. Real returns fluctuate, can be negative, and past performance says nothing certain about the future.
Does the calculator include tax or broker costs?
No. It leaves out taxes (such as the Dutch Box 3), transaction costs, dividend withholding tax and inflation, unless you choose an inflation rate under Advanced.
Why does my own fund or broker show a different number?
Real funds differ from their index (tracking difference), contributions rarely land on the last day of the month, and returns are not the same every month. The calculator shows one steady illustration, not what a fund will do.
Are my inputs sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your own browser, and your inputs stay there.
Further reading:
For the full method, with a step-by-step example, see How the ETF Calculator works. More scenarios are in the worked examples.