Investment Fee Impact Calculator

Expense ratio (the fund fee, typically 0.03 to 1.5%), advisory fee (if you use a financial advisor, typically 0.5 to 1.5%), transaction fees, and account fees. Total all of them to find your true annual cost. Index funds typically charge 0.03 to 0.20% vs actively managed funds at 0.50 to 1.50%.

On a $100,000 portfolio over 30 years, the difference between 0.1% and 1.0% in fees is roughly $200,000 to $300,000. That is not a typo. Fees compound just like returns do, but in reverse. Even small fee differences add up to enormous amounts over decades.