An ETF (exchange-traded fund) lets you own a small piece of hundreds of companies at once. The hard part is picturing what small, regular investments become over 10 or 20 years. Our free ETF calculator shows you: enter your starting amount, monthly contribution, expected return and the fund’s expense ratio, and it projects your end value, total contributions and total growth — year by year, after fees.
Educational estimates only, not financial advice.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your initial investment — what you start with (enter $0 if you are starting from scratch).
- Enter your monthly contribution — what you plan to invest each month.
- Enter the expected annual return — a cautious estimate is 5–7% for a broad stock-market ETF.
- Enter the expense ratio — the fund’s annual fee (for example, 0.10% for a low-cost index ETF).
- Set the number of years and read the result — your projected end value, how much you contributed, how much is growth, and the year-by-year table.
How it works
The calculator projects compound growth: each year your money grows by the expected return, minus the expense ratio, and your monthly contributions are added along the way. It assumes contributions are invested at the end of each month and returns compound monthly. The expense ratio is taken off the return, because that is how fund fees work in real life — you never see a separate bill; the fee simply lowers your growth.
Worked example: start with $0, invest $200 a month, expect a 6% annual return, and pick a fund with a 0.10% expense ratio. After 10 years the projected end value is $32,598.60. You contributed $24,000 — the other $8,598.60 is growth.
Fees matter more than they look: on a $10,000 investment, a 0.10% expense ratio costs $10 a year, while a 0.75% ratio costs $75 a year — the same money, 7.5 times the fee. Over decades, that gap compounds into thousands of dollars.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ETF?
An exchange-traded fund is a basket of many stocks or bonds that trades on an exchange like a single stock. One share of a broad-market ETF can give you a piece of hundreds of companies, which spreads your risk.
How does an ETF calculator work?
It projects compound growth on your starting amount and monthly contributions at the return you enter, then subtracts the expense ratio. The year-by-year table shows the balance growing each year so you can see the curve, not just the final number.
What return should I assume?
US stocks have averaged roughly 7% a year after inflation over the long run — but no single year is average. Use 5–7% for a cautious estimate, and remember it is not a promise. Markets go up and down.
What is an expense ratio?
The fund’s annual fee, shown as a percentage of your investment. A 0.10% ratio on $10,000 is $10 a year. Low-cost index ETFs usually charge 0.03–0.20%; actively managed funds often charge 0.50% or more.
Are the results guaranteed?
No. The calculator shows what could happen if returns were steady every year. Real returns vary, and you could end up with more or less. Use it to compare plans — a higher contribution or a lower fee — not as a promise of what you will get.
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