Planted North

Tools · Fee calculator

What does a fee really cost?

A yearly fee of 2% sounds small. Put in your own numbers and compare it with a lower one, on the same deposits and the same return.

BetaIllustration, not a forecastYour numbers stay on your deviceEducational, not financial advice

Your numbers

Change anything. The result updates as you type.

$
$
%

A broad index ETF's fee is often a fraction of 1%.

%

Actively managed funds and funds sold with advice often charge more. Yours is in the Fund Facts or ETF Facts.

Yearly return before fees

Nobody knows the real number. Pick one and keep it the same for both fees: the gap is what matters.

The higher fee leaves you with
about $0

With the lower fee
$0
With the higher fee
$0
You deposited
$0
The same in both versions
The gap opens slowly, then widens
Lower feeHigher feeWhat you deposited
Show the numbers as a table

Assumes a constant yearly return, a fee taken as a percentage of the balance, monthly compounding and deposits at the end of each month. Real returns move up and down and are never guaranteed. Fees can also change.

How to read this

The fee is charged on your whole balance every year, not only on what you add. As the balance grows, so does the dollar amount. The money that goes to the fee also stops compounding for you. That is why the two lines stay close for years and then pull apart.

A fee is a price, not a penalty. It can pay for advice, a plan or someone to call, and good advice can be worth paying for. The point of this tool is to see the price in dollars, so you can decide whether what you get is worth it.

Your move · 10 minutes

Find your own number

  1. Open your account and list each fund you hold.
  2. Find each fund's MER in its Fund Facts or ETF Facts document. Put your largest one in the "higher fee" box above.
  3. If you work with an adviser, ask one question: "What do I pay in total each year, in dollars?" Your annual report on charges in early 2027 will show fund costs in dollars for the first time.
Go deeperLesson: Fees, the slow leakLesson: What an ETF actually isGlossary: MERAll tools
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Sources and method

Where this comes from

  • The calculation is Planted North's own. With the starting numbers ($50 a week, 30 years, 6% before fees) it matches the example in the fees lesson.
  • The starting fees (0.2% and 2%) are examples, not quotes for any fund. Always check the Fund Facts or ETF Facts for the fund you hold.
  • Total Cost Reporting (in effect January 1, 2026; first annual reports in early 2027): Fidelity Canada explainer of the Canadian Securities Administrators rule.
  • This tool compares fees only. It does not include taxes, trading commissions, currency conversion or inflation.