Canadian ETF Fee Drag Calculator
Pick from 30 popular Canadian-listed ETFs, or compare against a mutual fund fee benchmark, and see how much MER actually costs you over 10, 20, or 30 years. Same starting balance, same return assumption, only the fee changes. The dollar gap is what fees take from your future portfolio.
Side-by-side projection
Comparing two ETFs over your time horizon.
Year-by-year projection
| Year | Contributed | ETF A value | ETF B value | Fee drag |
|---|
How to use this fee drag calculator
Pick the two ETFs you want to compare, enter your portfolio assumptions, and the calculator runs the same projection twice with each ETF’s MER as the only difference. The fee drag stat is the dollar gap between the two future values, which is how much the higher-fee ETF effectively costs you on this exact scenario.
The dataset covers 30 popular Canadian-listed ETFs across Vanguard, iShares, BMO, and Global X, plus illustrative mutual fund fee benchmarks for F-series and retail/advisor-style funds. Most ETF MERs are sourced from each provider’s most recent product page, captured in our 2026 Canadian ETF Cost Snapshot. For affected all-in-one ETFs, the calculator uses an estimated forward-looking MER after recent management fee reductions because published trailing MERs can lag. The “cheapest in this category” hint under each dropdown points you at the lowest-MER alternative in the same investment category.
Note on recent fee cuts: Management fee and MER are not the same thing. MER includes management fees, taxes, and operating expenses, and published MERs are backward-looking. Where Vanguard or iShares has announced a management fee reduction that is not fully reflected in the trailing MER yet, this calculator labels the value as an estimated MER.
Methodology and assumptions
This calculator compares two funds by keeping the investor assumptions the same and changing only the MER. It subtracts each selected fund’s MER from the expected annual return, compounds the result over the selected timeline, and shows the dollar gap between the two outcomes.
- Net annual return: expected annual return minus the selected ETF’s MER.
- Period rate:
(1 + net annual return)^(1 / periods per year) - 1. - Contribution timing: regular contributions are added at the end of each contribution period.
- Fee drag: the absolute dollar difference between ETF A’s projected value and ETF B’s projected value.
- Frequency: weekly uses 52 periods, bi-weekly uses 26, monthly uses 12, and annual uses 1.
- MER data comes from WealthRadiant’s 2026 Canadian ETF Cost Snapshot and provider pages, last checked April 30, 2026.
- The default return assumption is before fees. The calculator applies MER drag after that.
- Taxes, bid-ask spreads, currency conversion, tracking difference, and brokerage fees are not included.
- Mutual fund options are illustrative fee benchmarks, not specific fund recommendations.
- Some all-in-one ETF MERs use forward-looking estimates where recent fee cuts are not fully reflected in trailing published MERs yet.
The point is not to prove the lowest-fee fund is always best. It is to show when a fee difference is large enough to care about in dollars.
Worked example
On a $10,000 starting balance with $500 monthly contributions over 30 years at a 6% expected return, a 0.10% MER fund projects to about $534,387 while a 0.20% MER fund projects to about $524,301. That 0.10 percentage-point MER gap creates about $10,086 of estimated lifetime fee drag on this scenario.
What “fee drag” actually means
An ETF’s MER is the all-in annual cost charged against your fund’s returns. A 0.20% MER on a $10,000 holding is $20 in year one, but it compounds the same way returns do, so the lifetime cost on a long horizon is much larger than the annual percentage suggests. For a fuller breakdown of what MER includes (management fee, operating expenses, GST/HST, underlying-fund costs), read our guide to MER.
Why a small MER difference matters
On a $10,000 starting balance with $500 per month over 30 years at 6% expected return, a 0.10 percentage-point MER difference compounds to roughly $9,000 to $11,000 in lifetime fee drag. The exact number depends on your contribution rate and assumed return. Try the default scenario above and switch ETF B to the cheapest in its category to see the gap on your specific assumptions.
Picking the right ETF for your account
Cheapest is not always best. Currency hedging (VFV vs VSP), tax efficiency (HXS swap structure in non-registered accounts), and how an ETF fits your overall asset mix all matter. The fee drag calculator is one input, not the whole decision. For account-type guidance, start with TFSA vs RRSP. For category-level editorial picks, see our Best Canadian ETFs guide. To actually buy these ETFs, compare brokerages in Wealthsimple vs Questrade.
Sister tools
For general portfolio modelling without ETF-specific MERs, use the Canadian Compound Interest Calculator. For canonical ETF-vs-ETF comparisons, see XEQT vs VEQT, XEQT vs VFV, and XGRO vs XBAL.
FAQ
How do I compare two Canadian ETF fees?
Pick the two ETFs from the dropdowns above, enter your starting balance, contribution, return assumption, and time horizon. The calculator runs a side-by-side projection using each ETF’s most recent MER. The fee drag number tells you how much the higher-fee ETF costs you on this exact scenario.
What is fee drag on an ETF?
Fee drag is the cumulative cost of an ETF’s MER over your investing horizon. Because fees compound the same way returns do, a small MER difference becomes a meaningful dollar amount over 20 to 30 years.
How much does a 0.10% MER difference actually cost?
On a $10,000 starting balance with $500 monthly contributions over 30 years at 6% return, a 0.10% MER difference compounds to roughly $9,000 to $11,000 in lifetime fee drag. Your actual number depends on your contribution rate, time horizon, and assumed return.
Should I always pick the cheapest ETF in a category?
No. Currency hedging, tax efficiency, liquidity, and your investing goals matter too. A 5 basis-point fee difference is small enough that other factors usually dominate. The cheapest-in-category hint here is a starting point, not a recommendation.
Are these MERs current?
The dataset is from our 2026 Canadian ETF Cost Snapshot (April 2026 cut). MERs are reviewed quarterly. For some all-in-one ETFs, the calculator uses an estimated MER after recent management fee cuts because the published trailing MER can lag. Verify with the provider’s product page before making investing decisions.
Can I use this for non-registered, TFSA, and RRSP accounts?
Yes for the fee comparison itself. The MER math is the same regardless of account type. The calculator does not model taxes or contribution limits, so for tax-affected accounts you may want to layer that on separately.
Last reviewed June 3, 2026. MER data last checked April 30, 2026, from the 2026 Canadian ETF Cost Snapshot and provider pages.
