Why won't it show a portfolio-wide number for my portfolio?

Because we can't price enough of it. A portfolio-level expense ratio needs a published ratio for at least 95% of the portfolio by weight — an average over the part we happen to know is not that portfolio's cost. The holdings we can price are still listed, and the gap is named, so you can fill it in yourself.

Where do the expense ratios come from?

Each one is read off the fund provider's own page, and every row carries that source and the date it was read; the oldest date behind any figure shown is displayed so you can judge staleness. Anything you enter yourself takes priority over our data, and is labelled as yours.

Does a lower expense ratio mean a better fund?

No, and Fee X-Ray doesn't say it does. It compares cost, holding the assumed return fixed — that's the only thing a fee difference on its own can tell you. Two funds tracking different things can have very different returns at identical fees.

Is the 20-year figure a prediction?

No. It's arithmetic: the same gross return you entered, compounded at two different expense ratios. It shows the effect of the fee with everything else held equal, which is not a forecast of what either fund will return.

Fee X-Ray

Fund fees are taken out of returns rather than billed to you, which is exactly why they're easy to ignore. Enter your holdings and their expense ratios and see the weighted cost, the dollars a year, and which holdings account for it — with every figure carrying the source it came from and the date it was read.

Educational use only — not investment advice. Results are hypothetical.Read full disclaimer

This tool is for educational and informational purposes only and does not provide financial, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Results are hypothetical and based on historical data and assumptions that may be inaccurate. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult a licensed professional before making investment decisions.

Research & DataBeginner

What is the Fee X-Ray?

The weighted expense ratio of your holdings, the dollars a year that represents, which holdings account for it, and the compounded difference against a ratio you choose — every figure carrying its source and date.

New here? What you'll get

What does a 60/40 of index funds cost? — Two three-basis-point funds versus the same mix at a quarter of a percent — the annual figure looks trivial and the twenty-year figure does not.

Start below ↓

New here? How this works

A fund's expense ratio is deducted from the fund's own returns rather than billed to you, which is why a 0.75% fund and a 0.03% fund feel identical month to month and are anything but over twenty years. Fee X-Ray puts the number in front of you: the weighted ratio across your holdings, what it costs annually per $10,000 (or on the value you enter), and which holdings carry the cost — which is not the same as which has the highest fee, since a cheap fund at 80% of a portfolio can easily cost more than an expensive one at 5%. It also lets you hold the assumed gross return fixed and vary only the expense ratio, which isolates the one thing a fee difference can actually tell you. Two rules govern every output: no figure appears without its source and the date it was read, and no portfolio-level number is published unless we can price at least 95% of the portfolio by weight — below that, the known holdings are listed and the gap is named rather than averaged over.

How to use it

1Enter your holdings and their weights.
2Add each fund's expense ratio from the fund's own page — it's usually on the overview, quoted as a percent like 0.03%.
3Read the weighted cost and, if you want, set an alternative ratio to see the compounded difference at a fixed gross return.

What you'll get

Weighted expense ratio, with coverage stated
Cost per $10,000 a year, and on your own value if you give one
Which holdings account for the cost, largest first
10- and 20-year comparison against a ratio you choose, at an identical gross return
The source and as-of date behind every ratio used

↓ Start below

Enter your holdings and their weights. Each fund's expense ratio is on its own page — Vanguard, iShares, Schwab and the rest all publish it — and whatever you type here wins over anything we have on file, because you know which share class you hold.

TickerWeight %Expense ratio %

Portfolio value (optional)Compare against a ratio ofAssumed gross return %

0.03%a year, weighted across your holdings

That's $3.00 a year per $10,000 held — $30.00 a year on the value you entered.

Coverage 100% by weight

Each holding's weight, its published expense ratio, and what that ratio contributes to the portfolio's weighted cost.
Holding	Weight	Expense ratio	Share of cost	Source
VTI	60.0%	0.03%	$18.00	You entered this
BND	40.0%	0.03%	$12.00	You entered this

The same portfolio at 0.05% instead

Hypothetical arithmetic, not a projection: both columns assume the SAME 7.0% gross return a year — a figure you chose — and differ only in the expense ratio. It isolates the effect of the fee and says nothing about which fund performs better.

After	At 0.03%	At 0.05%	Difference
10 years	$196,126	$195,734	−$392
20 years	$384,653	$383,117	−$1,536

Expense ratios are what a fund charges annually, taken out of the fund's own returns rather than billed to you. Every figure above carries the source it came from and the date it was read. Educational analysis, not investment advice.

Want this on your own portfolio, kept up to date, and folded into your Portfolio Check-in? A free account saves a portfolio and a plan; Pro runs the X-Ray against it automatically.

How the Fee X-Ray works

Weights are rescaled to 100% so a rounded holdings list doesn't understate each contribution. Each holding's contribution is its weight times its ratio; the portfolio's weighted ratio normalizes those contributions over the KNOWN weight rather than over 100, so partial coverage doesn't quietly understate the cost of the priced part. Coverage is measured by weight, and a portfolio-level figure is withheld entirely below 95%. Cash carries no expense ratio and counts as a genuine 0% rather than as an unpriced gap. A ratio you enter yourself always overrides our reference data, because you know which share class you hold. The horizon comparison compounds (1 + gross) × (1 − ratio) for each ratio over the chosen years — identical gross return, differing only in fee — and is hypothetical arithmetic under assumptions you supply, not a projection.

Full methodology — formulas, data sources & limitations ↗

FAQ

Why won't it show a portfolio-wide number for my portfolio?: Because we can't price enough of it. A portfolio-level expense ratio needs a published ratio for at least 95% of the portfolio by weight — an average over the part we happen to know is not that portfolio's cost. The holdings we can price are still listed, and the gap is named, so you can fill it in yourself.
Where do the expense ratios come from?: Each one is read off the fund provider's own page, and every row carries that source and the date it was read; the oldest date behind any figure shown is displayed so you can judge staleness. Anything you enter yourself takes priority over our data, and is labelled as yours.
Does a lower expense ratio mean a better fund?: No, and Fee X-Ray doesn't say it does. It compares cost, holding the assumed return fixed — that's the only thing a fee difference on its own can tell you. Two funds tracking different things can have very different returns at identical fees.
Is the 20-year figure a prediction?: No. It's arithmetic: the same gross return you entered, compounded at two different expense ratios. It shows the effect of the fee with everything else held equal, which is not a forecast of what either fund will return.