What is the Index Fund Comparison Calculator?
The Index Fund Comparison Calculator helps you compare the yearly charges, risk scores and past returns of popular index funds and ETFs, and see what each charge costs you in pounds.
Index funds follow a market rather than trying to pick winners. Two funds tracking the same index should usually deliver broadly similar returns before charges, although tracking can still differ. The charge comes off your whole pot every year, so a gap like 0.23% against 0.13% can add up to thousands of pounds over 20 years.
It is not a list of the best funds to buy. A lower charge does not guarantee a better return.
How the Calculator Works?
The list covers 41 popular index funds and ETFs (funds traded on the stock market like shares) from eight providers, including Vanguard, HSBC, Fidelity and iShares. Charges, risk scores and five years of returns come from each provider’s website and are checked twice a month.
The calculator grows your money at the same rate in every fund, so only the charge changes what you end up with. Past returns are shown separately, as each fund actually delivered them.
It does not include ETF dealing charges, platform fees (unless you add yours) or tax.
Step 1: Choose Your Fund
Pick your fund, then enter what you have invested, what you add each month and for how many years.
Step 2: Set Your Assumptions
Open Assumptions to change the growth rate, or add your platform fee and any cost to switch.
Step 3: Compare Your Options
See what your fund’s charge costs, compare lower-cost alternatives and check how closely they match what you already hold.
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Illustrative only, not financial advice or a recommendation to buy any fund. Charges and returns come from each provider’s website and can change. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns, so check the fund’s key information document and your platform’s charges before investing.
Understanding Your Results
Start with what your fund costs, then the lower-cost alternatives and how closely they match, then the returns and risk behind them.
What Your Fund Costs
The headline figure is what your fund’s charge takes from your pot over the years you enter, including the growth that money would have made.
It is compared with the cheapest similar fund in the list, or tells you if yours is already the cheapest.
Lower-Cost Alternatives
Lower-cost funds are listed closest match first, from the same index down to a similar market. Ready-made mixes are marked to check, because their blends differ.
Each saving is the extra left in your pot at the end. On £50,000 plus £200 a month over 20 years:
0.23% costs about £8,100. 0.13% costs about £4,620. That is £3,480 more in your pot.
Returns and Risk
Returns are real figures in pounds, after charges, for each of the last five years. If a provider’s figures end in a different month, it is marked.
The calculator shows the risk indicator published for each fund and the scale it uses. A higher number generally means greater movement in value, but check the scale shown because fund disclosure formats are changing. It is a guide, not a prediction of future losses or returns.
Before You Make a Change
Inside an ISA or a pension, selling one fund to buy another has no tax to pay. In a general investment account, selling can trigger Capital Gains Tax, which the Capital Gains Harvesting / Bed-and-ISA Calculator can help you think through.
Check what your platform charges. Some add a dealing fee each time you buy an ETF, which matters if you invest monthly. Some charge a percentage of your pot, which can cost more than the fund itself.
Your money is usually out of the market for a few days while the switch goes through. And check what the new fund holds. Two global funds can follow different indexes, with more or fewer smaller companies, or none from the UK.
Is the saving worth the hassle?
A saving of a few pounds a year may look very different from several hundred or several thousand pounds over your investing period.
But compare the whole picture. Check that the alternative really does the same job, whether your platform charges to buy or hold it, and whether switching creates any other costs or tax considerations.
Fund charges are one of the costs you can see upfront. Whether the difference is worth acting on is ultimately your call.
Three people checking what their funds cost
A cheaper fund is not automatically a better one. But paying more for a fund that does the same job rarely makes sense, and the gap is easy to miss when it is written as a percentage. These examples show three investors putting in their own numbers.
Owen, 20 years in a global fund
£50,000 invested • £200 a month • 20 years • Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap (0.23%)
Owen holds Vanguard’s Global All Cap fund in a Stocks and Shares ISA, on a platform that sells funds from several providers. On his numbers, its 0.23% charge takes about £8,100 over 20 years. The cheapest similar fund in the list is an ETF charging 0.12%. But Owen invests £200 every month, and his platform charges a fee each time he buys an ETF.
- SPDR MSCI ACWI ETF at 0.12%: about £3,830 more after 20 years, before dealing fees
- HSBC FTSE All-World Index Fund at 0.13%: about £3,480 more, with no fee on monthly buys
- The saving builds slowly: about £350 after 5 years and £970 after 10
What Owen takes from it
The HSBC fund does almost the same job for 0.10% less, without dealing fees on his monthly buys. Its index leaves out the smallest companies that Global All Cap holds, so he checks he is happy with that before switching inside his ISA.
Margaret, keeping it simple with a ready-made mix
£180,000 invested • Nothing added • 12 years • L&G Multi-Index 5 (0.31%)
Margaret lives on her workplace pension and keeps her savings in one ready-made mix of shares and bonds, so she never has to rebalance. She plans to leave it invested for about 12 years. Its 0.31% charge takes about £11,800 over that time. Her fund’s split between shares and bonds is not fixed, so the calculator lists cheaper mixes to check rather than calling any of them a match.
- HSBC Global Strategy Balanced at 0.18%: about £4,910 more after 12 years
- Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity at 0.20%: about £4,150 more
- Past 5 years: +34.1% and +31.1% to August 2026, against +36.8% to June 2026 for hers
- All three have a risk score of 4 out of 7
What Margaret checks
The saving is real, but each mix holds its own blend. She reads each factsheet to see how much sits in shares, and notices LifeStrategy holds more UK shares than a global index would. The Home Bias vs Global Equity Calculator helps her think about whether that matters to her.
Kemi, finding the bigger cost
£15,000 invested • £400 a month • 25 years • Fidelity Index World (0.12%) • Platform fee 0.35%
Kemi already holds one of the cheaper global funds. She was about to switch to L&G’s International Index at 0.08%, until she added her platform fee under Assumptions. Her platform charges 0.35% of her pot each year, nearly three times what her fund charges.
- Fund charge at 0.12%: about £5,300 over 25 years
- Platform fee at 0.35%: about £16,200 over 25 years
- Switching to L&G at 0.08%: about £1,750 more in her pot, if her platform offers that share class
What Kemi takes from it
The potential fund saving is relatively small compared with what she is paying the platform. As her pot grows, a platform with a flat monthly fee could cost less, so she compares a few. The ETF vs Managed Portfolio Fees Calculator shows how layers of fees add up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Browse the common questions we receive about the Index Fund Comparison Calculator, including index funds, charges and switching.
What is the Index Fund Comparison Calculator?
The Index Fund Comparison Calculator compares the yearly charges, risk scores and past returns of 41 popular index funds and ETFs. It shows what your fund’s charge costs in pounds over the years you plan to invest, which cheaper funds do a similar job, and how much more you could have by switching.
What is the difference between an index fund and an ETF?
Both follow a market index rather than trying to pick winners. An index fund is bought and sold once a day at a single price, and many platforms let you invest monthly without a dealing fee. An ETF (exchange-traded fund) trades on the stock market during the day like a share, so some platforms charge a dealing fee each time you buy, and there is a small gap between the buying and selling price.
What is the yearly charge?
It is the ongoing charges figure (OCF), or total expense ratio (TER) for many ETFs. It covers running the fund and is taken from the fund’s value, so you never see a bill. The calculator uses the figure each provider publishes. It does not include your platform fee, which you can add under Assumptions.
Why does a small difference in charges matter?
Because the charge comes off your whole pot every year, and the money taken would otherwise have kept growing. On £50,000 plus £200 a month over 20 years at 5% growth, a 0.23% charge costs about £8,100 and a 0.13% charge about £4,620. The gap is £3,480.
Does the cheapest fund always give the best return?
No. Funds that follow different indexes hold different shares, so their returns can differ by far more than their charges. Even funds tracking the same index can lag it by slightly different amounts. A lower charge is a head start, not a guarantee. That is why the calculator shows past returns next to each charge, and marks how closely each cheaper fund matches yours.
What does the risk score mean?
It comes from the fund’s key information document and is based on how much the price has moved up and down in the past, usually on a scale of 1 to 7. Most share funds here score 5 or 6, and a score can change as markets move. Newer product summaries may use a different scale, so the calculator shows the scale next to every score.
Which funds are included, and how often is the data updated?
41 funds and ETFs from Vanguard, HSBC, Fidelity, Legal & General, iShares, SPDR, Invesco and Amundi, chosen because they are widely held and widely available. The figures come from each provider’s website and are checked twice a month. Legal & General’s figures are copied by hand, because their site does not allow automated reads. It is not the whole market, so a fund you hold may not be listed.
Can I buy every fund in the list on my platform?
Not always. Some platforms only sell their own funds, and some offer a different share class of the same fund with a higher charge. Search for the ISIN, the 12-character code shown for each fund, on your platform to check you are buying the class listed here.
Is it worth switching funds?
Inside an ISA or pension, switching has no tax to pay, and many platforms do not charge for selling funds. In a general investment account, selling can trigger Capital Gains Tax. Your money is usually out of the market for a few days. If the difference adds up to hundreds or thousands of pounds, it is worth looking more closely at whether the alternative genuinely does the same job and what switching would involve.
Why do some returns end in a different month?
Providers publish their figures on different timetables. Most funds in the list report to the same month, but some report to the end of a quarter, and a few only publish calendar-year figures. The calculator marks any fund whose returns end in a different month, so you know when you are not comparing the same 12 months.
Why are some ETF returns affected by currency?
Some ETFs report in US dollars. The calculator converts those returns into pounds using Bank of England exchange rates, so they can be compared with funds priced in pounds. Moves in the pound push returns up or down, which is also true of any fund holding overseas shares.
How is this different from the other investing calculators?
This calculator compares real funds and their charges. The ETF vs Managed Portfolio Fees Calculator looks at paying for a managed portfolio against building your own, and the Cash ISA vs Stocks & Shares ISA Calculator compares investing with keeping cash. The ISA Millionaire Timeline Calculator shows how long regular investing could take to reach a target.
Can I export my results?
Yes. After the results, Get my CSV downloads the funds you are viewing, with charges in pounds on your numbers, risk scores, five years of returns and ISINs. You will be asked for your name and email.
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Certified Money First Aider®
These calculators are built by a Certified Money First Aider to help you think more clearly about money and time. Money First Aid® is about practical, non-judgemental support for financial wellbeing. The calculators can certainly help you make informed decisions, but they are not regulated financial advice.
Behind Retirement Calculators
Built from the questions I was asking myself
I'm Ryan, the person behind Retirement Calculators. I started the site after selling an online business and trying to understand what our pensions, ISAs, investments and property actually meant for the way we wanted to live.
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