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ETF cost comparison calculator

The Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) is only one slice of what owning an ETF actually costs you. Add the bid-ask spread, the platform fee, FX cost and the silent drag from withholding tax — then multiply by your holding period — and the cheapest ETF often isn't the one with the lowest OCF. This calculator compares up to three ETFs side by side, in pounds, over your real holding period.

Educational only. Costs vary by platform and over time. Always verify the OCF, spread and platform charge against the official KIID and platform schedule before investing.

Why total cost of ownership beats “cheapest OCF”

A UK retail investor comparing two FTSE 100 trackers will often choose the one with the lower Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF). The headline numbers look tiny — 0.07% vs 0.09%, say — so the decision feels minor.

It isn't. Over a 20–30 year holding period, what really decides who wins is the total cost of ownership (TCO), and OCF is only one of five components:

OCF — the fund's annual operating cost, taken out of the NAV daily. Typical UK ETF range: 0.05% to 0.95%.
Bid-ask spread — the gap between buying price and selling price. Charged once per round trip. Range: 0.02% to 0.30%+ on UK-listed ETFs.
Platform fee — what your broker (Hargreaves, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor, Vanguard, Trading 212, etc.) charges to hold the ETF. Either % (e.g. HL 0.45%/year up to £250k) or flat (e.g. ii £4.99/month).
Withholding tax drag — tax leakage on dividends, depending on the fund's domicile and the country of the underlying companies. Typically 0% to 0.30% per year, sometimes more for emerging market funds.
FX cost — if the ETF is in USD or EUR and your platform converts at a marked-up rate, you pay this on every contribution and dividend. Range: 0% (true mid-market) to 1.5%+ on the worst-offending platforms.

For a £20,000 ISA held for 20 years, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive UK FTSE 100 ETF combinations can be over £4,000 in cumulative drag — even though all the ETFs track the same index. This calculator quantifies that.

Your inputs

Pre-loaded with three popular UK-listed S&P 500 ETFs (the most-compared cohort in UK retail). Edit any number; the calculation re-runs instantly.

Investment (£) Holding period (years) Platform fee (% / yr) Expected return (% / yr)

ETF name / ticker	OCF (%)	Spread (%)	WHT drag (%)	FX cost (%)

Results — total cost over your holding period

Formula: each year's effective cost = (OCF + WHT drag) × pot value, plus the platform fee × pot value, plus the spread (one-off, paid at purchase), plus FX cost on any contributions. Compounded over the holding period. Returns are net of all costs.

1. Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF)

The OCF is the headline annual cost of running the fund, taken out of the Net Asset Value (NAV) every day in tiny slices. It includes management fees, custody, audit, regulatory costs and most operational expenses. UK-listed ETFs disclose the OCF on the KIID and in the factsheet.

Typical 2026/27 OCFs for the most-held UK retail ETFs:

FTSE 100 trackers: ISF 0.07%, VUKE 0.09%
S&P 500 trackers: VUSA / VUAG / CSPX / IUSA all 0.07%
Global all-cap trackers: VWRL / VWRP 0.22%, IWDA 0.20%, SWDA 0.20%, XDWD 0.19%, FWRG 0.15%
Emerging markets: VFEM 0.22%, EIMI 0.18%
Global aggregate bond: AGGG 0.10%, GLAG 0.10%
Gold ETCs: SGLN 0.12%, IGLN 0.12%

OCF is the most-quoted cost — but on a £20,000 pot over 20 years at 6% gross, the difference between a 0.07% and a 0.22% OCF is roughly £2,100. Real, but not the whole picture.

2. Bid-ask spread

The bid-ask spread is the difference between the price you buy at (the ask) and the price you sell at (the bid). On the most-traded UK ETFs it's typically 0.02–0.06% per round trip. On thinly-traded niche ETFs it can be 0.20% or more.

The spread is paid once per round trip: once on entry, once on exit. So a £20,000 buy with a 0.05% spread costs £10 each way — £20 round trip. For most long-term holders this is small. For frequent rebalancers or smaller monthly contributions, it adds up faster.

Spread varies through the day: it's typically widest at the LSE open (08:00) and close (16:30), and tightest 09:30–15:30 when liquidity is highest. If you can choose when to trade, mid-session usually saves a couple of basis points.

3. Platform fee — the biggest variable

This is where the choice of broker decides the cost of your ETF more than the choice of ETF itself. The 2026/27 UK platform landscape splits into two camps:

Percentage-based — Hargreaves Lansdown 0.45% (capped at £45 for shares ISAs), AJ Bell 0.25% (capped at £10/month for shares ISAs), Vanguard Investor 0.15% (capped at £375/year)
Flat-fee — Interactive Investor £4.99/month (or higher tiers), iWeb £100 one-off then £5/trade, Trading 212 free

The cross-over point is usually £30,000–£50,000. Below that, percentage platforms are cheaper. Above that, flat-fee platforms win. For a £100,000 ISA held for 20 years, picking Trading 212 (free) vs Hargreaves Lansdown (0.45% capped at £45/yr) is a £900 difference over 20 years — before any other cost factor.

4. Withholding tax drag — the invisible cost

When a UK-listed ETF receives a dividend from a US-listed company, the US deducts withholding tax before the money reaches the fund. The standard rate is 30%, but Ireland-domiciled ETFs (UCITS) qualify for a treaty rate of 15%. Luxembourg-domiciled funds typically don't get the treaty rate.

This matters because virtually every popular UK-listed S&P 500 ETF is Ireland-domiciled (VUSA, VUAG, CSPX, IUSA all use ISIN prefix IE00). For a US-equity ETF yielding 1.5%, the WHT drag is roughly 1.5% × 15% = 0.225% per year.

For UK-only ETFs (FTSE 100, FTSE 250) there is no WHT drag — UK companies don't withhold tax on dividends to UK funds. For emerging markets, drag can be 0.30%+ depending on the underlying countries.

Note: WHT drag is not refundable inside an ISA or SIPP. The tax leaves the fund before it ever reaches the wrapper. This is one reason why total returns from US-equity ETFs slightly trail the S&P 500 total return index, even after OCF.

5. FX cost — only if your platform converts

If you buy a USD-denominated ETF on an LSE listing (e.g. CSPX on LSE in USD, ticker CSP1) and your platform converts your GBP at a marked-up rate, that's an extra cost. Hargreaves Lansdown's FX margin is up to 1% on smaller trades; Interactive Investor charges 1.5% on standard accounts (lower with the Super Investor tier); Trading 212 uses near-mid-market.

The simplest way to avoid FX cost: buy the GBP-denominated share class of the ETF. Most UK-listed ETFs offer GBP and USD share classes — pick the GBP one (e.g. VUSA, not CSP1) unless you have a specific reason.

Worked examples

Example 1: £20,000 in an S&P 500 tracker, 20 years

VUSA (0.07% OCF, 0.05% spread, 0.20% WHT drag, GBP), platform fee 0.25% per year, 6% gross expected return.

Annual drag: 0.07 + 0.20 + 0.25 = 0.52% per year
Net annual return: 6.00% − 0.52% = 5.48%
One-off spread cost on entry: £20,000 × 0.05% = £10
End value after 20 years: roughly £57,900 (vs £64,140 without costs)
Total cost over the 20 years: ~£6,240

If you'd picked the same ETF on a worse platform (HL 0.45% uncapped on funds, but capped for ETFs — here we'll model an uncapped percentage platform at 0.45%), the annual drag would be 0.72% and the end value would be ~£55,800 — another £2,100 lost to platform fee.

Example 2: £100,000 in VWRL vs IWDA, 25 years

Both are global trackers but their cost structures differ slightly:

VWRL: OCF 0.22%, spread 0.07%, WHT drag ~0.15%, GBP. Distributing.
IWDA: OCF 0.20%, spread 0.04%, WHT drag ~0.18%, USD listed (but GBP-denominated share class SWDA also exists). Accumulating.

At 7% gross over 25 years on £100,000 with platform fee of 0.15% (Vanguard Investor capped):

VWRL annual drag: 0.22 + 0.15 + 0.15 = 0.52%; net return 6.48%; end value ~£473,000; total cost ~£69,000
SWDA annual drag: 0.20 + 0.18 + 0.15 = 0.53%; net return 6.47%; end value ~£472,000; total cost ~£70,000

Within £1,000 over 25 years on £100,000 — effectively identical. The OCF gap doesn't translate into meaningful cost difference because the WHT drag goes the other way. This is the key insight: comparing OCFs alone is misleading.

Example 3: where platform choice matters more than ETF choice

Same ETF (VWRL), same investment (£50,000), same 20-year horizon, same 7% gross return — but two different platforms:

Trading 212 (0% platform fee): annual drag 0.37%; end value ~£181,000; total cost ~£12,500
Hargreaves Lansdown (0.45% capped at £45/yr for shares ISA): drag effectively 0.46% on £50k; end value ~£177,000; total cost ~£16,500

The £4,000 gap is the platform fee compounded over 20 years — even with HL's £45 cap. For larger pots, the cap matters; for smaller pots, the percentage rate matters; either way platform choice is rarely incidental.

Quick reference: 2026/27 cost numbers for popular UK ETFs

Ticker	Name	OCF	Typical spread	Est. WHT drag
VWRL	Vanguard FTSE All-World (Dist)	0.22%	0.07%	0.15%
VWRP	Vanguard FTSE All-World (Acc)	0.22%	0.07%	0.15%
VUSA	Vanguard S&P 500 (Dist)	0.07%	0.05%	0.20%
VUAG	Vanguard S&P 500 (Acc)	0.07%	0.06%	0.20%
CSPX	iShares Core S&P 500 (Acc)	0.07%	0.04%	0.10%
IUSA	iShares Core S&P 500 (Dist)	0.07%	0.05%	0.10%
IWDA	iShares Core MSCI World (Acc, USD)	0.20%	0.04%	0.18%
SWDA	iShares Core MSCI World (Acc, GBp)	0.20%	0.05%	0.18%
VUKE	Vanguard FTSE 100	0.09%	0.04%	0.00%
ISF	iShares Core FTSE 100	0.07%	0.04%	0.00%
EQQQ	Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100	0.30%	0.06%	0.20%
VFEM	Vanguard FTSE EM	0.22%	0.15%	0.35%
EIMI	iShares Core MSCI EM IMI	0.18%	0.12%	0.35%
AGGG	iShares Core Global Aggregate Bond	0.10%	0.08%	~0.05%
IGLN	iShares Physical Gold ETC	0.12%	0.04%	0.00%

OCFs from official KIIDs/factsheets. Typical spreads from intraday LSE order book observations during regular liquid hours. WHT drag estimated from underlying index dividend yield × treaty rate.

How to use this calculator effectively

Start with the three ETFs you're actually choosing between. Don't input every ETF you've ever heard of — the comparison is most useful when the shortlist is real.
Use the WHT drag from the reference table above rather than the official factsheet's "tax cost" figure. The factsheet number is often the published estimate which understates the true drag on most retail S&P / global trackers.
Set the platform fee to YOUR platform's rate, not the headline number. If you're at HL with a capped £45/year fee and a £50,000 pot, that's effectively 0.09%, not 0.45%.
Use a real expected return. Past returns aren't future returns. 5–7% real or 7–9% nominal is a sensible long-run global equity assumption; lower for bonds.
Run the same comparison at different time horizons. At 5 years, the cost gap is small; at 30 years, it's many thousands of pounds.

Frequently asked questions

Is OCF the same as Total Expense Ratio (TER)?

OCF and TER are very close but not identical. OCF is the European standard (UCITS) and includes ongoing operational costs. TER was the older term and was sometimes slightly less inclusive. For UK-listed UCITS ETFs you'll see "OCF" on the KIID; treat them as equivalent for retail decision-making purposes.

Why don't the costs add up to the difference vs the index?

They don't add up to the full tracking error because some costs are partially offset by securities lending revenue, and the published OCF excludes transaction costs inside the fund. The calculator focuses on costs you can compare across funds; the residual tracking difference is covered in our tracking difference vs tracking error guide.

Does this calculator include dealing fees?

Not separately. Many UK retail platforms (Vanguard, T212, AJ Bell ISA standard) don't charge per-trade for ETF buys; flat-fee platforms (ii standard tier, iWeb) do. If your platform charges £5–£10 per trade, add that to the FX cost field as a percentage of your trade size (£10 on a £1,000 trade = 1.0%).

How accurate are the WHT drag estimates?

They're estimates, not precise per-fund numbers. For Ireland-domiciled S&P 500 ETFs the drag is roughly 1.5% dividend yield × 15% treaty rate = 0.22%. The actual number per fund per year varies based on the timing of dividends, the fund's domicile treaty access and the fund's lendable securities. Use these numbers for comparison, not for filing tax returns.

What if I'm holding outside an ISA / SIPP?

In a GIA, you also pay dividend tax and CGT at your marginal rate — on top of all the costs above. Our ISA vs GIA calculator handles that comparison separately. The ETF cost numbers in THIS calculator are pre-tax; they're the costs of running the fund, not the cost of holding it in a taxable wrapper.

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