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Finance & Investment · Mutual Funds & SIP

Direct vs Regular Mutual Fund Calculator

Every mutual fund scheme has a regular plan (which pays a distributor commission out of your money) and a cheaper direct plan holding the same portfolio. Enter both expense ratios to see the extra corpus the direct plan builds over your investment period.

A ready-made version of the Expense Ratio & Fee Impact Calculator.

Your inputs

Quick start — try a typical case

₹ 15 thousand

years
%

What the portfolio earns before the fund's expenses are taken out.

% a year
% a year

Find both on the fund's factsheet or AMFI's TER page.

Your result Live

Lost to the Higher Cost

₹17,19,241

12.4% of the ₹1,38,22,758 you'd have at 0.6% — over 20 years

Corpus at 0.6% Cost
₹1,38,22,758
Corpus at 1.6% Cost
₹1,21,03,517
Total Invested
₹36,00,000
Net Return After Costs
11.40% vs 10.40%
Cost Difference per Year
1.00% of your money, every year
  • You keep · 88%₹1,21,03,517
  • Lost to the higher cost · 12%₹17,19,241
Corpus over time

An estimate from the assumptions you entered, not a guaranteed outcome.

How this is calculated

Net return = Return before costs − Expense ratio · Fee impact = Corpus(lower cost) − Corpus(higher cost)

Expense ratio (TER)
Annual fund costs, deducted from the NAV every day
Corpus
Lump sum compounded annually + SIP at start of each month (return ÷ 12)

An expense ratio looks small because it's charged on your whole balance every year, not on your gains. Over long periods the gap compounds: 1 % a year can take 15–20 % of your final wealth over 20–25 years. The calculator grows the same money at the two net returns and shows the difference.

Assumptions & sources

  • The return before costs is constant; the expense ratio is subtracted from it each year (net return = gross − TER). Funds' published returns are already after expenses.
  • Lump sum compounds annually; SIPs use the SIP Calculator's conventions (start of month, return ÷ 12).
  • Exit loads, taxes and transaction costs are not included.
  1. 1Total Expense Ratio (TER) of mutual fund schemes — disclosure and limits — SEBI
  2. 2Mutual fund investor education (SIP, lumpsum, risk) — AMFI — Association of Mutual Funds in India
  3. 3Investments (Bodie, Kane & Marcus), chapters on returns, compounding and the time value of money — McGraw-Hill

Calculator ID FIN-FEE-IMPACT-001/direct-vs-regular · version 1.0.0

Common questions

What is the difference between direct and regular plans?

Same fund manager, same portfolio. The regular plan's expense ratio includes a commission paid to the distributor; the direct plan, bought straight from the fund house or a direct platform, doesn't — so its NAV grows faster.

Should I switch my existing investments to direct?

Switching is a redemption and fresh purchase: it can trigger capital gains tax and exit loads. Often the better move is to start new SIPs in the direct plan and switch old units once they are long-term and past any exit load.

Is a regular plan ever worth it?

If you value a distributor's advice and service, the commission is what you pay for it. This calculator shows exactly what that costs over your time horizon.