KiwiSaver Provider Fee Comparison Calculator NZ 2026/27
This calculator compares KiwiSaver providers the way you actually experience the decision: by name, not just by an abstract percentage on a comparison chart. Most people choosing between providers see a list of unfamiliar fund names and fee percentages that look almost identical, 1.05% here, 0.65% there, and it is genuinely hard to tell whether the gap is worth the hassle of switching. This tool turns that percentage gap into an actual dollar figure over the number of years you plan to stay invested. Enter your current KiwiSaver balance and your salary, and the calculator estimates your total annual contribution using the default 3.5% employee rate, the default 3.5% employer rate and the government contribution of 25 cents per dollar up to $260.72 a year, all current settings from 1 April 2026, though you can overwrite the estimate if you know your real figure. Choose a fund type to set the expected long-run return, then name up to three providers you want to compare, your current one and up to two others you are weighing up, along with each one's published annual fee. The calculator projects your balance forward under each provider's fee, holding the assumed investment performance equal across all three, and shows you the projected balance for each and the dollar gap between the cheapest and the most expensive. It updates instantly as you type. This is built for anyone reviewing their KiwiSaver provider, comparing quotes before a switch, or simply wanting to see whether the fee difference between two funds is actually worth acting on.
paye-data.js file.Return assumptions: Conservative/Defensive 2.5% · Balanced 3.5% · Growth 4.5% · Aggressive 5.5% a year, the standard long-run projection figures used in KiwiSaver Fund Updates, net of typical fees and after tax at the 28% prescribed investor rate (PIR), set under the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014.
Method: the first provider's return is treated as the fund-type return you selected. Each other provider's return is that same figure adjusted only by its fee difference from the first provider, so the comparison assumes identical gross investment performance and isolates the effect of fees alone. The starting fee percentages shown for Provider 2 and Provider 3 are illustrative examples only, not published rates for any real company, and must be replaced with the actual fee from that provider's current Fund Update.
Last verified: July 2026, against Inland Revenue and Financial Markets Authority published figures.
Estimated total annual contribution: $4,810.72 (your 3.5% + employer 3.5% + government contribution). Enter my own contribution instead
| Provider | Annual fee | Net return used | Balance after 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider A (my current fund) | 1.05% | 4.50% | $368,394 |
| Provider B | 0.65% | 4.90% | $398,187 |
| Provider C | 0.30% | 5.25% | $426,516 |
This is a projection, not a promise. It assumes a constant average annual return with no market ups and downs, contributions added once a year, and fee and PIR that do not change. It does not include any cost or time out of the market from switching. Check each provider's own Fund Update for its actual current fee and return history.
How this comparison works
KiwiSaver providers each set their own annual fund charge, usually a percentage of your balance, deducted regardless of whether the fund gained or lost value that period. On a small balance the dollar amount looks trivial: 1% of $5,000 is only $50 a year. The problem is that your balance grows over your working life, and the fee grows in dollar terms right along with it, every single year. This calculator starts from your current balance and salary, estimates your annual contribution (or uses one you enter yourself), and then runs the same projection three times, once for each provider you name, changing only the fee. The fund-type return you select (Conservative, Balanced, Growth or Aggressive) is treated as the return your first provider, Provider A, already delivers net of its own fee. Providers B and C then get the same underlying return adjusted only by how much cheaper or more expensive their fee is relative to Provider A. That isolates the one variable you are actually trying to compare: the cost of holding your money with each named provider, assuming they all invest to a similar standard.
Worked example
Take someone on a $65,000 salary with a $20,000 KiwiSaver balance today. Contributing the default 3.5% themselves ($2,275 a year), matched by the default 3.5% from their employer ($2,275 a year), plus the maximum government contribution of $260.72 (since $2,275 of member contributions already clears the $1,042.86 needed), gives a total annual contribution of $4,810.72. They choose a Growth fund, assumed to return 4.5% a year net of fees and tax. Provider A, their current fund, charges 1.05% a year; after 30 years their balance grows to about $368,394. Provider B, an alternative charging 0.65%, a 0.40 percentage point saving, pushes the net return to 4.90% and grows the balance to about $398,187, roughly $29,793 more. Provider C, a lower-cost option charging 0.30%, a 0.75 percentage point saving on Provider A, lifts the net return to 5.25% and grows the balance to about $426,516, a full $58,122 more than staying with Provider A, for exactly the same contributions and, in this comparison, the same underlying investment performance.
Why the gap is bigger than the percentage suggests
A 0.75 percentage point fee gap sounds small next to a headline return of 4.5% or 5.25%. The reason it turns into tens of thousands of dollars is that fees and returns both compound, in opposite directions, over the same balance. Every dollar taken as a fee stops earning a return for every year you have left invested, so the true cost of a fee is not the percentage once, it is that percentage applied to an ever-growing balance for as long as you stay in that fund. Run the same maths over 10 years instead of 30 and the gap shrinks dramatically, because there is far less time for the difference to compound. That is exactly why the time horizon field matters so much in this calculator, and why a fee difference that looks minor to someone in their fifties can be worth tens of thousands of dollars to someone in their twenties.
What this calculator assumes
- Investment returns of 2.5% (Conservative/Defensive), 3.5% (Balanced), 4.5% (Growth) or 5.5% (Aggressive) a year, the standard long-run projection figures used in KiwiSaver Fund Updates, already net of typical fees and after tax at the 28% PIR.
- Provider A's return equals the fund-type figure you select; Providers B and C use that same figure adjusted only by their fee difference from Provider A, so all three are assumed to achieve identical gross investment performance before fees.
- Annual contributions are estimated from your salary using the default 3.5% employee rate, default 3.5% employer rate and the government contribution rules current from 1 April 2026, or you can enter your own known figure instead.
- Contributions are added once a year and compound at the same rate as the rest of the balance, an approximation of a regular pay-cycle contribution.
- The starting fee percentages shown for Provider B and Provider C are illustrative examples, not the published rate of any real KiwiSaver scheme, and should be replaced with the actual figure from that provider's current Fund Update before you rely on the result.
- No cost or time out of the market is assumed for switching. Most KiwiSaver switches in New Zealand are free, but always check with your current provider.
- Results are a projection based on the figures you enter, not a forecast or a promise of future performance, and not personalised financial advice.
Who this calculator is for
This is for anyone with a KiwiSaver account who has been sent a comparison, seen an advert for a lower-fee provider, or simply hasn't checked their own fund's fee in years. It suits people actively shopping between two or three named providers and wanting the dollar answer rather than a page of percentages, as well as anyone choosing between fund types within the same provider, since a Growth fund's higher assumed return and a Conservative fund's lower one will change how much a given fee gap is worth chasing. It is general information to help you compare options, not personalised financial advice, and does not replace reading each provider's own Fund Update.
Related calculators
- KiwiSaver Fee Calculator: see your current fund's actual monthly and yearly fee cost in dollars today.
- KiwiSaver Fee Drag Calculator: the compounding dollar cost of any two fee percentages over time.
- KiwiSaver Switch Break-Even: whether a fee saving clears any switching cost or time out of the market.
- KiwiSaver Fund Type Comparison: compare Conservative, Balanced, Growth and Aggressive funds side by side.
- KiwiSaver Retirement Projection: project your full balance forward to age 65.
- Switching KiwiSaver Provider or Fund: background on this topic.
Official NZ sources
This calculator is built from primary New Zealand sources. Always confirm current figures against the official source for your situation:
- Financial Markets Authority - KiwiSaver Fund Updates and standard projection assumptions
- Sorted (Te Ara Ahunga Ora, Retirement Commission) - KiwiSaver Fund Finder
- Inland Revenue (IRD) - KiwiSaver contribution rates and government contribution
- KiwiSaver official government site - kiwisaver.govt.nz
Frequently asked questions
How do I compare KiwiSaver provider fees properly?
Compare the annual fund charge percentage, published in each provider's quarterly Fund Update, for funds of the same type, since a Growth fund naturally costs more to run than a Conservative one. This calculator projects your own balance and contributions forward under each provider's fee, holding investment performance equal, so you see a dollar figure rather than just a percentage gap.
Does a lower fee always mean a better KiwiSaver provider?
Not automatically. Fee is only one factor. Fund type, risk level, and whether the provider's investment approach suits your timeframe all matter too. This calculator isolates the fee effect on the assumption that the gross investment performance before fees is the same across the providers you enter, which lets you see exactly what the fee difference alone is projected to cost.
How much can a KiwiSaver fee difference cost over 30 years?
Even a fee gap of well under one percentage point a year can cost tens of thousands of dollars over three decades, because the fee is charged on a growing balance every year and compounds in the opposite direction to your returns. See the worked example on this page for a specific dollar figure.
What return does this calculator assume for each provider?
Your selected fund type sets a baseline long-run return, using the standard KiwiSaver Fund Update projection figures: 2.5% for Conservative or Defensive, 3.5% for Balanced, 4.5% for Growth and 5.5% for Aggressive, net of typical fees and after tax at the 28% prescribed investor rate. Each other provider's return is then adjusted only by its fee difference from the first provider, so the comparison isolates fees rather than assuming one provider invests better than another.
How is my annual KiwiSaver contribution estimated?
From your entered salary, using the default employee rate of 3.5% and default employer rate of 3.5% from 1 April 2026, plus the government contribution of 25 cents per dollar of your own contribution, capped at $260.72 a year and requiring $1,042.86 of member contributions to receive the full amount. The government contribution is removed once income exceeds $180,000, effective from 1 July 2025. You can overwrite the estimated total if you know your actual contribution.
Is it worth switching KiwiSaver provider to save on fees?
Usually, if the new provider's fund invests in a broadly similar way and still suits your risk tolerance and timeframe. Most KiwiSaver switches in New Zealand are free and take around ten working days, and your balance stays invested throughout, but check your current provider does not charge an exit fee, which some legacy schemes still do.
Where do I find a provider's actual current fee?
Every KiwiSaver scheme must publish a quarterly Fund Update showing its exact annual fee and net returns. You can find this on the provider's own website, for example Generate KiwiSaver publishes both its Product Disclosure Statement and Fund Updates, or compare schemes side by side using the free Sorted KiwiSaver Fund Finder at sorted.org.nz.
Does switching KiwiSaver provider change my government or employer contributions?
No. Your own contribution rate, your employer's contribution and the annual government contribution all depend on your income and chosen contribution rate, not on which provider or fund holds your KiwiSaver. Switching provider only changes your investment return and the fee you pay.
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