Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
SPY vs VGK: how they differ
SPY and VGK hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SPY returned more over the year.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Vanguard European Stock Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and VGK hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in SPY | Only in VGK |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. 7.52% | ASML Holding NV 3.63% |
| Apple, Inc. 6.59% | HSBC Holdings PLC 2.05% |
| Microsoft Corp. 4.30% | AstraZeneca PLC 1.84% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 3.62% | Novartis AG 1.84% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 3.25% | Nestle SA 1.69% |
| Broadcom, Inc. 2.77% | Siemens AG 1.41% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 2.59% | Banco Santander SA 1.16% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 2.02% | Allianz SE 1.13% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
| SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | VGK Vanguard European Stock Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | State Street | Vanguard |
| What it is | S&P 500, book from IVV | European Stock |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.5% | +16.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | 0.0 pts | −1.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.06% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 100.0% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 504 | 1228 |
SPY in plain words
SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.
VGK in plain words
VGK is an index equity fund tracking the European Stock. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1228 positions, with the top ten at 18.1%. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SPY or VGK?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +17.5% and VGK returned +16.5%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or VGK?
- SPY charges 0.09% a year and VGK charges 0.06%, so VGK is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do SPY and VGK overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 100% of SPY and 0% of VGK by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPY against VGK, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/SPY-VGK Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources