Which returned more over the last year, AGG or BOXX?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0%.

Which is cheaper, AGG or BOXX?

AGG is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

AGG vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AGG returned −1.4% to BOXX's +4.0%, and AGG charges 0.03% to BOXX's 0.19%.

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Net assets: $139.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF, and $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF.

AGG on its own →BOXX on its own →

At a glance

−1.4%

AGG total return, 1 year

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

0.03%

AGG expense ratio

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

AGG costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.4 points; AGG is 9.7 times larger.

AGG vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	BOXX
Return
Measure	AGG	BOXX
Total return, 1 year	−1.4%	+4.0%
Drawdown
Measure	AGG	BOXX
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	AGG	BOXX
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	AGG	BOXX
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.19%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$139.3bn	$14.4bn
Holdings
Measure	AGG	BOXX
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returns

AGG BOXX

Return

Total return edge BOXX +11.2% +18.9%

Annualized edge BOXX +2.8% +4.6%

Price return edge BOXX −3.2% +18.6%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 5.3% 0.2%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −6.9% −0.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge BOXX −0.32 −0.25

Sortino edge BOXX −0.44 −0.35

Calmar 0.41 Not measured

Reading

BOXX returned more: +18.9% to +11.2%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 5.3%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −6.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AGG vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	AGG	BOXX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+11.2%	+18.9%	BOXX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.8%	+4.6%	BOXX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−3.2%	+18.6%	BOXX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	5.3%	0.2%	BOXX	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.8%	0.2%	BOXX	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−6.9%	−0.1%	BOXX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.32	−0.25	BOXX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.44	−0.35	BOXX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.41	Not measured		Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 198 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

AGG iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Alpha Architect

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Actively managed

Total return, 1 year −1.4% +4.0%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.3% (SCHZ) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SCHZ not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.19%

Holdings 13469 not counted

Net assets, AGG as of Oct 27, 2026 and BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 $139.4bn $14.5bn

AGG and BOXX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-26D32165B4

AGG and BOXX do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. AGG follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and BOXX follows No index, actively managed.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AGG returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.4 points.
Cost. AGG charges 0.03% of assets a year and BOXX 0.19%, a gap of 0.16 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

AGG

AGG tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.4% with distributions reinvested, against −1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

BOXX

BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, AGG or BOXX?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AGG returned −1.4% and BOXX +4.0%.
Which is cheaper, AGG or BOXX?: AGG is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AGG vs VBIL AGG vs MINT AGG vs USFR AGG vs PULS BND vs BOXX BOXX vs SGOV BNDX vs BOXX BOXX vs VCIT

Where to next

AGG on its own →BOXX on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AGG dividend history →AGG holdings →BOXX dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AGG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AGG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for AGG ↗

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AGG against BOXX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/agg-vs-boxx

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.