Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ARKK vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ARKK returned −3.5% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to ARKK's 0.75%.
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Net assets: $6.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for ARK Innovation ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.72 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.0 points.
| Measure | ARKK | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.5% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 44.2%, high on Feb 12, 2021 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Broad innovation and megatrends | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 17.2 pts | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 17.2 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, ARKK as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $6.6bn | $689.2bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 85% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 15% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 49% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 7, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 624 weekly returnsARKK returned slightly more: +350.6% to +334.0%. VTI swung less: 16.9% to 37.4%. VTI fell less at its worst: −32.9% to −80.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ARKK | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +350.6% | +334.0% | ARKK (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.4% | +13.0% | ARKK (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +307.5% | +256.0% | ARKK | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 37.4% | 16.9% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 24.8% | 11.8% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −80.1% | −32.9% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.46 | 0.68 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.70 | 0.98 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.17 | 0.40 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 624 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ARKK and VTI hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
15% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ARKK and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ARKK and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. ARKK follows Broad innovation and megatrends and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 15% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ARKK returned −3.5% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 17.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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ARKK
By weight, 36% of ARKK's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 85%. The top ten holdings are 49% of the fund across 46 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −3.5% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 17.2 pts. It sits 44.2% below its all-time high of Feb 12, 2021.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Are ARKK and VTI in the same category?
- ARKK is a thematic ETF and VTI is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, ARKK or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ARKK returned −3.5% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, ARKK or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.72 percentage points a year. That is about $72 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, ARKK against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/arkk-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ARKK against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/arkk-vs-vti
[ARKK against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/arkk-vs-vti)
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