Which returned more over the last year, BIL or VUSB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and VUSB +3.5%.

Which is cheaper, BIL or VUSB?

VUSB is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BIL vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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On Jun 30, 2026 BIL's duration was 0.2 years and VUSB's 1.0; VUSB charges 0.10% to BIL's 0.14%.

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Net assets: $48.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF, and $9.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.

BIL on its own →VUSB on its own →

At a glance

+3.7%

BIL total return, 1 year

+3.5%

VUSB total return, 1 year

0.14%

BIL expense ratio

0.10%

VUSB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VUSB costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; BIL is 5.0 times larger.

BIL vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	VUSB
Return
Measure	BIL	VUSB
Total return, 1 year	+3.7%	+3.5%
Benchmark
Measure	BIL	VUSB
What it tracks	Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	BIL	VUSB
Expense ratio	0.14%	0.10%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$49.8bn	$9.9bn
Holdings
Measure	BIL	VUSB
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 288 weekly returns

BIL VUSB

Return

Total return edge Tie +19.9% +20.0%

Annualized edge Tie +3.3% +3.3%

Price return edge BIL +0.1% −1.0%

Risk

Volatility edge BIL 0.3% 0.8%

Max drawdown edge BIL −0.1% −1.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VUSB −0.97 −0.33

Sortino edge VUSB −1.13 −0.45

Calmar edge BIL 33.90 1.96

Reading

BIL and VUSB returned about the same: +19.9% and +20.0%. BIL swung less: 0.3% to 0.8%. BIL fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −1.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BIL vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BIL	VUSB	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+19.9%	+20.0%	Tie	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.3%	+3.3%	Tie	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+0.1%	−1.0%	BIL	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	0.3%	0.8%	BIL	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	0.2%	0.6%	BIL	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−0.1%	−1.7%	BIL	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.97	−0.33	VUSB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−1.13	−0.45	VUSB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	33.90	1.96	BIL	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 288 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BIL and VUSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BIL VUSB

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BIL

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 6, 2026 12.04%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 3, 2026 9.04%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 27, 2026 7.22%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 17, 2026 7.03%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 10, 2026 6.98%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Sep 24, 2026 6.97%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 13, 2026 6.85%

U.S. Treasury Bills, due Aug 20, 2026 6.49%

Only in VUSB

TREASURY BILL, due Jun 10, 2027 4.19%

US TREASURY N/B, due Jul 31, 2027 0.67%

PNC FINANCIAL, due Oct 26, 2029 0.58%

US TREASURY N/B, due Jun 30, 2028 0.52%

REGIONS BANKS, due Jul 27, 2029 0.51%

US BANCORP, due Jun 12, 2029 0.50%

CHARLES SCHWAB, due Jul 27, 2029 0.49%

TRUIST BANK, due Jul 24, 2028 0.44%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BIL SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF VUSB Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer State Street Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +3.7% +3.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −1.4% (AGG)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +4.9 pts vs AGG

Expense ratio 0.14% 0.10%

Holdings 26 1344

Net assets, BIL as of Oct 27, 2026 and VUSB as of Sep 30, 2026 $48.7bn $9.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5FCB9D8DE0

BIL and VUSB are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. BIL follows Bloomberg 1-3 Month U.S. Treasury Bill Index and VUSB follows No index, actively managed.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026).
Number of holdings. BIL holds 26 positions and VUSB holds 1344.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

BIL

BIL tracks an index of 1-3 month T-bills. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.14% a year.

VUSB

VUSB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BIL or VUSB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BIL returned +3.7% and VUSB +3.5%.
Which is cheaper, BIL or VUSB?: VUSB is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BIL vs ICSH BIL vs FLOT BIL vs GBIL BIL vs VBIL JPST vs VUSB MINT vs VUSB BOXX vs VUSB VBIL vs VUSB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BIL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BIL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

VUSB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VUSB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VUSB ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BIL against VUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bil-vs-vusb

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