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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and BOXX +4.0%.

Which is cheaper, BND or BOXX?

BND 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

BND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BND returned −1.3% to BOXX's +4.0%, and BND charges 0.03% to BOXX's 0.19%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about BND and BOXX

Net assets: $161.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF.

BND on its own →BOXX on its own →

At a glance

−1.3%

BND total return, 1 year

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

0.03%

BND expense ratio

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BND costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points.

BND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	BOXX
Return
Measure	BND	BOXX
Total return, 1 year	−1.3%	+4.0%
Drawdown
Measure	BND	BOXX
Below its high	3.5%, high on Aug 6, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	BND	BOXX
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	BND	BOXX
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.19%
Net assets, BND as of Sep 30, 2026 and BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026	$161.4bn	$14.5bn
Holdings
Measure	BND	BOXX
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Risk and return

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

BND BOXX

Return

Total return edge BOXX +11.3% +18.9%

Annualized edge BOXX +2.9% +4.6%

Price return edge BOXX −2.9% +18.6%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 5.2% 0.2%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −6.8% −0.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge BOXX −0.32 −0.25

Sortino edge BOXX −0.44 −0.35

Calmar 0.42 Not measured

Reading

BOXX returned more: +18.9% to +11.3%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 5.2%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −6.8%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BND vs BOXX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	BOXX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+11.3%	+18.9%	BOXX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.9%	+4.6%	BOXX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−2.9%	+18.6%	BOXX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	5.2%	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	−6.8%	−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	0.42	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

BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Vanguard Alpha Architect

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

Total return, 1 year −1.3% +4.0%

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

Gap to its benchmark +0.1 pts vs AGG not measured

Expense ratio 0.03% 0.19%

Holdings 16301 not counted

Net assets, BND as of Sep 30, 2026 and BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 $161.4bn $14.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-4143864716

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

What each follows. BND follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index and BOXX follows No index, actively managed.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BND returned −1.3% and BOXX +4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.3 points.
Cost. BND charges 0.03% of assets a year and BOXX 0.19%, a gap of 0.16 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

BND

BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 6, 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, BND or BOXX?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and BOXX +4.0%.
Which is cheaper, BND or BOXX?: BND 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

BND vs MINT BND vs VBIL BND vs USFR BND vs PULS AGG vs BOXX BOXX vs IUSB BOXX vs TLT BOXX vs BSV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BND ↗

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

Open data →

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