Are BND and LYTE in the same category?

BND is a bond ETF and LYTE is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which is cheaper, BND or LYTE?

BND is cheaper, by 0.62 percentage points a year. That is about $62 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BND vs LYTE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BND and LYTE are measured over different days, and BND charges 0.03% to LYTE's 0.65%.

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Net assets: $161.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $165m on Oct 28, 2026 for Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF.

BND on its own →LYTE on its own →

At a glance

−1.3%

BND total return, 1 year

−19.6%

LYTE total return, since launch, Aug 6, 2026

0.03%

BND expense ratio

0.65%

LYTE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BND costs 0.62 points a year less.

BND vs LYTE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	LYTE
Return
Measure	BND	LYTE
Total return, 1 year	−1.3%	not published
Drawdown
Measure	BND	LYTE
Below its high	3.5%, high on Aug 6, 2020
Below its all-time high		28.5%, high on Aug 17, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	BND	LYTE
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index	Photonics and optics
Cost and size
Measure	BND	LYTE
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.65%
Net assets, BND as of Sep 30, 2026 and LYTE as of Oct 28, 2026	$161.4bn	$165m
Holdings
Measure	BND	LYTE
Holdings in common	not published

Method

Side by side

BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF LYTE Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer Vanguard Roundhill

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Photonics and optics

Total return, 1 year −1.3% −19.6% (since launch, Aug 6, 2026)

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% 0.65%

Holdings 16301 not yet filed

Net assets, BND as of Sep 30, 2026 and LYTE as of Oct 28, 2026 $161.4bn $165m

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

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.

LYTE

LYTE has no public holdings filing captured yet. Since it first traded on Aug 6, 2026 the fund returned −19.6% with distributions reinvested. It sits 28.5% below its all-time high of Aug 17, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are BND and LYTE in the same category?: BND is a bond ETF and LYTE is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which is cheaper, BND or LYTE?: BND is cheaper, by 0.62 percentage points a year. That is about $62 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BND vs IBB BND vs GDX BND vs REMX BND vs XBI AGG vs LYTE BNDX vs LYTE LYTE vs VCIT LYTE vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BND ↗

LYTE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LYTE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Roundhill page for LYTE ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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