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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and VCLT −5.9%.

Which is cheaper, BND or VCLT?

Neither: BND and VCLT both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BND vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

BND's duration was 5.7 years on Jun 30, 2026 and VCLT's 12.0 on May 31, 2026; both charge 0.03%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about BND and VCLT

Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $161.4bn for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF and $7.5bn for Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

BND on its own →VCLT on its own →

At a glance

−1.3%

BND total return, 1 year

−5.9%

VCLT total return, 1 year

0.03%

BND expense ratio

0.03%

VCLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.03% a year; their one-year returns differ by 4.6 points; BND is far larger, $161.4bn against $7.5bn.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BND vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	VCLT
Return
Measure	BND	VCLT
Total return, 1 year	−1.3%	−5.9%
Drawdown
Measure	BND	VCLT
Below its high	3.5%, high on Aug 6, 2020	17.8%, high on Sep 22, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	BND	VCLT
What it tracks	Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index	Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	BND	VCLT
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$161.4bn	$7.5bn
Holdings
Measure	BND	VCLT
Holdings in common	7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returns

BND VCLT

Return

Total return edge VCLT +48.4% +101.2%

Annualized edge VCLT +2.4% +4.2%

Price return edge VCLT −10.3% −6.3%

Risk

Volatility edge BND 4.5% 12.5%

Max drawdown edge BND −18.4% −34.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VCLT 0.20 0.27

Sortino edge VCLT 0.28 0.39

Calmar edge BND (slight) 0.13 0.12

Reading

VCLT returned more: +101.2% to +48.4%. BND swung less: 4.5% to 12.5%. BND fell less at its worst: −18.4% to −34.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BND vs VCLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BND	VCLT	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+48.4%	+101.2%	VCLT	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+2.4%	+4.2%	VCLT	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	−10.3%	−6.3%	VCLT	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	4.5%	12.5%	BND	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	3.2%	8.7%	BND	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−18.4%	−34.0%	BND	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.20	0.27	VCLT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.28	0.39	VCLT	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.13	0.12	BND (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BND and VCLT hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BND VCLT

US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 15, 2036 0.41% 0.08%

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2046 0.04% 0.13%

ANHEUSER-BUSCH, due Feb 1, 2046 0.03% 0.37%

BOEING CO, due May 1, 2050 0.03% 0.27%

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2036 0.03% 0.11%

META PLATFORMS, due May 15, 2056 0.02% 0.16%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Mar 20, 2051 0.02% 0.22%

AMAZON.COM INC, due Mar 13, 2056 0.02% 0.26%

US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 15, 2046 0.14% 0.02%

CVS HEALTH CORP, due Mar 25, 2048 0.02% 0.33%

WELLS FARGO CO, due Apr 4, 2051 0.02% 0.14%

APPLE INC, due Feb 23, 2046 0.02% 0.17%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BND

US TREASURY N/B, due Jan 31, 2028 0.47%

US TREASURY N/B, due May 15, 2034 0.41%

US TREASURY N/B, due Nov 15, 2034 0.41%

US TREASURY N/B, due Nov 30, 2027 0.41%

US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 15, 2035 0.41%

US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 15, 2034 0.41%

US TREASURY N/B, due Feb 15, 2034 0.40%

US TREASURY N/B, due Aug 15, 2035 0.39%

Only in VCLT

RIO TINTO FIN PL, due Mar 14, 2055 0.11%

ALTRIA GROUP INC, due Jan 31, 2044 0.10%

GOLDMAN SACHS GP, due Oct 21, 2045 0.10%

TIME WARNER CABL, due Jul 1, 2038 0.10%

CONOCOPHILLIPS, due Feb 1, 2039 0.10%

WALT DISNEY CO, due Nov 15, 2037 0.09%

TRANSCANADA PL, due Jan 15, 2039 0.09%

CONOCOPHIL CO, due Mar 15, 2062 0.09%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BND Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer Vanguard Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of US aggregate bonds Tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year −1.3% −5.9%

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% 0.03%

Holdings 16301 2562

Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 $161.4bn $7.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-A58E3576A1

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

What each follows. BND follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index and VCLT follows Bloomberg U.S. 10+ Year Corporate Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 7% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BND returned −1.3% and VCLT −5.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.6 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.

VCLT

VCLT tracks an index of Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −5.9% with distributions reinvested. It sat 17.8% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BND or VCLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and VCLT −5.9%.
Which is cheaper, BND or VCLT?: Neither: BND and VCLT both charge 0.03% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BLV vs BND BND vs BOND BND vs JNK BND vs SPSB AGG vs VCLT IUSB vs VCLT TLT vs VCLT BSV vs VCLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BND prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for BND ↗

VCLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCLT ↗

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

Open data →

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