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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and VTI +13.5%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or VTI?

VTI 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

BOXX vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and VTI an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTI returned +13.5% against +4.0%.

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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.

BOXX on its own →VTI on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

+13.5%

VTI total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.03%

VTI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VTI costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.5 points.

BOXX vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	VTI
Return
Measure	BOXX	VTI
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+13.5%
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	VTI
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Morningstar US Total Market Index
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	VTI
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.03%
Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026	$14.5bn	$689.2bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	VTI
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		88%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		34.7%

Method

Risk and return

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

BOXX VTI

Return

Total return edge VTI +18.9% +102.1%

Annualized edge VTI +4.6% +20.3%

Price return edge VTI +18.6% +92.2%

Risk

Volatility edge BOXX 0.2% 14.2%

Max drawdown edge BOXX −0.1% −17.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VTI −0.25 1.05

Sortino edge VTI −0.35 1.61

Calmar Not measured 1.17

Reading

VTI returned more: +102.1% to +18.9%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 14.2%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −17.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: BOXX vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	VTI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+18.9%	+102.1%	VTI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.6%	+20.3%	VTI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+18.6%	+92.2%	VTI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	0.2%	14.2%	BOXX	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	0.2%	9.3%	BOXX	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−0.1%	−17.4%	BOXX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	−0.25	1.05	VTI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	−0.35	1.61	VTI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	Not measured	1.17		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

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF VTI Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Alpha Architect Vanguard

What it is Actively managed Tracks an index of US total market

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +13.5%

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.03%

Holdings not counted 3521

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 $14.5bn $689.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-286E70AF3D

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

What each follows. BOXX follows No index, actively managed and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOXX returned +4.0% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 9.5 points.
Cost. BOXX charges 0.19% of assets a year and VTI 0.03%, a gap of 0.16 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

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

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or VTI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and VTI +13.5%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or VTI?: VTI 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

BOXX vs VOO BOXX vs DGRW BOXX vs XLG BOXX vs GRNY VBIL vs VTI MINT vs VTI USFR vs VTI PULS vs VTI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

VTI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VTI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VTI ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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