Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DFUS vs VB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DFUS returned +13.8% to VB's +14.4%; 9% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about DFUS and VB
Net assets: $20.9bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional U.S. Equity Market ETF, and $76.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
VB costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points.
| Measure | DFUS | VB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.8% | +14.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Morningstar US Small Cap Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, DFUS as of Jul 31, 2026 and VB as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.9bn | $76.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 9% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.6% | 5.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 25, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 278 weekly returnsDFUS returned more: +87.6% to +36.5%. DFUS swung less: 16.2% to 19.0%. DFUS fell less at its worst: −24.2% to −27.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFUS | VB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +87.6% | +36.5% | DFUS | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +12.5% | +6.0% | DFUS | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +76.2% | +26.3% | DFUS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.2% | 19.0% | DFUS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.8% | 13.3% | DFUS | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.2% | −27.4% | DFUS | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.58 | 0.21 | DFUS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.87 | 0.30 | DFUS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.52 | 0.22 | DFUS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 278 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DFUS and VB hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.
half
9% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFUS and VB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFUS and VB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DFUS follows No index, actively managed and VB follows Morningstar US Small Cap Index.
- Holdings in common. 9% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DFUS returned +13.8% and VB +14.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.6 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.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
DFUS is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 89% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,236 positions, with the top ten at 34.6%.
VB
VB tracks an index of Small-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,303 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFUS or VB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFUS returned +13.8% and VB +14.4%.
- Which is cheaper, DFUS or VB?
- VB is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, DFUS against VB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfus-vs-vb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DFUS against VB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfus-vs-vb
[DFUS against VB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfus-vs-vb)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.